LOS ANGELES | Transportation News & Discussion

[sopas ej]

World Cup USA Opening Ceremony as well as USA vs. Paraguay, this evening!

Don't forget to take public transportation to the stadium!

• Video Link

[ocman_]

The Metro shuttle buses took around 18000 people to Sofi on the first game, but I'm curious if many World Cup attendees took the metro system to the stadium. It doesn't seem like they did in any significant numbers. I get there's the last 1.3mi conundrum, but that just doesn't seem very long to me unless the walk is pedestrian hostile. I walk that on a lunch break.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by ocman_

The Metro shuttle buses took around 18000 people to Sofi on the first game, but I'm curious if many World Cup attendees took the metro system to the stadium. It doesn't seem like they did in any significant numbers. I get there's the last 1.3mi conundrum, but that just doesn't seem very long to me unless the walk is pedestrian hostile. I walk that on a lunch break.

Yeah, 1.3 miles isn't a bad walk at all, though of course there are the people who have mobility issues, or just aren't fast/brisk walkers. And yeah, I can imagine people driving to park-and-ride lots, and then taking the bus shuttles to SoFi. So far, there have only been 2 World Cup games at SoFi; there are six more to go. The true test of successful Metro ridership will be the Olympics in a few years.

According to this article, Metro overall saw an increase in riders from around this time last year:

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/p...ension-drove-May-ridership-growth--77143

Ridership on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) rail system in May increased 9.5% over the same period last year to 6,472,058.

Weekday ridership rose 8%, while weekend rail ridership was up 18% over last year, L.A. Metro officials said in a press release.

All but one of L.A. Metro's rail lines — the C Line — logged an increase in ridership in May. Ridership on the A Line grew 11.3%; the B Line was up 7%; the D Line increased 62%; the E Line grew 4%; and the K Line was up 48%.

I read in another article the other day, though, that Metro bus ridership went down.

[202_Cyclist]

I am not going to bother wasting my time posting the link to such garbage but the NY Post as a story (i.e. not an article based in facts) criticizing ridership on the D Line.

[sopas ej]

Oh yes, the NY Post. Usually sensationalist negative drivel.

I didn't find the article I read about LA Metro bus ridership, but this is from LA Metro's The Source:

While rail ridership increased, bus ridership declined 4.9% compared to May 2025. Some of that shift reflects riders choosing the expanded D Line service under Wilshire Boulevard instead of the two bus lines – the 20 and 720 — operating on Wilshire Boulevard. Ridership on Metro Line 720, declined 6.5% compared to a year ago. The D Line travels entirely underground and has cut transit travel times considerably.

Even with the shift, buses remained the backbone of the Metro system, accounting for more than 20.49 million boardings in May – or about 76% of Metro’s ridership for the month.

The Source article also talks about World Cup bus shuttle ridership, which ocman_ mentioned:

Direct World Cup service by Metro and its transit partners also had a strong start. Preliminary numbers show there were at least 18,541 rides for the opening match between the U.S. and Paraguay – the combined total of rides going to and from the match. The numbers grew to 26,206 for Monday night’s Iran versus New Zealand match.

Here's The Source article: https://thesource.metro.net/new-d-line-s...x-years-world-cup-service-starts-strong/

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

I am not going to bother wasting my time posting the link to such garbage but the NY Post as a story (i.e. not an article based in facts) criticizing ridership on the D Line.

I cant remember if it were the post ( it was a random article on MSN) but i read an article that stated "Angelenos should IMMEDIATELY stop funding its metro expansion, no one is using it, 50 billion dollars wasted on the D line extension with only 5k more riders"

And....i honestly thought it was a joke article and kept reading to see at the end a "HAHA JK" monment but it ended with "The US is a car country, wasting tax payers money on mass transit should be criminal"...... I was so confused because 50 billion dollars???? wasnt it 9 billion which honestly isnt bad for a tunnel under the most difficult stretch of terrain in the entire country haha and everyone is raving about the ridership numbers. So. long story short, people are idiots.

[ocman_]

More signs of success for the D line. It was flooded by World Cup viewers in Koreatown. It probably surpassed the huge crowd on opening day. IG link here

[craigs]

Metro plans to extend Eastside light rail to Montebello. Residents express their views


Downtown L.A. creates a backdrop for a passing Metro train. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Alejandra Molina
Los Angeles Times
June 19, 2026

Residents in East L.A. are weighing the promise of a new Metro E Line extension with concerns over construction disruptions, small business impacts and whether more outreach is needed about the project.

The 4.7-mile extension of the Metro E Line would connect East Los Angeles to Montebello with four new stations. The project would relocate the existing Atlantic station underground, and include a mix of underground, aerial and street-level track transit.

The $7.9-billion project is expected to open for service between 2035 and 2037, according to Metro.

Construction will begin in 2029 and last approximately eight to 10 years, pending full funding approval. It’s part of a wider plan to connect the E Line to the city of Whittier, though officials say the work will be built in two phases due to funding constraints.

While officials say the project is intended to reduce traffic congestion and ease pressure on local roads, residents at a recent community meeting focused more on the immediate impact and communication.
. . . .

[Easy]

Originally Posted by ocman_

The Metro shuttle buses took around 18000 people to Sofi on the first game, but I'm curious if many World Cup attendees took the metro system to the stadium. It doesn't seem like they did in any significant numbers. I get there's the last 1.3mi conundrum, but that just doesn't seem very long to me unless the walk is pedestrian hostile. I walk that on a lunch break.

There wasn't really a conundrum for the last mile because there were shuttle buses for both the C and K lines. I don't know about the C line, but I happened to be on the K line about 2-3 hours before kickoff for the Canada-South Africa game and the K line was VERY lightly used from what I saw. Maybe it picked up?

They had lots of buses but relatively few riders for the brief period that I was there. I also didn't see anyone getting off at downtown Inglewood that looked like they might be walking to the stadium.

The lesson for the Olympics may be that riders prefer taking a bus from closer to home than incorporating train trips.

[craigs]

Anecdotally, the number of homeless and violent riders has noticeably dropped in the year+ since I started riding the B Line. The higher fare gates and LAPD monitors nearby, the ambassadors on the platforms, and the LAPD checking Tap Cards on board the trains have combined to make a truly positive impact.


Homelessness has dropped 57% on Metro system since 2024, count finds

Colleen Shalby
Los Angeles Times
August 5, 2026

Homelessness on Metro’s rail and bus system has dropped by 57% since 2024, the agency announced this week.

Despite homelessness rising in Los Angeles and throughout L.A. County since 2025, the count on Metro’s buses and rail found a 31% drop over that year. Taken the evening of January 20, the estimate found 395 to 517 unhoused individuals on the system compared to 631 to 684 in 2025 and over 1,000 in 2024.

“This continued decline reflects the dedication of Metro employees and our many partners who work every day to address homelessness with compassion, accountability and coordination,” Metro chief executive Stephanie Wiggins said in a statement. “Creating the Care-Based Services Division reinforced our belief that public safety is strongest when care-based services and enforcement work together.”

After a 2024 surge in violence against bus drivers and on trains coincided with a significant drop in ridership, safety became a top priority for Metro leaders. The board approved the formation of an in-house police and emergency management department and brought in a longtime police chief to oversee the operation. Metro launched a program to better oversee its 300 ambassadors, homeless outreach teams and intervention specialists, who are tasked with proactively assisting riders, de-escalating mental health crisis situations and pre-empting gang violence without the presence of armed officers.
. . . .

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

I agree 100%. It's been a drastic improvement and they need to continue doing all of these things. Can't let anything slip at all