On June 6^th, 60 Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) guests participated in an exciting tour to explore the headquarters of Hyperloop One as a part of their conference agenda. The advanced hyperloop technology is referred to as  “The Fifth Mode of Transport,” and is projected by Elon Musk to be a mode able to carry passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in as little as 30 minutes when developed.

The next day, June 7^th, 66 CUTC guests joined the L.A. by Transit Tour to experience the ambitious public transit investment program being developed in part by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro). Guests were divided into groups led by seven graduate students from USC who served as tour guides. As the primary public transportation  agency for the County of Los Angeles, LA Metro has run bus, light rail, heavy rail, and bus rapid transit services since 1993.

The group visited three Metro stations. The first stop was Pershing Square station in Downtown Los Angeles. Pershing Square station is both on the Red and Purple Lines. Eun Jin Shin, lead volunteer for the student guides, introduced the history and impact of the station, and many ways that the station has influenced the surrounding area.

Passing the historic Biltmore Hotel and returning to the Red Line, the group was led to the Hollywood /Vine station. Unlike the Pershing Square Station, which is surrounded by notable architecture built between the 1910s and 1930s, the Hollywood/Vine station and its surrounding neighborhood feature more contemporary architecture. It is a microcosm of new development in Los Angeles.

Civic Center was the last station that the group visited. They were surprised by its distinct surroundings, as the station area is dominated by city and county government buildings and other public facilities. Los Angeles City Hall is just two blocks east of it. The Civic Center station is also well-used because of its high employment density.

The tour ended as the group walked across Grand Park to Los Angeles City Hall and the Tom Bradley Tower Room on the 26^th floor, where the dinner was served, At the dinner, CUTC guests enjoyed a spectacular view of the city in every direction and expressed gratitude to their student tour guides from METRANS.

Nicole Guo

Nicole (Haichao) Guo is a first-year graduate student majoring in transportation engineering at the University of Southern California. Her interests are Intelligent Transportation Systems, High-Speed Rail, and active transportation. She is also an active student member of WTS-Los Angeles. She can be reached at [email protected].