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Do any rental car companies provide pickup at the Amtrak Union Station in LA? I'll be arriving at 9:00 PM with my 5-year-old son, so I'd rather not have to then take the subway to LAX or walk somewhere.

I need a "one-way" rental because I need to return the car at LAX.

Update: See my comments on xpda's answer. I also called Enterprise, hoping they could pick me up. But they too are only able to offer a car if I go to LAX. (They can only pick one up if one is within 10 miles of an open office.)

So I guess I'll have to find other transportation to our hotel, and arrange for a rental car to be picked up the next day.

Update #2: My hotel's web site says the taxi charge from Union Station is $75. Ouch. That's probably about what it would cost to rent a car for 3 days. I'm now considering dragging my poor tired son all the way to LAX.

Update #3: We ended up taking a taxi to our hotel (in Santa Monica), which was pricey, but at least I didn't have to keep my son up even later taking him to LAX. The next day we rented a car through Enterprise, who had competitive rates and picked us up at the hotel.

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    Note that if you did need to get public transport from Union Station to LAX, the FlyAway bus would be more practical than the subway. It's direct, whereas you'd need to get 3 different Metro trains, and even then a shuttle bus to LAX itelf. Mind you, $75 seems a little high for a taxi.
    – e100
    Oct 9, 2012 at 16:27
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    I just tried the same thing - getting a car rental at Union Station in LA with a scheduled arrival time of 9 pm (the southbound Coast Starlight). Tried Hertz, Budget, Enterprise. I'm coming up empty handed too. Since I'm going to San Clemente, we'll just take the 10:10 pm Surfliner, catch a cab to the hotel and get a rental car the next morning. Let's hope the Coast Starlight is not too late!
    – user7162
    Jun 17, 2013 at 20:05
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    In January 2015, we returned a car at LAX, got a shuttle bus to the terminal, then took the bus to Union Station. Apart from the stress of driving to LAX (where we had never been) in the dark, it was fine.
    – gerrit
    Sep 16, 2015 at 10:50

2 Answers 2

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Hertz and Budget have an office there.

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  • Unfortunately Hertz.com says their office is closed at 9:00 PM, and Budget.com says that office is open 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. I'll trying calling them.
    – Daryl Spitzer
    Sep 22, 2011 at 21:54
  • Budget told an airport is my only option.
    – Daryl Spitzer
    Sep 22, 2011 at 22:27
  • Hertz's office also closes at 5:00 PM and they also do not provide after-hours pick-up there.
    – Daryl Spitzer
    Sep 22, 2011 at 22:37
  • You might try calling some of the rental companies to see if they have any pickup service there after 9:00. Good luck!
    – xpda
    Sep 22, 2011 at 23:11
  • See my updates to my question. I don't know who else to call besides Enterprise.
    – Daryl Spitzer
    Sep 22, 2011 at 23:21
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An alternative plan would be to detrain from the southbound Amtrak Starlight in Burbank. I realized this and could have hopped off here, but had to go all the way to Union Station as I'd checked my bag for Union St and it was in the train's hold. Waiting to get my checked bag made the end of my long trip an hour and a half longer, but at least the other end of the Red Line is in lower corridors right inside Union Station.

Leaving Amtrak at Burbank gives you far less crowds and a whole hour earlier arrival time, which might give you time to pick up a car at the Burbank Airport (variously known as Bob Hope Airport, Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, or Hollywood Airport, I think is the current renaming. All the same place.) You're also very close to the Van Nuys Muni airport, which is where the charter/private jets hop out of.

At the far end of the Airport parking lots are recently opened, very clean, fast-casual food dine-ins like Del Taco, open 24 hrs. The Marriott is across the street from this Airport (not walkable with a small child and luggage).

There is a free shuttle from this Airport stop to the NoHo Red Line station, connecting you to that subway and also the terminus for several Metro local and Express bus routes. (The Burbank local bus for commuters to Warner Bros-Disney-Universal Studios-NBC is also here, but day-only.)

The phone number for the free shuttle from the Airport to the NoHo station is on billboards in the airport and nearby. Taxi stand is out on the street, which is Lankershim Blvd, between the Metro Orange and Red Line's terminus.

While the Metrolink also shares this stop beside of the Airport, it doesn't run in the evenings. Safest transport is probably the Flyaway bus- call ahead for a reservation. In sum, the Burbank Amtrak stop has more connections than Union Station. Hope this helps others!

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