Getting Around the South Bay

Most South Bay trips still start in a car, and there are more ways to get around without one than there were a few years ago: light rail at the northern and eastern edges, a local bus network the beach cities run themselves, a 22 mile bike path along the sand, the first low-speed street routes for e-bikes and neighborhood electric vehicles, and an approved rail extension to Torrance.

Here is how each piece connects.

Which Metro line serves the South Bay?

The K Line, which ends at Redondo Beach (Marine) Station. Many people still call it the Green Line.

After Metro reorganized service, the K Line runs from the E Line down to Redondo Beach (Marine), and the C Line runs between Norwalk and LAX. The station at the top of Redondo is on the K Line.

An older listing or neighborhood guide that says Green Line means this same station. The tracks are the same; Metro renamed the line.

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Is Metro rail coming to Torrance?

Yes. On January 22, 2026 the Metro Board certified the Final Environmental Impact Report and approved the K Line Extension to Torrance.

The project extends light rail south from the existing Redondo Beach (Marine) Station to the Torrance Transit Center, adding roughly 4.5 miles of track and two new stations.

If you are buying anywhere along that corridor, keep the timeline in mind. Major transit projects take years to get from approval to opening, and certifying the environmental report is the step that makes the extension an approved project. In Neil’s experience, buyers near a planned station start weighing it once a project is approved, years before the first train runs.

Current status and timeline are published by LA Metro.

What is Beach Cities Transit?

The local bus network, operated by the City of Redondo Beach, connecting Redondo, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo and the LAX City Bus Center.

Line 102 is the one that does the most work. It serves the Redondo Beach Pier, the Civic Center, Redondo Union High School, the Beach Cities Health District, South Bay Galleria, the Redondo Beach Transit Center, the aerospace employers in North Redondo, and the Redondo Beach K Line station.

That last stop connects the beach to the rail network, so a trip from the beach cities into Los Angeles can be made without a car.

Is there a bus service on the Palos Verdes Peninsula?

Yes. The Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority, known here as PV Transit, runs the Peninsula’s bus routes and a door-to-door Dial-A-Ride. Its own site says service is weekdays only, with none on federal holidays. The office is at 38 Crest Road West in Rolling Hills, and the number is 310-544-7108.

Dial-A-Ride goes anywhere on the Peninsula with a Palos Verdes address. Off the Peninsula it goes for medical trips only, to hospitals, medical buildings and doctors’ offices in Torrance, Harbor City, San Pedro and Redondo Beach.

Eligibility and fares are set by city. The City of Rolling Hills Estates told residents in its neighborhood newsletter of October 8, 2026 that the program is open to city residents who are 65 or older or who have a disability, that registering takes a one-page form and a $10 fee, that trips on the Peninsula are $6 each way, and that medical trips off the Peninsula are $12 each way. Customers using mobility devices can be accommodated.

Before you count on a fare or an age, call PV Transit at 310-544-7108 or email [email protected]. The registration packet posted on the authority’s own site is dated 2015, so the city notice above carries the more current figures and the authority can confirm what applies at your address.

Is Redondo Beach bike friendly?

Yes. Redondo Beach has been building bike routes that connect to one another, to Torrance and to the rail station.

The North Redondo Beach Bikeway extension opened on March 5, 2026. The bikeway is a signed route linking Torrance to the Metro station at Redondo Beach, part designated bike lane and part low-stress shared street.

The Diamond Street Bike and Pedestrian Path is the other key link, connecting North Redondo and Torrance through to South Redondo. Both are part of the South Bay Bicycle Master Plan, which lays out routes that continue across city lines.

Inland Redondo now connects to both the beach and the rail station by bike, which it did not a few years ago.

What are the rolling turtle signs on South Bay streets?

They mark the South Bay Local Travel Network, a set of low-speed streets the South Bay Cities Council of Governments is building for e-bikes, pedal bikes, e-scooters and neighborhood electric vehicles. Riders share these streets with cars, and the turtle signs show you have joined the network and give directions to major destinations in each city. Low-speed vehicles follow the same traffic laws as cars and typically top out at 25 mph.

The first routes opened in El Segundo in 2023. In April 2026 the agency said Redondo Beach would follow later in the year, then Lomita in 2027 and Carson and Lawndale after that, with Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, the Palos Verdes Peninsula and others in planning. The full plan covers 243 miles of existing low-speed streets, according to the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The City of Redondo Beach has set its launch event for Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 1 p.m. at Dominguez Park, according to its biking and micromobility page.

For how the network fits with the bike lanes, see our cycling and bike paths guide, and for what you can ride where, our guide to South Bay e-bike laws.

What is the beach bike path?

The Marvin Braude Bike Trail, 22 miles of paved path running from Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades down to Torrance County Beach at the foot of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Locally almost nobody calls it that. It is The Strand, or the beach path, or the South Bay Bicycle Trail. The full route was completed in 1989 and formally named in 2006 after Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude. The Hermosa stretch is much older, dating to 1908.

It runs behind or beside the beachfront homes in every beach city, so walking or riding to the next town over is an ordinary way to spend a morning here.

Two things to know. Sections through the Redondo pier area require you to dismount and walk. And the path is shared with pedestrians, runners and skaters, heavily in summer, so plan on an easy pace and save speed work for another route.

Is there a Manhattan Beach shuttle?

Manhattan Beach has run shuttle services on and off, most recently approving funding for a citywide electric shuttle pilot.

Because these have run as pilots, check the City of Manhattan Beach for what is running now. The shuttle is meant to ease downtown parking, which fills up fast in summer.

How do you get to LAX?

LAX sits at the north end of the South Bay, next to El Segundo and Westchester, so it is a short trip from most of the beach cities.

Beach Cities Transit connects to the LAX City Bus Center, and the C Line runs to LAX on the rail side. From the northern beach cities the drive is short enough that airport runs for visitors are routine.

The trade-off is airplane noise. Flight paths vary block to block, so if you are looking at El Segundo, Westchester or north Manhattan Beach, stand on the property at different times of day before you commit.

Can you live here without a car?

In parts of the South Bay, yes, and more so than a few years ago.

Downtown Hermosa, downtown Manhattan Beach, Riviera Village and downtown El Segundo are walkable to shops, food and the beach. Add the bike path north to south, Beach Cities Transit to the rail station, and the K Line from there, and living without a car works if you work locally or in a rail-connected part of Los Angeles.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula is different. It is hills and winding roads with no rail, and PV Transit runs weekdays only, so plan on a car there.

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Continue exploring

Transit and project details from LA Metro and city transit pages, bikeway details from the City of Redondo Beach, verified September 15, 2026. Local Travel Network details from the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, verified October 15, 2026. Routes, pilots and project timelines change. Confirm current service with the operator.


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