July 22, 2008 Contact: Kim Upton/Marc Littman Metro Media Relations 213.922.2703/213.922.2700 www.metro.net/pressroom

Go Metro as a Cure for the Common Staycation

Petroleum prices ruining summer vacation plans? Why not join thousands of Americans who are this summer abandoning gas-gobbling driving trips in favor of "staycations" -- vacations close to home. Lucky for us, we live in the land of tourist attractions. Also lucky, we can Go Metro to get there.

Metro has lots of suggestions for getting to L.A's top tourist spots via rail and bus. And some of those ideas are now available as videos for download from iTunes. To find them go to iTunes.com, downloads and search Metro Los Angeles Destination Guides.

Among great candidates for staycations: Universal Studios, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Getty Gardens in Brentwood, the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens and some of the best beaches in the world. It's also possible to hear free summer music concerts all over town just by hopping on the bus or train. If you present a Metro pass or ticket, shuttle rides from selected Metro stations to Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Bowl are free. Or head to Staples Center on the Blue Line (Pico Station) for major sporting and entertainment events. If you Go Metro, you may even be eligible for a discount. (Check out the Destination Discounts list at metro.net.)

Then there are the neighborhoods: Little Tokyo (Metro Red Line to either Union Station or Civic Center Station), Chinatown (Gold Line to Chinatown Station), Pasadena Old Town (Gold Line to Memorial Park Station), Koreatown (Purple Line to Wilshire/Western or Wilshire/Normandy Station), Sunset Strip (Red Line to Vermont/Sunset Station and then Local Bus 2), NoHo (Red Line to North Hollywood Station) and even Rodeo Drive (Purple Line to Wilshire/Western Station and then Metro Rapid 720 to Wilshire and Beverly).\

Or do a movie day, starting with a visit to the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards (Metro Red Line to Hollywood/Highland Station); the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Red Line Hollywood/Highland or Hollywood and Vine Station), Universal Studios (Red Line to Universal Station), followed by dinner and a movie at Universal City Walk.

Use your imagination. Use the Metro Trip Planner at metro.net. Don’t waste gas or money. Go Metro for the first and quite possibly the best staycation ever.

Send staycation ideas using Metro to Interactive@metro.net and they may be posted on metro.net. Bon voyage.

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Editors Note: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority uses its popular name, “Metro,” in all external and internal communications materials. We prefer this reference and ask for the media’s cooperation in updating written style guides accordingly as well using “Metro” in verbal references. If you need to update your graphics files with the current Metro logo, most current transit maps and other related images, please call Metro Media Relations at 213-922-2700.

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