LA Metro Celebrates Full Year of Continued Growth Ridership

The Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) on Dec. 20 announced that the agency saw an 11.3% increase in total system ridership in November 2023 compared to the previous year with more than 24 boardings, marking the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth.

According to LA Metro, the agency’s ridership in 2023 through November has now exceeded the level it posted for the entire calendar year of 2022. Through the first 11 months of 2023, LA Metro posted 261.5 million boardings, exceeding the 255.3 million seen in 2022.

In November, LA Metro had 24,218,275 boardings on its bus and rail services, which is 82% of its 2019 pre-pandemic level. Average weekend ridership was at almost 81% of pre-pandemic (November 2019) levels, with Saturday boardings averaging 635,228 boardings (87% of pre-pandemic) and Sunday boardings averaging 524,632 (96% pre-pandemic) boardings. Average weekday ridership was 907,343 boardings, marking the third consecutive month that weekday LA Metro ridership surpassed 900,000 boardings, coming in at 82.5% of pre-pandemic (November 2019) levels for the month.

November 2023 marked the fifth month of operation for the newly reconfigured A and E Lines. The A Line, which serves customers from Azusa to Long Beach, saw 1,633,593 boardings in November 2023. The E Line, which serves customers from East L.A. to Santa Monica, had 1,136,150 boardings during the month. The subway, which includes the B/D lines, saw the largest number of rail boardings during the month with 1,743,434 trips taken.

According to the agency, a fire under the I-10 Freeway in early November, which necessitated the closing of the freeway to vehicles for over a week, increased ridership on the A and E Lines during November as drivers chose to bypass the heavy traffic and detours by taking LA Metro. Notably, ridership on the E Line, which runs directly parallel to the 1-10 freeway, increased 7% during the closure period over the previous week.

LA Metro says its service for weekend events, including the LA Auto Show at the convention center, USC/UCLA Game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, LA Kings at Crypto.com arena and Rams and Chargers at SoFi Stadium also contributed to increased ridership on the weekends.

The agency’s “heightened focus on safety,” which has resulted in a 32% decrease in serious crimes across the system since June, improved reliability, frequency of service, and an increased number of Metro Ambassadors, who answer questions, provide direction and help customers navigate the system, “are all having a positive effect toward increased ridership and the overall customer experience,” LA Metro said.

LA Metro says its reduced-price transit pass programs, such as the student GoPass pilot program, which offers free transit passes to K-12 and community college students, and its Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program, which provides free rides and reduced fares to low-income customers, are making it easier for many to ride by providing accessible and affordable transit.

In November, the agency’s GoPass pilot program saw a 28% year-over-year increase over November 2022. Student boardings measured 1,772,606 riders with 1,589,336 student bus boardings and 183,270 student rail boardings. To date, the program has 343,980 registered students from 1,573 participating schools in 115 participating school districts. LA Metro’s LIFE program saw 1,390,470 boardings during November 2023 from the nearly 300,000 people enrolled in the program.

Throughout the month, LIFE Program street teams increased their presence and held 36 pop-up enrollment events. New LIFE enrollees receive a free 90-day pass and after the first 90 days, riders can either load 20 free rides or purchase a discounted pass from any of the LIFE participating transit agencies. The LIFE program, LA Metro says, helps qualifying Los Angeles County residents save money by providing free rides or deeply discounted fares on 13 transit systems across Los Angeles County.