

Downtown L.A. (Photo by Shawn Park via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)

Getting around downtown isn't always the easiest once you're there. Sometimes when you're lucky enough to find a coveted parking spot, you're likely to keep your car there for the night and trek a distance to get to a restaurant or bar. But now there's a free shuttle service that will take you to where you need to go in the area. And did we mention it's free?

The way Downtown Concierge works is that you can phone the service any time from 9 a.m. to midnight on Sundays through Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays to schedule a ride. The company's owner, Michelle Thrower, told Downtown News that the service is like having a "personal chauffeur." They'll pick you up and drop you off anywhere in their four-mile radius in the downtown corridor. It could be a restaurant, a parking lot where you're car's at, the Staples Center, Union Station, the Music Center and to your home. They even took a guy to Office Depot once.

They have two 20-person buses and 15-passenger van, so if you can snag yourself a seat on one of those, you'll get a sweet ride for free. You'll ride with others while the bus makes dropoffs and pickups, or even by yourself if it's empty.

Downtown Concierge is able to operate for free for individual riders because certain establishments—like McCormick & Schmick’s or Water Grill—are sponsoring the company so that their dining customers will be happier when they're not stressed looking for a parking spot getting to some place like the Music Center.

Downtown Concierge can be contacted at (213) 896-9260 or on their website here.