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LAX to Long Beach: What Is Published for Shuttles, Rideshare and the Metro C Line to A Line Route

Checked against the city's pages: October 2026 By Dana Castellano 6 min read

Photo by Edwin Flores on Pexels

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In brief

The published public-transit route from LAX to Long Beach is Metro’s C Line from LAX/Metro Transit Center to Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, a change to the A Line, then the A Line toward Long Beach, at a regular fare of $1.75 with free transfers within 2 hours of tapping. The C Line’s weekday timetable shows about 19 minutes for the first leg; Metro’s A Line time is not stated here, so no total is given.

  • Metro fare: $1.75 one way; “Never pay more than $5” in a day; “Transfers are free within 2 hours when you tap to ride”3.
  • C Line timetable effective June 7, 2026: LAX/Metro Transit Center to Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, listed as connecting to the “Metro Rail A Line”1.
  • Carnival sells a transfer to the Long Beach port at $31.99 per person, but its listing names both LAX and Long Beach Airport4.
  • Long Beach Airport’s taxi page lists a flat rate to LAX of $75; it states nothing for a cab from LAX5.
  • No operator page cited here publishes a rideshare fare or a general shuttle rate for LAX to Long Beach.

People searching “LAX to Long Beach” want a price and a time, and the official pages give a price for Metro and a time for half of it. This page lays out the rail route with the figures Metro prints, the one shuttle an operator sells, and the gaps. The cruise-specific version is Long Beach Airport to the Cruise Terminal, and the section pillar is Getting In and Out of Long Beach.

The short answer

If you are… Do this
Going to Downtown Long Beach on one fare C Line from LAX/Metro Transit Center to Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, change to the A Line toward Long Beach; $1.75123
Sailing from Long Beach with Carnival Carnival’s transfer, $31.99 per person, but confirm whether it starts at LAX or Long Beach Airport4
Wanting a taxi or rideshare No LAX-to-Long Beach rate is published by the sources cited here; the Long Beach Airport page lists $75 for the opposite direction5
Arriving at Long Beach Airport instead See Long Beach Airport for Visitors
Decision tree for getting from LAX to Long Beach: a cruise guest can book Carnival's transfer at $31.99 per person but must confirm the pick-up airport; otherwise the Metro C Line and A Line cost $1.75 with a free transfer; a taxi or rideshare has no published LAX-side rate.
Ways from LAX to Long Beach, as of October 2026: C Line timetable effective June 7, 2026; Long Beach Airport taxi rate from an undated page.

The Metro route

  1. LAX/Metro Transit Center
  2. Metro C Line toward Norwalk; about 19 minutes to Willowbrook/Rosa Parks on the weekday timetable effective June 7, 20261; $1.753
  3. Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Change here
  4. Metro A Line toward Long Beach; free transfer within 2 hours of tapping23
  5. Downtown Long Beach

The C Line leg. Metro lists the C Line as “Norwalk – LAX/Metro Transit Center”6. The June 7, 2026 timetable names the stations in order from LAX/Metro Transit Center: Aviation/Century, Aviation/Imperial, Hawthorne/Lennox, Crenshaw, Vermont/Athens, Harbor Freeway, Avalon, Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, Lynwood, Lakewood Bl and Norwalk1. Its station notes list “Metro Rail A Line” at Willowbrook/Rosa Parks1. On the weekday table’s approximate times, a train leaving LAX/Metro Transit Center at 4:38 a.m. reaches Willowbrook/Rosa Parks at 4:57 a.m., and one leaving at 12:26 p.m. reaches it at 12:45 p.m.: 19 minutes either way1. Early and midday trips on that table are about 13 minutes apart1.

The A Line leg. Metro lists the A Line as “Pomona – Long Beach”2. Metro’s A Line page gives no station list or travel time in text; those are in a separate timetable PDF, and no A Line minutes are stated here. The tourism bureau says: “From the First Street Transit Gallery in Downtown Long Beach, you can board the Metro A Line, which travels to Downtown Los Angeles and connects to rail lines that travel to Santa Monica, Hollywood”7.

The link at LAX. The C Line begins at LAX/Metro Transit Center. How passengers get from the terminals to that station is not covered by Metro’s line pages, and the airport operator’s own pages are the source for it; this page does not state it.

What the route costs

Metro’s fare page lists “$1.75” for a regular one-way ride, a daily cap of “Pay for 3 rides in one day. Ride free after that. Never pay more than $5.”, a weekly cap of “Never pay more than $18”, and “Transfers are free within 2 hours when you tap to ride – roundtrips not included”3. Children under 6 ride free with a fare-paying adult, and cash works on buses only, with no capping for cash3. A C Line to A Line change inside the two-hour window falls under that transfer rule.

Official pages disagree The tourism bureau’s parking tips page lists the A Line single fare as $1.258. Metro’s own fare page says $1.753. Plan on $1.75; $1.25 is the Long Beach Transit bus fare9.

Shuttles, taxis and rideshare

Carnival’s transfer. Carnival sells a transfer to the Long Beach port at “$31.99 / Person”, listed at “1.0 hours”, run by Metro Shore Services. Its title says “Long Beach Airport to Port LGB” and its meeting point is “Arriving into Long Beach Airport (LGB): Baggage claim 1”, yet its description says “Use our transportation from Los Angeles International Airport to the Port of Long Beach on the day of embarkation.”4. It is for cruise guests, must be bought up to 2 days before sailing, and the airport it starts from is ambiguous on the page; see the full terms in Long Beach Airport to the Cruise Terminal.

Taxis. The Long Beach Airport ground-transportation page lists flat rates from its own taxi stand, including “LAX $75” and “Downtown LA $85”5. It is undated and says nothing about a cab leaving LAX.

Rideshare and FlyAway. Only Uber and Lyft are named, under the heading “Transportation Network Companies”, on the Long Beach Airport page, for pick-ups at that airport only5. No rideshare fare for LAX to Long Beach is published on an operator page, and this page does not cover the FlyAway bus.

Where the Metro route ends

The A Line’s Long Beach end is Downtown Long Beach, per the tourism bureau’s description above7. From there, the free Passport (Long Beach Transit route 37) runs Friday to Sunday to Queen Mary / Cruise Terminal; the schedule effective August 23, 2026 shows 19 minutes from 10th & Pine on the Friday table10. No page states which Passport stop an A Line rider should use. For the A Line’s stations and Long Beach Transit, see Long Beach Transit in 2026. For hotel addresses by the terminal, see Hotels Near the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. The site earns a commission on some hotel, ticket, transfer and parking links, which does not affect what is recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a train from LAX to Long Beach?

Yes, in two lines: the C Line from LAX/Metro Transit Center to Willowbrook/Rosa Parks, then the A Line toward Long Beach12.

How much is the Metro from LAX to Long Beach?

Metro’s regular fare is $1.75 one way with free transfers within 2 hours of tapping, and no more than $5 in a day3.

How long does the C Line take from LAX to the A Line?

About 19 minutes from LAX/Metro Transit Center to Willowbrook/Rosa Parks on the weekday timetable effective June 7, 2026. The A Line time is not stated here1.

Is there a shuttle from LAX to the Long Beach cruise terminal?

Carnival sells a transfer at $31.99 per person, but its listing names both LAX and Long Beach Airport, so confirm the pick-up airport with Carnival4.

How much is a taxi from LAX to Long Beach?

No LAX-side rate is published on the pages cited here. Long Beach Airport lists a $75 flat rate from its own taxi stand to LAX5.

Does the FlyAway bus go to Long Beach?

This page does not cover it; check Los Angeles World Airports for the current routes.

Is the A Line fare $1.25 or $1.75?

Metro says $1.75. A tourism-bureau page lists $1.25, and Long Beach Transit’s bus fare is $1.25389.

Sources

  1. C Line timetable, effective June 7, 2026 — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  2. A Line — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  3. Fares — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  4. Transportation: Long Beach Airport to Port LGB — Carnival Cruise Line. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  5. Ground Transportation — Long Beach Airport, City of Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  6. C Line — Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  7. Public Transit — Visit Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  8. Long Beach Parking Pro Tips — Visit Long Beach. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  9. Fares — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  10. Passport route 37 schedule, effective August 23, 2026 — Long Beach Transit. Accessed 2026-10-01.