Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
JUNE 18, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: JUNE 2025 SERVICE CHANGE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on the bus and rail service changes effective Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Issue
ISSUE
Metro makes service changes twice a year in June and December to improve service for our riders. These service changes are also coordinated with bus and rail operator assignment changes required by the labor contract.
Background
BACKGROUND
The most recent service change was implemented in December 2024 with no issues encountered with implementation, which included the transfer of two Metro lines to Pasadena Transit, detouring of the G Line at Van Nuys Station, and significant route changes at Elysian Valley (Line 96 now 296) and Willowbrook (Line 260). Ridership continues to increase, with the data from Q1 CY25 showing year-over-year growth of 4.3% for bus average weekday ridership and 3.5% for rail average weekday ridership.
Average weekly bus on-time performance has also improved from 73.4% (March 2024) to 75.0% (March 2025) in response to the many improved bus schedules, additional field supervision, operator hiring, and low bus service cancellation rates, all of which contribute to improved reliability since the December 2024 service change.
For the Metro bus system, the June 2025 service change will focus on enhancements to routes and schedules to improve reliability, connectivity, and access for customers, as well as adjusting bus lines for ongoing impacts from the fires in January 2025.
Rail service ridership continues to recover, with Q1 CY25 average weekday rail ridership at 57.2% and average weekend rail ridership at 78.4% of pre-COVID levels, compared to 55.3% weekday and 74.5% weekend ridership recovery a year earlier in Q1 CY24.
Rail on-time performance remained high at 99.13% for Q1 FY25 (January to March 2025) compared to 99.2% for Q1 FY24 (January to March 2024).
Rail service changes in June 2025 are minor schedule changes for the A and E Lines, with the C and K light rail line schedules already changed from June 6 with the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Metro’s June 2025 service change will take effect Sunday June 22, 2025, with a focus on improved convenience and reliability for our riders.
Rail Service:
New C and K Line light rail schedules have been developed to reflect the opening of the new LAX/Metro Transit Center on June 6, 2025. With the opening of the new LAX/ Metro Transit Center, the K Line will provide continuous passenger service south of the Westchester/Veterans Station to the LAX/Metro Transit Center and Redondo Beach Station, with no need for passengers to ride the connecting C & K Line Link bus service. LAX Metro Connector shuttle bus service provided by Los Angeles World Airports will link the new LAX/Metro Transit Center Station to the LAX terminals before the expected opening of the LAX People Mover Train in early 2026.
Weekday, Saturday, and Sunday schedule adjustments will be made to the A and E Lines, with minor changes to trip times to increase their reliability. Their service frequencies will remain the same. No changes will be made to the B and D Line subway schedules.
Bus Service:
The June 2025 bus service changes will include a range of customer experience improvements, with enhancements to routes and schedules to help people more conveniently and reliably travel where and when they need to, as well as address operational issues such as detour impacts from the January 2025 fires.
Improved Reliability:
Operator and customer feedback and system data reports on ridership and on-time performance are reviewed to identify lines with ongoing low on-time performance or crowding. Of Metro’s 117 bus lines, adjustments are being made to 58 weekday, 60 Saturday, and 50 Sunday bus schedules in for the June 2025 service. These changes will better match current ridership, traffic levels and travel times in support of improved on-time performance, as well as to ensure operators have enough time to take rest breaks at the end of each trip. New schedules can be viewed at mybus.metro.net <https://mybus.metro.net>.
Adjusted Service levels:
To better align with actual ridership, eight bus lines will have a small reduction of one or two trips on weekdays and/or weekends: Lines 2, 4, 10/48, 16, 108, 134, 232. The service hours saved will be reallocated to other bus improvements.
Improved Connectivity:
Metro is making strategic route changes to improve access to key destinations, improve regional connectivity, and resolve operational issues. This includes scheduling semi-permanent route detours until further notice due to the fire zone recovery efforts in the Eaton and Pacific Palisades.
A summary of bus changes is provided below. Additional details and maps are provided in Attachment A:
• Line 10 (Downtown LA - West Hollywood): Service westbound at West Hollywood to be extended to Santa Monica Bl/San Vicente Bl to allow for convenient connection to Line 4.
• Line 28 (Downtown LA - Century City): Weekdays eastbound service will have one trip around 4 pm extended to start from Century City to accommodate high ridership.
• Line 30 (Downtown LA - Pico / Rimpau Transit Center): East terminal will be relocated from Temple/Garey to Central Av/1st St adjacent to Little Tokyo/Arts District A & E Line Station to provide bus operators access to 24-hour facilities. This requires the relocation of the first westbound stop from Alameda/1st St to Central Av/1st St.
• Line 51 (Downtown LA - CSU Dominguez Hills): A detour southbound is required due to operational issues with the right turn from eastbound 7th St to southbound San Pedro St. The detour will operate via southbound Spring St, left on 9th St, right on San Pedro St, then continue on regular route.
• Line 62 (Downtown LA - Hawaiian Gardens): A segment operating on Olympic Bl between Calada St and Boyle Av will be rerouted to operate on 8th St via Olympic Bl, right on 8th St, right on Boyle Av, then continue regular route to avoid delays and reduce passenger travel times. This change has an associated change to the Line 66 route, which will be modified to travel directly via Olympic Bl, omitting 8th St.
• Line 66 (Wilshire/Western Station - Montebello Metrolink Station): Line 66 operating on a segment of 8th St between Calada St and Soto St will be rerouted to operate directly on Olympic Bl. This will avoid delays, reduce passenger travel times, and has an associated change to Line 62, which will be modified to serve 8th St.
• Line 134 (Santa Monica - Malibu): The schedule for this line weekdays and weekends will be modified to reflect the ongoing impacts to a 10-mile section of Pacific Coast Highway from the Palisades fire with bus stop closures.
• Line 258 (Paramount - Highland Park): The first weekday northbound trip will be modified to begin at Paramount/Alondra instead of Telegraph/Atlantic for customer convenience.
• Line 260 (Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station - Pasadena): Northbound route will be rerouted to depart Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station via southbound Willowbrook Av, left on 119th St, left on Mona Bl, right on Imperial Hwy, then continues on the regular route. This resolves operational issues with existing routes and avoids delays at the rail crossing.
• Line 296 (Burbank Station - Lincoln / Cypress Station via Riverside Dr): Line 296 will be rerouted from Figueroa St to operate via Ave 26, San Fernando Rd, and Riverside Dr, adding convenient stops at Ave 26/Figueroa St to connect Lines 81, 90, 94, and 251 on Figueroa St and other nearby destinations.
• Line 577 (El Monte Station - Long Beach VA Medical Center): The current south terminus at Long Beach for Line 577 on 7th St just east of Chandler St. will be relocated approximately 250 feet further east along 7th St due to operational issues with the current location.
• Line 603 (Downtown LA - Glendale Galleria): Line 603 will be renumbered to Line 93 to align with Metro’s standard route numbering system. Route path and service schedules will remain the same.
• Line 602 (Westwood - Paul Revere Middle School): Due to fire recovery efforts in the Pacific Palisades Fire, Line 602 route is still not operating west of Sunset/ Allenford (Paul Revere Middle School). This route truncation will be made semi-permanent until further notice pending completion of recovery efforts.
• Line 605 (Grande Vista/Olympic - LAC+USC Outpatient Clinic): Reroute southbound route via 4th St, left on Fresno, right on 1st St, right on Lorena, then resume regular route. There is no change to the northbound route, which resolves operational issues with two turning movements.
• Line 660 (Del Mar Station - Woodbury Rd / Fair Oaks Av): Due to the fire recovery efforts in Eaton, the existing Line 660 detour route will be made semi-permanent until further notice. No service will be provided north of Woodbury Rd until recovery efforts are complete.
• Line 662 (Del Mar Station -Woodbury Rd / Lincoln Av Layover): Due to Eaton fire recovery efforts, the existing Line 662 detour route will be made semi-permanent until further notice. No service will be provided north of Woodbury Rd until recovery efforts are complete.
Customer Information
Printed materials (summary brochure, service change notices, and updated schedules for each impacted line) summarizing the upcoming service changes are being distributed starting two weeks before implementation on buses, Metro.net, social media, Source posts, and on signage installed at all impacted bus stops. The June Metro Service Council meetings also provided an overview of the changes. In addition, implementation was supported by staff assigned to stops with more significant changes, as well as Metro Ambassadors throughout the system to inform riders of route changes one week before implementation.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The June 2025 service change focuses on improving customer experience for our riders, especially residents of Equity Focus Communities (EFCs) who rely on transit for their mobility. It includes revised bus schedules to enhance service reliability (on-time performance), extra bus trips for added capacity, increased bus service frequencies for reduced wait times, and rerouted bus services for greater connectivity and improved access to opportunity.
Of the 58 weekday, 60 Saturday, and 50 Sunday bus lines with schedules revised for improved reliability, 20 weekday, 27 Saturday, and 18 Sunday lines have over 50% of their route miles operating in EFCs. Overall service cancellations are low and should remain very low (< 2.0%) as additional new bus operators are hired to maintain operator staffing levels.
The continued operation of the entire 7 million revenue hours of service based on the NextGen Bus Plan allocates the highest service levels to EFCs, where high-quality transit is a key to enhanced mobility for residents. Metro will continue to receive feedback from riders regarding the service changes via Metro Ambassadors and other agency staff deployed at key bus stops and bus lines, Metro Customer Service call centers, the Metro website, social media blog (The Source), as well as at the five Metro Service Council meetings held monthly across the Metro’s service area and located in or near EFCs.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled _Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
This item supports Metro’s systemwide strategy to reduce VMT through planning and operational activities that will improve and further encourage transit ridership, ridesharing, and active transportation. Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets were designed to build on the success of existing investments, and this item aligns with those objectives.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
These service changes support Metro Strategic Plan Goal 1: Provide high quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling. The service changes also respond to the sub-goal of investing in a world-class transit system that is reliable, convenient, safe, and attractive to more users for more trips.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will implement the June 2025 Service Change on Sunday, June 22. Marketing of the changes began on Monday, June 9, and will continue to and beyond the June 22, 2025, implementation date.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - June 2025 Bus Service Changes Overview
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Joe Forgiarini, Senior Executive Officer, Service Development, (213) 418-3400
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 418-3034
