California Institute of Technology
- Transportation

Quick Stats

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

If you decide to come to Caltech, be sure to bring your walking shoes. Pasadena and the Los Angeles area as a whole are not very big on public transportation. There are buses, Amtrak, and taxis, but none of them are useful for day-to-day grocery trips. Using your own personal car or bike is the best way to get around Pasadena. Of course, not everyone has a car, so friends with cars are advantageous. Caltech is conveniently situated close to grocery, pharmacy, and coffee shops. Students are often seen walking around with grocery bags, and they are known to bike back with backpacks full of food. Caltech is very small, and a walk from one end of the campus to the other takes about 15 minutes. There are bike racks all over campus for those in a hurry or those who dislike walking. Students also use skateboards or rollerblades to get around campus. Since Pasadena has such beautiful weather, walking, biking, and skating are viable modes of transportation 95 percent of the time. Getting around outside of Pasadena is more of a challenge. Since there are no taxis or a commonly used metro system, getting from one place to another can involve switching numerous stations and/or different modes of transportation. However, students do occasionally go to downtown LA or other nearby places via public transportation. There are many shuttle companies that have pick-up and drop-off services to and from the airport for a reasonable charge. The local airports, Burbank Airport and Ontario Airport, are also used and have similar shuttle services. Students usually just need to get to and from the airport and around Pasadena, both of which are pretty simple things to do, even though public transportation in Southern California is practically a nightmare.

Caltech Student ReviewsWhat's This?

Sort by:

Most RecentMost PopularHighest GradesLowest Grades

Transportation at California Institute of Technology

alishamedrano

Licensed Practical Nurse Training (LPN) '13

3.5

B

Your Own Car or Public Buses

These two are the best forms of transportation, they offer bus services but only until a certain hour so it is nice to have your own car. They do offer taxes but they are rarely used in this town so prices can be a bit pricey.

Jan 05, 2012

Comment actions: Rate

12345

Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

Transportation at California Institute of Technology

lampochka

Epidemiology '10

4.2

A-

No Need for Transport on Campus

Campus is 1 sq mile. You really don't need any transport to get around. For going outside, there are buses and the metro is not too far away. Going to LA is easy with Metro Gold Line, though going to other cities may be a hassle because the LA/ Pasadena public transport system is not the best.

Sep 29, 2011

Comment actions: Rate

12345

Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

Transportation at California Institute of Technology

Anonymous

Caltech Student

Public transportation is terrible....

Public transportation is terrible. You need a car to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.

Comment actions: Rate

12345

Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

What do you think of your school? Register to submit reviews to let others know what it's really like »

First

Previous

Page 1 of 4

Next

Last

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the cost of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of long-distance transportation to travel between home and school

How convenient is the campus-provided transportation?

How necessary is it to have a car on campus?

How easy is it to get around town?