Los Angeles Opens 5.6 Miles of Bus Priority Lanes

As part of ongoing citywide efforts to save transit customers time and increase the reliability of bus service, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), and City of Los Angeles celebrated the opening of 5.6 miles of new bus priority lanes.

The new lanes will move 50,000 weekly bus riders through the congested Sepulveda Blvd. corridor while improving bus speeds by 15% or more and increasing service frequency.

The enhanced mobility moves more people and provides quick and easy access to nearly 40,000 jobs, over 88,000 residents, neighborhoods, businesses, and other key locations, including Sherman Oaks Galleria, Valley Presbyterian Hospital, and the Sepulveda G Line (Orange) Station, without widening streets or adding more infrastructure.

Benefits of the New Bus Priority Lanes

With the new bus priority lanes serving riders in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles will have approximately 51 miles of bus priority lanes across the city, with another 46 miles of bus lanes to be implemented over the next year.

The project also provides a faster and more reliable multimodal transit network, benefiting over 9,000 daily riders who typically ride Metro Bus Line 234.

In the Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys area, the bus-only segment runs along Sepulveda Boulevard between Ventura Boulevard and Rayen Street. Also included is a 0.9-mile bus lane that runs along westbound Ventura Boulevard from Vesper Avenue to Sepulveda Boulevard.

Full-Time Bus Lanes Added

• In creating the bus lanes, the project converted the rightmost traffic lane in each direction into a full-time bus lane. It also converted the rightmost traffic lane on northbound Sepulveda Boulevard into a full-time bus lane.

Conversion of Curbside Lanes

• Converts the curbside lane on westbound Ventura Boulevard between Vesper Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard into a peak hour bus lane from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays only and maintains virtually all curbside parking as it exists today.
• Repurposes 60 underutilized parking spaces along northbound Sepulveda Boulevard between Raymer Street and Lanark Street to serve as a full-time bus lane.
• Maintains two general traffic lanes and left turn lanes in each direction. Drivers can use the bus lanes to make right turns at intersections and driveways.

"Metro bus service along this busy corridor is nearly at pre-pandemic levels averaging 50,000 boardings a week in 2023," said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. "With the addition of bus priority lanes on Sepulveda Boulevard, riders will enjoy a faster and more reliable transit service that will save them valuable time. Metro thanks the City of LA for their partnership on this project, and we look forward to installing even more of these bus priority lanes in the year ahead."