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.
