405 Carpool Lane in SoCal

The 405 is the busiest freeway I have ever driven on. It always had a car pool lane, just not continued. Just a few day ago I went on the 405 south bound and exited the car pool lane because it was so full that the other lanes were going faster. LOL
Both the I5 and 405 are bad going through Los Angeles. Your best bet is to use Waze for navigation. It's by far the best when it comes to knowing real time traffic and finding a faster way.

I drive the 405 through LA County often and can echo David99's comments. However, it is hit or miss whether that lane will be faster than the others.

@spaghetti, instead of taking the 405 through LA consider taking a slightly longer route that could actually save you time: from the 5 at Sylmar take the 210 east to the 57 south to the 5 south. Just be sure you get through Pasadena before 2pm on weekdays.

My experience is that the SoCal carpool lane is a big timesaver on weekdays but weekends is hit or miss

I drive regularly on the 405 and love the new Northbound carpool lanes. I agree with several of the posters that on a summer weekend the traffic can be awful but the carpool lane generally is slightly better. On weekdays the carpool lane is great. Waze is a great tool. There is also a toll road option in Orange County. Exiting the 405 Southbound to the 73 can save time on a busy weekend. The other direction you would be exiting the 5 Northbound to the 73. Check Waze and look at both routes. Not worth the money to only save a few minutes.

I drive the I-405 between South OC and El Segundo regularly. The carpool lane will typically save you time, but there have been many times when the other lanes were moving faster. You've just got to suck it up and do it. For me, I have no other choice. Train was not a viable option for me.

Waze *loves* recommending the 73 toll road, south of Long Beach, that shaves off a few minutes of driving 405 to I-5 south. If your SF-LaJolla drives are company expenses, it's worth doing 73.

HOWEVER, bear in mind if you are sitting in the far left car pool lane on 405, it is a long, long, long way to cut across umpteen lanes of traffic to get on the exit for 73. It is easy to miss it.

Waze settings, navigation, avoid toll roads.

BlueTan85 said:

Waze *loves* recommending the 73 toll road, south of Long Beach, that shaves off a few minutes of driving 405 to I-5 south. If your SF-LaJolla drives are company expenses, it's worth doing 73.

HOWEVER, bear in mind if you are sitting in the far left car pool lane on 405, it is a long, long, long way to cut across umpteen lanes of traffic to get on the exit for 73. It is easy to miss it.

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73 toll road is convenient, but EXTREMELY expensive. I would recommend investing in a transponder if you plan on traveling it regularly. Even now that they've eliminated manned toll booths, it's a higher rate for license-plate scans than registered transponders.