Metro experienced a significant increase in bus and train ridership in June, with nearly 24 million boardings. This marks the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year growth, representing a 13.3% increase compared to last year. L.A. Mayor and Metro Board Chair Karen Bass expressed her excitement about the continued return of people to public transit, attributing it to the accessibility and affordability brought on by the opening of the Regional Connector. Bass looks forward to further growth in ridership as Metro expands the transit system and enhances public safety.
Metro’s monthly bus and rail ridership now stands at 81% of its pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Average weekend ridership is at 91% of pre-pandemic levels, while weekdays average at 76%. In June, there were a total of 23,824,620 passengers on Metro’s bus and rail systems, averaging 866,670 rides per weekday. On Saturdays and Sundays, there were about 646,743 and 542,727 passengers, respectively. The agency noted that ridership recovery continues to strengthen on weekends, reaching almost 89% and 94% of pre-pandemic levels.
Bus ridership remains the dominant mode of transportation, accounting for 18,679,084 rides in June. This represents almost 84% of its June 2019 level. Metro, in collaboration with the city of Los Angeles, has installed over 30 miles of bus priority lanes, including the recently opened lane on Venice Boulevard.
Rail system trips also saw a significant increase in June, with over 5 million trips, a 14.2% increase compared to last year. The B (Red) and D (Purple) lines led the growth in rail ridership, with average weekday ridership up 15.5% year-over-year and 5.6% since January. Average ridership on these lines now exceeds their June 2019 levels.
Weekend ridership was boosted by special events such as the Pride Parade, Pride Night at Dodger Stadium, Pride in the Park, and CicLAvia South L.A. The opening of the Regional Connector stations in Little Tokyo/Arts District, Historic Broadway, and Grand Avenue Arts/Bunker Hill also contributed to increased ridership, with more than 100,000 passengers riding the new A and E lines on opening day. Over the opening weekend, over 82,000 people continued to utilize the new lines.
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins highlighted how the three new downtown stations have improved transportation in Los Angeles, allowing riders to easily access downtown restaurants, events, and three distinctively designed art-filled stations. Wiggins stated that the stations themselves are becoming popular destinations.
Metro has also taken proactive measures to ensure safety, making the transit service safe, friendly, fast, and frequent. These steps include increasing the visible presence of armed and unarmed security and customer care personnel, conducting a Drug-Free Metro campaign to combat drug-related crimes, engaging Metro Ambassadors to assist customers, hiring additional transit operators, and fully restoring bus service.
Metro emphasizes its fareless and reduced-price transit pass programs, such as the GoPass program for K-12 and community college students, and the Low-Income Fare is Easy program, which provides free rides and discounted fares to individuals with low incomes.
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