For many years, several non-Metro bus agencies in Los Angeles County operated buses from their respective areas to Downtown LA, particularly those without Metro Rail service. Gardena was one of them. Its downtown bus (1X) also directly served Little Tokyo, connecting the Japanese American communities in Gardena and Los Angeles.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, GTrans temporarily cut the route to terminate at Harbor Freeway Station due to falling ridership and a reduced transit workforce. Riders could continue to Los Angeles via the Metro J (Silver) line. However, the line was still officially supposed to serve Downtown Los Angeles. This weekend’s service change will make the temporary change permanent.

1X used to serve Downtown LA seven days a week, but weekend service has been limited to Harbor Freeway Station since 2012. Weekday peak hour service to Los Angeles was available until March 2020. GTrans, like many other transit agencies, is slow to recover peak hour office worker ridership.

Its larger neighbor to the south, Torrance Transit, still operates a bus to Downtown Los Angeles six days a week.