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In October, L.A. Metro again achieved ridership gains, averaging more than one million weekday riders and marking the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth. Metro’s combined bus and rail ridership in October reached 86 percent of its October 2019 pre-pandemic ridership level. Metro’s average weekday boardings reached 83.9 percent of October 2019 pre-pandemic levels and on the weekends, ridership attained 97.5 percent of its pre-pandemic level.
Bus Ridership
The Metro bus system saw 22,498,869 trips in October, marking a 7.5 percent ridership increase compared to October 2023. Average weekday bus ridership was 804,963 in October, surpassing last month’s new weekday ridership benchmark by 684 new riders to become the highest bus ridership Metro has seen since February 2020. On average, 545,208 trips were taken on Metro buses on Saturdays in October, while an average of 450,972 trips were taken on Sundays. October’s weekend bus ridership now stands at 95.8 percent of its October 2019 re-pandemic level.
Ridership on Metro’s two Bus Rapid Transit lines also increased in October. Ridership on the J Line, which runs on dedicated bus lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways from El Monte to San Pedro, rose 10.6 percent compared to October 2023. Ridership on the G Line, which serves the San Fernando Valley, rose by 4.7 percent year-over-year in October 2024.
Rail Ridership
Rail boardings grew by nearly 8.6 percent in October 2024 over October 2023, and Metro’s rail ridership now stands at 85.1 percent of its October 2019 pre-pandemic level. Weekday rail boardings grew by 14.2 percent year-over year. Weekday rail ridership in October 2024 was 95.8% of its October 2019 pre-pandemic level while October 2024 weekend rail ridership exceeded October 2019 pre-pandemic level by 3.1 percent.
In October Metro’s light rail system saw the biggest ridership gains on the K Line with 23 percent year-over-year growth and the E Line with 18.5 percent year-over-year growth. Ridership on the A Line grew 13.3 percent year-over-year, while ridership on the C Line grew 7.1 percent.
Strong Weekend Ridership Continues
Leisure riders continue to drive overall ridership growth, especially on the weekends. In October weekend rail ridership exceeded its pre-pandemic level reaching 103.1 percent. Weekend bus boardings reaching 95.8 percent of pre-pandemic October 2019 weekend ridership levels.
Discounted Fare Ridership
In October, Metro’s Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program, which provides free rides and reduced fares to low-income customers saw a 28 percent year-over-year ridership increase as riders used the subsidized program. LIFE ridership in October 2024 saw 2,042,922 boardings compared to 1,592,478 in October 2023.
Information on Metro’s reduced fare programs, including discounts for low-income persons and families, seniors, persons with disabilities and students, can be found at: metro.net/riding/fares/.
Public Safety on Metro
Metro continues its ongoing work to improve public safety with a three-point plan:
- Keep our employees and customers safe and ensure they feel safe through an increased visible presence of uniformed personnel, station improvements and improved bus safety measures;
- Ensure the system is being used only for its intended purpose of transit through fare gate improvements and removal of trespassers; and
- Continue to partner with the County, the Cities and Regional Agencies to address societal issues such as homelessness, untreated mental illness, drug addiction.
As part of this strategy, Metro’s law enforcement partners have expanded their visible presence on the rail system, and more Transit Security Officers (TSOs) have been added to enforce Metro’s Customer Code of Conduct rules on both the bus and rail system. As part of the MTS surge, Metro Transit Security Bus Safety Teams (BSTs) performed end-of-line operations during late-night “Owl” service on some of the busiest bus lines. Metro Ambassadors are also deployed on Metro’s six rail lines and five of the busiest bus lines, to provide support to customers and keep a watchful eye out for problems.
About Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility through its Vision 2028 Plan. Metro is the lead transportation planning and funding agency for L.A. County and carries a million boardings daily on four light rail and two subway lines and 119 bus lines utilizing 2,000 low-emission buses.
Stay informed by following Metro on The Source and El Pasajero at metro.net, facebook.com/losangelesmetro, X.com/metrolosangeles and instagram.com/metrolosangeles.
