Tonight is the night that late night train service on the Red Line begins in Downtown Los Angeles.  Rising to the occasion, LADOT has also extended the hours for DASH service so buses will be in place to support the transit lines.  All of this is great news, LA is finally realizing that late night trains are a relatively inexpensive way to bolster business AND make our roads a more safe way to travel.

And Los Angeles is ready to celebrate this event with a party.  I received more than one invitation to take part in a "Red Line Barhop" in my inbox, and social planning website Thrillist even put together a list to help us all out.  As Thrillist notes:

LA barhopping sucks: take your car, and risk DUI, or take the
subway, and discover both that we have a subway, and that it stops
running before last call. Or at least it did: starting tomorrow, the
Red Line from North Hollywood to Downtown’s running every 20 minutes,
’til 3am on weekends through the end of the year. Here’re some
suggestions for each stop — with the exception of Vermont/Beverly and
MacArthur Park/Westlake, where getting off the train risks certain
death and, worse, probable thirst.

I’ll probably be skipping the festivities.  Maybe I’m getting old, or maybe I already have a way to celebrate non-motorized transportation by drinking; but you transit riding kids have a good time.  And don’t be afraid to stay out as late as you want to.

Photo: Jon Shoemaker/Flickr