A Proposal for a New Entertainment Shuttle for Hollywood & West Hollywood

In West Hollywood, pre-pandemic, West Hollywood had two free entertainment shuttles which ran Friday and Saturday nights, the Pick Up Line and the Sunset Trip.  (The Pick Up line also ran on "Sunday fundays" and certain holidays.).

The advantages of a free shuttle service serving nightlife are obvious.  It reduces the amount of traffic in the area, reduces drunk driving, reduces the demands on parking, and provides more customers to businesses in these districts.  These free shuttles ran old trolley cars and played hip music and have a fun atmosphere too them.  You can see their respective routes below:

Eventually, whenever things re-open again at some point in the future, and nightlife returns again, West Hollywood can bring back entertainment shuttle service.  Unfortunately, post-pandemic, there are not funds to operate both shuttles.  The Pick Up Line will return first when things re-open again in the future.  

A proposal I have is to modify the Pick Up route, so the western turn around also serves a part of Sunset Blvd.  This will take people up the hill to part of the western Sunset Strip and provide shuttle service to places like the Roxy, the Whisky-a-Go-Go, the Rainbow Room, and the Viper Room, among others, as seen below;

For future planning, I want to propose something bigger and grander involving both Hollywood and West Hollywood.  A "Super Entertainment Shuttle" if you will.  It would serve the Rainbow District, the Sunset Trip, and currently unserved "Theatre Row", as well as taking people to clubs in Hollywood and the "B Line" ("Red Line") Subway.  I envision both a clockwise and a counterclockwise loop.  Please see below.

Two notes:  (1)  I'm currently envisioning the entertainment shuttle heading north from Sunset to Highland rather than LaBrea, because Hollywood Blvd. is often a standstill between Highland and LaBrea on Friday/Saturday nights;  (2) Also, those numbered blue dots are mileage markers, not proposed stops.  The whole loop is slightly under ten miles.   

Granted, this shuttle would require cooperation between both the Cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, and it will be months before all of these types of businesses re-open.  But we plan for the future today.  

Imagine someone taking the Red Line to Hollywood, to then catch the shuttle to see a play on Theatre Row or a set at The Comedy Store; and then heading for a drink at The Rainbow Room, or Mickey's; and then head back to the subway, having left the car at home.

What do you think?

Should the Hollywood bus terminal be at the Highland station or the Vine Station?

Here is something that has confused me.

The suggested northern terminals for any northern extension of the Crenshaw Line and the original Santa Monica Blvd. alignment proposal of the Westside Subway extension has been the Hollywood/Highland station.

This got me thinking about the current bus terminal for the forced transfer between the 212/217 to the 180/181 at Hollywood/Vine.  These buses probably terminate at Vine because there is a designated parking area for buses to wait and for drivers to have their breaks (which is important) near Hollywood/Vine.  (Put aside the question for now about whether there should even be a forced transfer there.)

However, shouldn't for convenience sake the 180/181 go west to Hollywood/Highland to allow for easy transfers to the 156/656?  Is the heavy density area on Hollywood between Highland and Vine really "duplicated" by that short extension?

What is the center of Hollywood anyway?  The "Walk of Fame" intersection at Hollywood/Vine was the cultural heart of Hollywood before the (formerly named Kodak) Theatre was built at Highland.  Shouldn't possibly the Hollywood/Vine station be considered as a possible northern terminal for any rail line ending in Hollywood, also since that is where the bus terminal parking is?  (Granted, at that point it is probably cheaper to somehow move the bus terminal parking near Highland if an expanded station is being built there to accommodate another rail line -- or even include a bus terminal as part of the design of the expanded station.)

This brings up the seemingly unpleasant but necessary discussion of urban and transit planners to fulfill the need for resting buses to park somewhere and for bus operators to have a safe place with appropriate facilities to take their breaks.  So where should an appropriate Hollywood/Highland bus terminal be?

And since we are talking about bus lines on Hollywood, there are actually several bus lines that run or terminate on Hollywood Blvd.  Isn't Hollywood between Highland and Western a natural street for a transit-only lane?  I certainly think so.