Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Metro Rail is a rail mass transit system with two subway and four light rail lines. As of November 2016, the system runs a total of 105 miles (169 km), with 93 stations[1] and over 316,000 daily weekday boardings. Starting in 2019, lines will be renamed with lettered designations, citing a lack of distinct colors available for future services.[9]

 A Line (Blue) (opened 1990) is a light rail line running between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Long Beach.

 B Line (Red) (opened 1993) is a subway line running between Downtown Los Angeles and North Hollywood.

 C Line (Green) (opened 1995) is a light rail line running between Redondo Beach and Norwalk, largely in the median of the 105 Freeway. It provides indirect access to Los Angeles International Airport via a shuttle bus.

 D Line (Purple) (opened 1996 as the Red Line) is a subway line running between Downtown Los Angeles and the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles. Most of its route is shared with the Red Line.

 E Line (Expo) (opened 2012) is a light rail line running between Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.[10]

 L Line (Gold) (opened 2003) is a light rail line running between East Los Angeles and Azusa via Downtown Los Angeles.[11]

A Metro Liner vehicle at the North Hollywood station on the Orange Line.

Metro Busway is an express bus system with characteristics of bus rapid transit with two lines operating on dedicated or shared-use busways. The system runs a total of 60 miles (97 km), with 28 stations and over 42,000 daily weekday boardings as of May 2016.

The Metro Busway system is meant to mimic the Metro Rail system, both in the vehicle's design and in the operation of the line. Vehicles stop at dedicated stations (except the Metro Silver Line portion in Downtown Los Angeles), vehicles receive priority at intersections and are painted in a silver livery similar to Metro Rail vehicles.

 G Line (Orange) (opened in 2005) is a bus rapid transit line running between North Hollywood and Chatsworth.

 J Line (Silver) (began operation in 2009) is a limited-stop bus line running between El Monte, Downtown Los Angeles, and Harbor Gateway, with some buses also serving San Pedro.

Metro is the primary bus operator in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and the western San Gabriel Valley. Other transit providers operate more frequent service in the rest of the county. Regions in Los Angeles County that Metro Bus does not serve at all include rural regions, the Pomona Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, and the Antelope Valley.

Metro operates two types of bus services which are distinguished by the color of the buses.[12] However, when mechanical problems or availability equipment occurs, a bus of any color may be substituted to continue service on the route.

A Metro Local bus on Line 81 (Figueroa St.) with its trademark orange color

Metro Local buses are painted in an off-orange color which the agency has dubbed “California Poppy”. This type of service makes frequent stops along major thoroughfares. There are 18,500 stops on 189 bus lines. Some Metro Local routes make limited stops along part of their trip but do not participate in the Rapid program. Some Metro Local bus lines are operated by contractors MV Transportation, Southland Transit, and Transdev (formerly Veolia).

A Metro Rapid articulated bus on Line 720 (Wilshire Blvd. Whittier Blvd.).

Metro Rapid buses are distinguished by their bright red color which the agency has dubbed “Rapid Red”. This bus rapid transit service offers limited stops on many of the county's more heavily traveled arterial streets. Metro claims to reduce passenger commute times by up to 25% by several methods, among them a headway-based schedule so that drivers are not held up at certain stops and signal priority for Rapid buses.[13]

A Metro Express bus on Line 577X (San Gabriel River Frwy.) at CSULB in Long Beach

Metro Express Line 460 serves Knott's Berry Farm

Metro Express buses used to be painted in a dark blue color which the agency had formerly dubbed “Business Blue”, with routes designed as premium, minimal stop services along Los Angeles's extensive freeway network. There are 9 lines running as of Nov. 2019: 442, 456 (pilot)[14], 460, 487, 489, 501, 534, 550, and 577.

Some Metro Local lines also use the county's freeway system along their trip. They are labeled as Express services but make more stops on their trips and are not considered to be "premium" Metro Express lines.

All Metro buses are CNG-powered, the largest such fleet in the United States.[15] The CNG fleet reduces emissions of particulates by 90%, carbon monoxide by 80%, and greenhouse gases by 20% compared to diesel powered buses. Alternative fuel buses have logged more than 450 million operating miles since 1993, an industry record.

Metro operates two transitways that carry multiple bus routes for part of their trips through Southern California. When traveling within the transitways, the buses run in express service, stopping only at stations. The transitways are meant to mimic the Metro Rail lines, because while each bus may have a different final destination passengers can board any bus and travel to any of the other stations. The two transitways are connected by a dedicated Metro Busway route, the Metro J Line.

• El Monte Busway (opened in 1974) is a combination transitway and high-occupancy toll (HOT) roadway that runs in the median of the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10) and on a separate right-of-way. The transitway provides express bus service between Downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. Services are operated by both Metro and Foothill Transit.
• Harbor Transitway (opened in 1998) is a combination transitway and HOT roadway that runs in the median of the Harbor Freeway (I-110). The transitway provides express bus service between San Pedro and Downtown Los Angeles. It carries buses operated by Metro, Orange County Transportation Authority, LADOT, Gardena Municipal Bus Lines and Torrance Transit.

• Metro Freeway Service Patrol: A joint effort between Metro, Caltrans, and CHP offering free quick-fix repairs and towing from freeways.
• HOV (Carpool) Lanes: 219 miles (352 km), 423 miles (681 km) both directions/each lane, of carpool, vanpool, and express bus lanes.
• Bike paths: 475 miles (764 km) of bikeways for commuter and recreational purposes.
• Metrolink: Partially funded by Metro, it is Southern California's regional commuter rail system serving the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area (L.A., O.C., Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties), as well as Oceanside in northern San Diego County.
• A bikeshare program called "Metro Bike Share"[16] which operates within Downtown Los Angeles, Venice, and the Port of Los Angeles. The system was introduced in early 2016 at a cost $16 million and uses about 1,400 bikes and 93 stations.[17] Metro briefly expanded the service to Pasadena, but they ended it in September 2018 due to low ridership.[18]

Fares are free during the COVID-19 pandemic; on buses, passengers must board from rear door.

All Metro passes are sold on TAP Cards, smart fare cards on which customers can load value or a pass; they are valid on all Metro buses and trains as well as most city buses.

Faregates at some Metro Rail stations and the G Line require a TAP card, but Metro as a whole operates on a proof-of-payment system. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Long Beach Police Department and Metro's fare inspectors conduct random ticket inspections throughout the system. If customers are caught without a valid TAP card, they may be fined and/or subject to community service.

Fare evasion was estimated in 2007 to be at 6%, costing Metro $2.6 million annually. In response to this, the Metro board approved fare gating of all stations on the Red and Green Lines, and selected stations on the Orange, Blue, and Gold Lines, capturing 84% of passengers using the system. Adding fare gates was selected to increase fare collections, implement distance based fares on rail and transitways in the future, and reduce the potential of the system to terrorist attack.[19] Former Metrolink executive director Richard Stanger critiqued the gate installation by citing its cost and ineffectiveness, concerns ultimately dismissed by the Metro board.[20]

In 2007, with the consent decree with the Bus Riders Union (BRU) expired, Metro announced plans for a fare hike. The agency said that it needed to reduce its $100 million deficit, which would be done either by raising fares or reducing service. This proposal garnered strong opposition from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Bernard Parks, the BRU, and low-income residents.

Starting July 15, 2018, inter-agency paper transfers were discontinued on Metro buses. Instead, riders must now use a TAP card when transferring between Metro and municipal buses.[21] (This payment method uses the Stored Value format, which first deducts the base fare, then the inter-agency's transfer amount is deducted when passengers transfer.)

In May 2009 Metro started to set up a Multi Mobility Working Group, which may lead to a change in TDM funding for bicycle projects as detailed in a separate entry on bicycle transportation planning in Los Angeles.

The Crenshaw/LAX Line is being built from Aviation/LAX station on the Green Line to Expo/Crenshaw station on the Expo Line, passing through Inglewood and Crenshaw, Los Angeles. It will connect with a people mover to serve Los Angeles International Airport. A further phase will extend the line to Hollywood to connect with the Red Line.

Metro is planning an extension of the Gold Line into the San Gabriel Valley to the San Bernardino County border city of Montclair. The first phase of this extension, to Azusa, opened on March 5, 2016. Construction for Phase 2 began on December 2, 2017 and is expected to complete by early 2026.

The Regional Connector is a tunnel under Downtown Los Angeles, joining the Gold Line at Little Tokyo Station (1st Street and Central Avenue) to the A Line (Blue Line) and E Line (Expo Line) at 7th Street/Metro Center. This will lead to the creation of two lines, one between Long Beach and Azusa, and the other between East Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

Phase 1 of the Purple Line Extension will add three new subway stations to the D Line (Purple Line) at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega. Further phases will extend the D line to Century City and Westwood. Construction of the second section began in 2018.[36]

The West Santa Ana Transit Corridor has been designated as a priority for mass transit development, making use of the mostly disused Pacific Electric West Santa Ana Branch via Stanton and Garden Grove to Santa Ana for future expansion of rail or busway service. The current proposal is a light rail line with a new route from Union Station to the Green Line, then the West Santa Ana Branch right-of-way to Artesia.[37][38]

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is collaborating with the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove on the OC Streetcar on the southerly portion of the West Santa Ana Branch.[39]

Metro aims to have a fully electric bus system by 2030, along with a full switch to electric operations for the Orange and Silver lines by 2020 and shortly after, respectively. [40]

Measure M, passed on November 2016, extends and increases the Measure R 30-year half-cent sales tax to a permanent one-cent sales tax. This tax is expected to fund $120 billion in highway and transit projects over 40 years.[41] The tax is also expected to support over 778,000 jobs in the Los Angeles area and $79.3 billion in economic output.[42]

Projects to be funded by Measure M include:[41][43]

• Construction of the Aviation/96th Street station to connect the Crenshaw/LAX Line to LAX terminals via the Airport Metro Connector
• Extension of the Crenshaw/LAX Line to Hollywood, connecting to the Red Line at Hollywood/Highland station
• A streetcar in Downtown Los Angeles
• The third segment of the Purple Line extension, from Century City to Westwood/VA Hospital
• The Los Angeles County portion of the High Desert Corridor: a freeway, rail transit, and bikeway corridor linking cities in the Antelope and Victor Valleys. Caltrans put the freeway on hold in 2019.[44]
• Bus Rapid Transit connecting the Orange and Red Lines in North Hollywood with the Gold Line in Pasadena
• Conversion of the Orange Line from Bus Rapid Transit to Light Rail
• Light Rail along Van Nuys Boulevard to San Fernando
• Light Rail along the West Santa Ana Branch from Union Station to Artesia
• Bus Rapid Transit along Vermont Avenue between the Red Line at Hollywood Blvd. and the Green Line at 120th St.
• Southern extension of the Green Line to Torrance Transit Center
• Eastern extension of the Green Line to the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Metrolink station
• Heavy Rail tunnel underneath or monorail over the Sepulveda Pass linking the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley and the Purple Line at Westwood/UCLA
• Heavy Rail or Monorail extension from the Purple line at Westwood/UCLA to LAX
• Extension of the Gold Line from East Los Angeles with a branch to Whittier next to the San Gabriel River
• Bus Rapid Transit from LAX to the Expo Line at Santa Monica along Lincoln Blvd.
• Bus Rapid Transit in the North San Fernando Valley

Metro has a project list including all current projects being pursued in Los Angeles County, as well as an interactive map.