Los Angeles Metro Busway

Metro Busway
Overview
Locale Los Angeles County, California
Transit type Bus rapid transit
Number of lines 2
Number of stations 29
Daily ridership 42,334 (average weekday, May 2016)[1]
Operation
Began operation 2005
Operator(s) Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)
Technical
System length 60 mi (96.6 km)
System map

Metro Busway (previously known as Metro Liner), is a system of limited-stop bus services with bus rapid transit (BRT) features that operate primarily along exclusive or semi-exclusive roadways known locally as a "busway" or "transitway." There are currently two lines in the system, the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley, and the Silver Line between El Monte, Downtown Los Angeles and San Pedro. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) operates the system.

The first branded line to open was the Orange Line, a bus rapid transit (BRT) service which began operating on October 29, 2005, and runs along the exclusive Orange Line Busway. The Silver Line, a freeway express route linking the pre-existing Harbor Transitway & El Monte Busway began operating on December 13, 2009.

Metro Busway routes are designed to mimic the Metro Rail services, in both the vehicle's design and their operation. Buses on both lines use a silver livery (similar to the one used on Metro Rail), passengers can board at any door, and vehicles receive priority at intersections. Like Metro Rail, passengers who have a fare product loaded onto a TAP card can board from any door. TAP cards can be purchased at ticket vending machines (TVMs) located at most stations.

Current System

Lines

Metro Busway lines are named after colors and designated with colored squares. These colors and square icons are used to distinguish the lines on Metro's maps. Metro also uses colors for its Metro Rail lines but designates rail lines with colored circle icons.

Two Metro Busway lines operate in Los Angeles County:[2]

Line name Opening[2] Length[2] Stations[2] Termini Type
Orange Line Orange Line  2005 22 mi (35 km) 18 North Hollywood (east)
Warner Center (west)
Chatsworth (north)		 Bus rapid transit
Silver Line Silver Line  2009[lower-alpha 1] 38 mi (61 km) 11 El Monte Station (east)
Harbor Gateway Transit Center (south)
San Pedro (south)		 Freeway express bus
  1. ↑ The segments on which the Silver Line operates opened as the El Monte Busway in 1973 and as the Harbor Transitway in 1996. The Silver Line was not established as a through route until 2009.

Facilities

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

History

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 BRT expansions:

Segment description Date opened Line(s) Endpoints # of new
stations		 Length
(miles)
Metro Orange Line initial segment October 29, 2005 Orange North Hollywood station to Warner Center Transit Hub 13 14
Canoga station December 27, 2006 Orange Canoga station 1
[Note 1]		 −
Metro Silver Line initial segment December 13, 2009 Silver El Monte Station to Harbor Gateway Transit Center 8 26
37th Street/USC station December 12, 2010 Silver 37th Street/USC station 1
[Note 2]		 −
Metro Orange Line Chatsworth Extension June 30, 2012 Orange [Note 3] Canoga station to Chatsworth station 4 4
Metro Silver Line San Pedro Extension December 13, 2015 Silver Harbor Gateway Transit Center to San Pedro (Pacific/21th Street) 2 8
27 44

Notes:

  1. ↑ Canoga was a new station on 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 in size, and the entire station was reconfigured. There are now 4 platforms at Canoga station.
  2. ↑ When the Metro Silver Line station opened in 2009, buses did not serve the existing 37th Street/USC station due to detours from the construction of the Metro Expo Line. Service to the station was added one year later in 2010.
  3. ↑ When the Chatsworth Metro Orange Line Extension opened, the Orange Line was split into operating two different branches during the day: North Hollywood−Warner Center Transit Hub & North Hollywood−Chatsworth. After 7:30 p.m. 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ridership Statistics". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Facts At A Glance". Metro. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
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