The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced major changes to its bus service that will apply from December 15with the purpose of having a greater frequency of trips and better regional connectivity.
In a press release, Metro Los Angeles said that the comprehensive adjustments to service, based on the NextGen Bus Planwill impact multiple routes throughout Los Angeles County.
The changes include more trips on certain lines to provide greater capacitythe transfer of two lines to Pasadena Transit as the new service provider and the reconfiguration of some bus lines to improve connectivity with the Metro rail system.
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San Fernando Valley
In the San Fernando Valley, The agency said that the number of passengers is growing at a rapid paceso it is necessary to implement adjustments to bus routes to serve as many passengers as possible and to connect them with other transit options within the system.
The adjustment on Line 96 (Chinatown-Burbank via Griffith Park Drive) gives customers the opportunity to connect with Metro A Line light rail service. Line 96 will terminate at the A Line Lincoln/Cypress station at Avenue 26 and Lacy Street in the Lincoln Heights area instead of ending in Chinatown.
Line 96 will become Line 296 with similar service frequencies on weekdays or weekends.
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The new route of Line 296 remains unchanged north of Riverside Drive and Duvall Streetbut heading south you will travel along Riverside Drive to Figueroa Street, where you turn right onto Avenue 26 and then right onto Humboldt Street.
Northbound buses They will turn using Avenue 21, Barranca Street and San Fernando Roadand then continue along Humboldt Street, left on Avenue 26, left on Figueroa Street-Riverside Drive to the normal route.
New bus stops will be located on Avenue 26 at Lacy Street in both directions to allow passengers to have new connections with Line 251 (Avenue 26) and Lines 81, 90 and 94 at Figueroa Street/Avenue 26.
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Metro hopes to begin long-term construction on Van Nuys Boulevard between Sherman Way and Arminta Street this December. for the new East San Fernando Valley light rail line.
It is planned that Van Nuys Boulevard reduced to two lanes in each direction and that bus stops at Valerio and Saticoy Street remain closed for the duration of construction, with intermittent nighttime closures for about 3 months at Telfair near Van Nuys northbound.
From January 2025 and until summer 2026the G Line will be rerouted due to the construction of a new Van Nuys elevated station on Van Nuys Boulevard.
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Line G buses They will detour along Sepúlveda Boulevard and Oxnard Street in both directions between Sepúlveda and Woodman stations.
While the station is being built, temporary bus stops will be located at Oxnard Street and Van Nuys Boulevardto travel east and west.
Gateway Cities
Lines 60, 202 and 260 return to Bridge Artesiawhich puts an end to the detour that leads to the Artesia station in Compton.
San Gabriel Valley
Two lines join Pasadena Transit. Line 177 will become Route 53 and Line 256 will become Route 33, both new Pasadena Transit routes.
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There are no changes related to the schedule or route of Pasadena Transit Route 53, while on Route 33, the locations of the routes and bus stops will remain the same, but frequency will be improved from every 50 minutes to every 35 minutes every day.
The buses on these routes will be renamed Pasadena Transit, with a base rate of $0.75 dollars. TAP cards are accepted as a fare on Pasadena Transit services and transfers between Pasadena Transit routes are free for 2.5 hours.
In the San Gabriel Valley and Gateway Cities areas, Line 260 is restructured and will now have two routes. It will operate from Pasadena to the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks subway station every 24 minutes, while Route 261 will operate from Pasadena to the Artesia subway station every 24 minutes.
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In the common section of both lines, the frequency from Pasadena to Atlantic and Imperial it will be every 12 minutes.
For Line 662, two new stops are added: westbound on Colorado Boulevard, at Raymond Avenue, and southbound on Fair Oaks Boulevard, at Colorado Boulevard, with a short detour westbound on Colorado Boulevard towards the Del Mar station.
The frequency of Line 665 on weekdays goes from a frequency of every 50 minutes to about 35 minutesincreasing passenger comfort and facilitating transfer connections to regional transit service.
Line 665 plays an important role at the connection of Boyle Heights, East LA, City Terrace and Rose Hill Transit Center to bring students from across the county to Cal State LA via transfer with regional bus and rail service.
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West and Central Los Angeles
In west and central Los Angeles, Metro adjusts four lines to adapt to the new schedules of schools in the area.
all lines offer service to Metro GoPass studentswhich offers a free transportation pass to students from schools enrolled in the program.
The routes and schools that provide the service are:
- Line 2 (Sunset-Alvarado): Thomas Starr King Middle School
- Line 10 (Melrose-Temple): Fairfax High School
- Line 20 (Wilshire): Burroughs Middle School
- Line 28 (Olympic): LA High School
To obtain more information and a complete list of changes on Metro bus routes with the new schedules, you can consult this link, along with the mybustool tool to help plan trips.
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