Skip to Content
Streetsblog California home
Streetsblog California home
Log In
LA Metro

Metro Transit Ridership and Service Rebounding; System Still Hindered by Operator Shortage

It is not happening quickly enough, but Metro transit is trending in good directions right now. Ridership is up over the past couple months. The new K Line is open. And this Sunday, Metro is adding bus service, to gradually (much too gradually) restore service Metro cut at the outset of the pandemic and again at the start of this year.

Metro has, and indeed many transit agencies have, struggled to restore ridership and service to pre-pandemic levels.

In July, Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins pledged to restore ridership to pre-COVID levels by July 2023. Unsurprisingly, it is an ambitious and daunting task. She has implemented several measures to help make this happen: increased service, new Transit Ambassadors, stepped up services for homeless riders, stepped up cleaning. And, since July, ridership has grown.

Metro's latest ridership graph - via Metro presentation
false

Since July, Metro average weekday ridership rose from 743,000 to 841,000. Today overall ridership is at 70 percent of what it was in 2019.

At the Metro board Operations Committee meeting today, the agency's Chief Operations Officer Conan Cheung optimistically declared that ridership was at an Omicron era high. Metro's COVID-era high ridership high was 845,000 in November 2021, after which COVID-19's Omicron variant had a serious winter spike, and ridership fell. The positive trend could continue; Cheung mentioned that October ridership was "better." Or, if winter brings another COVID spike, ridership could tumble.

Metro has the budget to fully restore transit service to pre-pandemic levels, but it doesn't have enough staff to operate buses.

xxx
Metro is ~400 operators short of what it needs to run full pre-pandemic service - via Metro presentation
false

The agency is hiring new drivers. Those efforts have been buoyed by a recent salary increase. But the on-the-ground impact for bus riders is continued reduced and unreliable service. Prior to the pandemic, Metro canceled 1-2 percent of bus runs; now, with fewer scheduled runs, that number is 3-4+ percent (albeit down from ~15 percent last January). The situation is also stressful for bus operators, who end up working extra "ordered call backs" shifts.

Metro service restoration dashboard
Metro service restoration dashboard - via Metro presentation. Indicators are trending in a good direction, but not quickly enough to expect the agency to fully restore service any time soon.
false

With the positive trends, Metro is adding back some service this Sunday. Find a detailed list of this weekend's service changes at The Source.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog California

Don’t Believe the Hydrogen Train Hype

Calling hydrogen-powered trains "zero emission" is misleading at best - and even if they were, they lost the race to be "first" a long time ago

July 16, 2024

Upcoming CicLAvia Maps: August in the Hollywoods, September in Lincoln Heights, and More

Mark your calendars: August 18 in West Hollywood through East Hollywood, September 15 in Lincoln Heights, October 13 in the Heart of L.A., and December 8 in the Valley

July 16, 2024

These Are the Most Dangerous Congressional Districts for Pedestrians

The deadliest congressional districts in America are dominated by BIPOC communities — and federal officials need to step up to save the most vulnerable road users.

July 16, 2024

Call to Action: Demand a Safe West Portal

The San Francisco Transit Riders wants YOU to urge the SFMTA Board of Directors to approve stronger West Portal safety and transit improvements The post Call to Action: Demand a Safe West Portal

July 16, 2024

Tuesday’s Headlines

Riding public transit for pleasure; How to increase the numbers organizing for street safety; Don't "turn down the rhetoric"; More

July 16, 2024
See all posts