Metro Liner (Los Angeles County)

Metro Liner

Overview

Locale

Los Angeles County, California

Transit type

Bus rapid transit

Number of lines

Number of stations

Daily ridership

38,304 (December 2014; avg. weekday boardings)^[1]

Operation

Began operation

2005

Operator(s)

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA)

Technical

System length

44 mi (70.8 km)

System map

Metro Liner (also known as Metro Transitway), refers to bus rapid transit services operated by Los Angeles County Metro that operate on bus lanes. There are currently two lines which belong to the bus rapid transit (BRT) network. The concept began on October 29, 2005, with the opening of Metro's first fully designated BRT line: the Metro Orange Line. Three years later in 2008, Metro began studying the possibly of operating a freeway/bus rapid transit line which would link the Harbor Transitway & El Monte Busway together. This concept was first explored in 1993, but due to a lack of funds, the study was canceled. In 2009, Metro received funds to operate the Dual Hub Bus Rapid Transit Route, which later became renamed to the Metro Silver Line. It took nearly 7 months after receiving the state funds to design the Silver Line's route, fare and frequencies. As of July 2012, the Metro Liner network is composed of 40 miles together. The Metro Liner concept has been very successful on the Metro Orange Line and the Silver Line's ridership has increased by 70% since it began service on December 13, 2009.

Metro Liner is designed to mimic the Metro Rail light rail services, in both the vehicle's design and their operation. Vehicles on both systems are painted in Metro Rail's silver livery, stop at all stations, passengers can board at any door, and vehicles receive priority at intersections. Like Metro Rail, when fully implemented, Metro Liner buses will not have fareboxes, and ticket vending machines (TVM) will be available at all stations, as it is the case on the Orange Line. The Metro Liner concept has not yet been fully incorporated into the Silver Line. As of January 2013, Metro is still currently evaluating the option of installing ticket vending machines at the Metro Silver Line 9 busway stations. On January 24, 2013, metro officials approved a plan to install 4 ticket vending machines for the Metro Silver Line at El Monte Bus Station.^[2] Metro is still waiting for approval to install ticket vending machines at the remaining 8 Metro Silver Line stations. As of now, payment is made on board the bus for the Metro Silver Line, while the Orange Line has ticket vending machines at all of its stations.

Lines Statistics

There are two Metro Liner lines as of 2012. Each line is associated with a color. The stations are denoted by a square and the color of the line. Metro Rail lines use circles instead of squares.

Line name	Stations	Street Stops	Termini
Orange Line	18	None	North Hollywood (East) Warner Center Transit Hub (West) Chatsworth(North)
Silver Line	9	10 Stops (northbound) & 11 Stops (southbound)	El Monte Station (North/East) Harbor Gateway Transit Center(West/South)

Lines

Metro currently operates two Metro Liner services:

The Metro Orange Line (opened on October 29, 2005) is a 18-mile (29 km) line traversing the southern San Fernando Valley from the Warner Center Transit Hub in Woodland Hills or from Chatsworth Station in the district of Chatsworth to the North Hollywood station where the line connects to the Metro Red Line. Metro Orange Line uses 60 feet (18 m) long, articulated buses. The Orange Line Chatsworth Extension opened June 30, 2012. Thus, there are 2 Metro Orange Line routes.One route is from North Hollywood station to Warner Center Transit Hub, which is the original Orange Line route which opened in 2005. The other route is from North Hollywood station to Chatsworth Station. During the weekday AM & PM peak hours, a shuttle runs between Warner Center Transit Hub & Chatsworth Station. After 7:30 p.m. each day, the Orange Line operates completely between Chatsworth Station, Warner Center Transit Hub & North Hollywood Station, thus serving 18 stations in total. The Orange Line runs 10-12 mins between the combined portion of the two branches which is between Canoga Station and North Hollywood Station. Outside the main portion, each branch runs approximately every 20 mins.

The Metro Silver Line (opened on December 13, 2009) is a 26-mile (42 km) line operating between the San Gabriel Valley from the El Monte Bus Station in El Monte to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center via Downtown Los Angeles.^[3] Metro Silver Line is operated with 45-foot buses.^[4] Fares will be collected onboard until TVM's can be installed at all 9 stations. Four ticket vending machines are currently being installed at El Monte Station for the Metro Silver Line. The Metro Silver Line is the only line in the Metro Rail and Liner system that did not have an opening ceremony day, unlike the other lines.It is essentially an express bus line which has a few BRT amenities. In contrast to the Orange Line, the Silver Line does not run on a dedicated busway, but instead, it runs on a shared-use busway and city streets as well. Unlike the other Metro Colored Lines (Red, Purple, Green, Orange, Gold, Blue, & Expo Lines), the Silver Line has a higher fare and different fare structure. The base fare is $2.50. Unlike the other colored lines in the system, the Silver Line was not constructed in order to begin operation. Instead, the concept came from connecting the Harbor Transitway & El Monte Busway together by operating only one line. Five Metro Express lines (Former Lines: 444, 446, 447, 484, & 490) were canceled, and the Silver Line replaced the express/freeway portions of the lines. The local portions of the lines were retained, and the lines were given new numbers. Several passengers have asked Metro to look into the possibly of extending the Metro Silver Line southern terminus at Harbor Gateway Transit Center to San Pedro and replace Metro Express Line: 450X. Passengers have claimed that such extension would provide a fast link between Downtown Los Angeles and San Pedro. As of July 2012, Metro has still not announced an extension as of now.

Busways/transitways

These services operate on three corridors (in addition to city streets, where necessary):

Operation

The Metro Orange line became Southern California's first bus rapid transit line. Four years later, the Metro Silver Line began operation. The concept is currently under study to open up new bus rapid transit routes.The following table shows the timeline of this expansion:

Segment description	Date opened	Line(s)	Endpoints	# of new stations	Length (miles)
Metro Orange Line Original Route	October 29, 2005	Orange	North Hollywood to Warner Center Transit Hub	13	14
Canoga Station	December 27, 2006	Orange	Canoga Station	1*	0.0
Metro Silver Line	December 13, 2009	Silver	El Monte Bus Station to Harbor Gateway Transit Center	8	26
37th Street/USC Station	December 12, 2010	Silver	37th Street/USC Station	1**	0.0
Metro Orange Line Chatsworth Extension	June 30, 2012	Orange***	Canoga to Chatsworth	4	4
				27	44

* Canoga was a new station for the Metro Orange Line, which opened one year later in 2006. The station was built to provide a parking lot near the Warner Center western terminus. When the Chatsworth 2012 Metro Orange Line Extension opened, Canoga's parking lot was reduced and the entire station was reconfigured. There are now 4 platforms at Canoga Station.
** Metro Silver Line was rerouted from a street stop at Figueroa St./Exposition Blvd. to serve the 37th Street/USC Station one year later after operation in 2010. The Silver Line was supposed to serve the 37th/USC Station, but due to construction of the Metro Expo Line, the Silver Line began service with a detour not to serve the station.
*** When the Chatsworth Metro Orange Line Extension opened, the Orange Line was split into operating 2 different branches during the day: North Hollywood- Warner Center Transit Hub & North Hollywood- Chatsworth. After 7:30 p.m., daily the Metro Orange Line combines both branches and operates between Chatsworth, Warner Center Transit Hub & North Hollywood. During weekday AM & PM peaks, an Orange Line shuttle runs between Warner Center Transit Hub- Chatsworth.

Pictures

Metro Orange Line route map inside a NABI 60 Orange Line bus.
Metro Silver Line arriving at LAC/USC Medical Center station, eastbound platform.
Interior of Metro Orange Line.
Northbound Metro Silver Line bus to Downtown LA & El Monte arrives at Harbor Freeway Green & Silver Lines Station.
Metro Orange Line at North Hollywood Red & Orange Lines station.
Slauson Silver Line Station southbound platform.
North Hollywood Orange Line Station platform.
Metro Silver Line departing Slauson/I-110 Station.