Harbor Transitway
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The Harbor Transitway is an 11-mile (18 km) high-occupancy vehicle roadway that runs in the median of Interstate 110 (Harbor Freeway) in Southern California, United States. The two-way roadway is open to vehicles with two or more occupants, and carries buses operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Orange County Transportation Authority, City of Gardena and City of Torrance. Five stations are located in the middle of the freeway; a sixth (the Artesia Transit Center) is off to the side of the interchange with the Gardena Freeway, and is also served by surface routes. Further south, several sections of bus-only lane, including separate roadways at two stations, exist on the sides of the freeway; buses must use a piece of Figueroa Street to reach that part from the Artesia Transit Center. The Transitway and stations have characteristics common to bus rapid transit, but no special buses are used.
Its main competitors are the Metro Blue Line to Long Beach and the Metro Rapid Line 745, just a block away on Broadway. Ridership on the Transitway is not officially tabulated because service on the Transitway consists of several Metro Express lines, two routes operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority, and services operated by the cities of Gardena, Los Angeles, and Torrance. However, anecdotally, ridership is deemed to be low, especially at the intermediate stations. The main causes for the low ridership are the premium express fare charged to passengers compared to riders on the Blue Line and Metro Rapid (up to $1 more each way than a trip made on the Rapid or Blue Line), the isolated and noisy freeway environment of the stations, and the inconvenience of accessing the stations (and lack of surrounding uses) around the stations compared to surface level light rail or Rapid service. In addition, frequency is inconsistent and the time between buses can be up to 30 minutes during the middle of the day.
Metro includes the Transitway in a bronze color in rail system maps, however, the line is not officially called the Metro Bronze Line. [1] All services Metro operates on the Harbor Transitway are sometimes referred to as Line 940, this allows the transitway running portions to be placed on one timetable since most buses serve all stations. This line designation is rarely used by residents, and also does not appear on signs.
Buses originate from West Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles, with final destinations in Anaheim, Fullerton, Gardena, Huntington Beach, San Pedro, Rancho Palos Verdes, and Torrance.
[edit] Station list
From North to South.
| Station | Metro Services | Harbor Transitway Services | Other Connections | Postmile[2] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th St/Metro Center | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 444, 445, 446, 447, 450X, 460 LADOT Commuter Express: 438, 448 Orange County Transportation Authority: 701, 721 |
Metro Local: 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 26, 37, 51, 52, 60, 62, 66, 76, 78, 79, 81, 316, 352, 366, 376, 378, 381 Metro Express: 439, 484, 485, 487, 489, 490 Metro Rapid: 714, 720 Antelope Valley Transit Authority: 785 Foothill Transit: 480, 482, 486, 488, 492, 493, 494, 497, 498, 499, 699 LADOT Commuter Express: 409, 422, 423, 430, 431, 437, 534 LADOT DASH: A, B, C, DD (Weekends Only), E (Weekends Only), F (Weekends Only) Montebello Bus Lines: 40, 50, 341, 342, 343 Santa Clarita Transit: 799 Santa Monica Big Blue Bus: 10 Torrance Transit: 1, 2 |
Street running section. | |
| Pico-Chick Hearn | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express:439, 442, 444, 445, 446, 447, 468 LADOT Commuter Express: 438, 448 |
Metro Local: 30, 31, 81, 330, 381 LADOT DASH: A, DD (Weekends Only), F (Weekends Only) LADOT Commuter Express: 419, 422, 423 |
Street running section. | |
| Adams Boulevard | LA 20.71 | Northern terminus of the Harbor Transitway. Northbound exit. | |||
| Flower Street | LA 20.70 | Southbound entrance. | |||
| 37th Street Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 444, 445, 446, 447 LADOT Commuter Express: 438, 448 Orange County Transportation Authority: 701, 721 |
Metro Local: 81, 381 Metro Express: 550 USC Shuttle |
LA 19.93 | |
| 39th Street | LA 19.68 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance. | |||
| Slauson Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 442, 444, 445, 446, 447, 460, 550 LADOT Commuter Express: 438, 448 Orange County Transportation Authority: 701, 721 Gardena Bus Lines: 1 Torrance Transit: 1, 2 |
Metro Local: 45, 46, 81, 108, 358, 381 Metro Rapid: 745 LADOT DASH: Chesterfield Square |
LA 17.98 | |
| Manchester Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 444, 445, 446, 447, 460, 550 LADOT Commuter Express: 438, 448 Orange County Transportation Authority: 701, 721 Gardena Bus Lines: 1 Torrance Transit: 1, 2 |
Metro Local: 45, 46, 81, 115, 305, 315, 381 Metro Rapid: 745 |
LA 15.99 | |
 Interstate 105 |
LA 13.8 | Southbound exit to and northbound entrance from I-105 HOV lanes. | |||
| Harbor Freeway/I-105 Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 444, 445, 446, 447, 450X, 550 LADOT Commuter Express: 448 Orange County Transportation Authority: 721 Gardena Bus Lines: 1 (Northbound) |
Metro Local: 45, 46, 81, 120, 214, 381 Metro Rapid: 745 Torrance Transit: 1, 2 Gardena Bus Lines: 1 (Southbound) |
LA 13.8 | |
| Rosecrans Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 444, 445, 446, 447, 550 | Metro Local: 125 | LA 11.89 | |
| Artesia Transit Center | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 444, 445, 446, 447, 450X, 550 | Metro Local: 52, 130, 205, 214, 352 Torrance Transit: 1, 6 Carson Circuit: North / South Shuttle |
LA 9.66 | Southern terminus of the Harbor Transitway. |
| Carson Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 445 | Metro Local: 205 Metro Express: 550 Torrance Transit: 1, 3 Carson Circuit: F, S |
LA 7.02 | Station on right-hand side of freeway on a dedicated lane. |
| Pacific Coast Highway Station | Harbor Transitway | Metro Express: 445 | Metro Local: 205, 232 Metro Express: 550 LADOT Commuter Express: 448 Torrance Transit: 7 |
LA 4.08 | Station on right-hand side of freeway on a dedicated lane. |
[edit] Future Expansion
As the Transitway reaches downtown Los Angeles and exits the the Harbor Freeway, ramps are built to take buses and cars to Adams Boulevard and Flower Street. These ramps were intentionally "overbuilt" as the elevated transitway/HOV lane was originally meant to be extended, and was originally intended in some way, to meet the El Monte Busway, possibly somewhere near Union Station.
No plans have yet been discussed for extending the Harbor Freeway HOV lane terminus.
[edit] References
| Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (website) | |
| Metro Bus | Metro Local – Metro Rapid – Metro Express |
| Metro Rail | Red Line – Purple Line – Blue Line – Green Line – Gold Line – Expo Line (future) |
| Metro Liner | Orange Line |
| Metro Transitways | Harbor Transitway – El Monte Busway |
| Connecting rail | Amtrak – Amtrak California – Metrolink |
| Other information | Union Station – Metro Fleet – Transportation of Los Angeles |
