On July 1st, Santa Maria Regional Transit will operate bus service to, from, and within the City of Guadalupe. Previously, the city funded the service separately and it was operated by a contractor. The cities hope the consolidation will improve service for riders.
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Rosemead GO microtransit replaces Rosemead Explorer fixed route shuttles
On July 1st, the City of Rosemead launched a new microtransit service, replacing fixed-route shuttles for the general public and a dial-a-ride program for seniors and people with disabilities. The Rosemead GO provides corner-to-corner service for the general public and curb-to-curb service for registered seniors and people with disabilities. Riders can book rides via an app or by calling (626) 572-4099. Service is available seven days a week. The fare is $1 per ride, but the first 10 rides are free until October 1st.
Metrolink offers new fares
As part of the plan to transform from a commuter rail system into an all-day, all-purpose transit network, Metrolink is implementing a new fare plan to attract new riders who find the current fares too expensive. The plan also includes eliminating certain fare types that are underutilized or redundant.
New fare types include a systemwide SoCal Day Pass, valid all day for any trip on the system. The Day Pass costs $15 on weekdays and $10 on weekends.
Another option is the $5 LA Zone Day Pass, valid for any trip between stations near the Los Angeles area. These include:
- L.A. Union Station
- Glendale
- Burbank – Downtown
- Burbank Airport – North
- Burbank Airport – South
- Cal State L.A.
- Commerce
- Montebello/Commerce
The other option is the 5-day Flex Pass, which is valid for trips between two stations on any five days within 30 days.
The round-trip tickets, 7-day pass, and 10-day Flex Pass have been retired.
Fare hikes in the Bay Area starting July 1
Facing budget difficulties in the upcoming fiscal year, three Bay Area agencies will be raising fares on July 1. Agencies include Muni in San Francisco, AC Transit in the East Bay, and Caltrain.
For the last several years, Muni, AC Transit, and Caltrain held off fare hikes due to the pandemic relief funds and the desire of maintaining ridership after a sharp decline since the pandemic social distancing restrictions. For Muni, this is the second phase of fare hike post-COVID since the first phase in January. Meanwhile, BART has been raising fares for the last few years as part of long standing policy.
In addition to budgetary needs, many agencies find fares necessary to improve public safety onboard transit. Rather than skipping fares, Bay Area agencies encourage low-income riders to participate in the Clipper Start program, where qualified riders receive a 50% discount on regular adult one-way fares across the Bay Area.
25th Anniversary of the Metro Rapid service
A quarter century ago, Los Angeles Metro introduced Metro Rapid service with two routes: 720 on Wilshire and 750 along Ventura in the San Fernando Valley. Despite its focus on expanding rail service for the 2028 Olympics, LA Metro is not acknowledging this anniversary.
Metro Rapid aimed to provide faster bus service by incorporating features of bus rapid transit and reducing crowding. These routes featured iconic red buses, in contrast to the then-standard white buses with orange stripes, and operated on a headway-based service with signal priority. Rapid buses had no timepoints after departing the first stop, allowing drivers to travel as quickly as possible, serving branded stops spaced half a mile to a mile apart.
Metro Rapid emerged from a civil rights lawsuit by the Bus Riders Union in the 1990s. The BRU accused the transit agency of racial discrimination by prioritizing rail expansions and neglecting bus service. In 1996, a federal court issued a consent decree, requiring the transit agency not to raise fares and to increase bus service levels to alleviate overcrowding. The two Metro Rapid routes achieved their goal of speeding up service by over 20% and improving ridership by 25 to 40%. This initial success also inspired other agencies to adopt the same model, such as the VTA Rapid 522 in San Jose, introduced in 2005.
At the same time, the agency opened the Red Line extension to North Hollywood, coinciding with Metro Rapid’s launch. Due to issues faced during subway planning and construction in the 90s, there was significant political resistance to rail, particularly subway expansions. LA Congressman Henry Waxman passed legislation banning federal subway funding over safety concerns after a methane explosion at a Ross store in Wilshire-Fairfax in 1985. This led to a change in the Red Line’s route under Hollywood Blvd instead of Wilshire. This anti-rail sentiment also prompted the agency to implement Bus Rapid Transit for the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley rather than rail, and the all-surface Gold Line light rail from Pasadena only to LA Union Station.
When the service was introduced, Metro promised a large expansion of Metro Rapid service, which it delivered. Metro had a total of 28 Metro Rapid routes, serving corridors like Venice, Atlantic, Santa Monica, and Crenshaw. Many of the routes were converted from peak hour-only 300 limited-stop service. Some routes were discontinued due to low ridership, but most were consolidated with local service under the NextGen plan implemented in 2020, which aimed to improve local service by reducing bus stops. The only remaining Metro Rapid routes are on Wilshire, Vermont, and Van Nuys/Sepulveda. Besides Metro, other transit agencies in the region also implemented Rapid service, including Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, Culver City Bus, and Torrance Transit, many of which are still operating today.
Wilshire remains a strong and productive rapid route, as it features transit-friendly, high-density land use along the corridor, largely without rail service. However, this will change with the extension of the D Line past Western later this year. Despite the initial subway ban, county voters passed Measure R in 2008 and Measure M in 2016 to fund rail projects, leading to the rescinding of the subway funding ban. The consent decree also expired, and BRU no longer had the same leverage over the transit agency. Improvements in construction techniques addressed safety concerns over methane.
Other Rapid corridors, including Van Nuys and the Sepulveda Pass, have rail projects being planned that could replace them. The only corridor without a planned rail project is Vermont.
While events such as the COVID pandemic and the recent ICE random crackdowns have affected transit ridership, Metro’s adult single ride fare remains under $2 and has not increased in more than 10 years, a legacy of BRU’s advocacy.