LA Metro Continues Ridership Growth in February

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) saw a 9.4% increase in total system ridership in February 2024 compared to February 2023 with more than 23 million boardings.

February 2024 marked the 15th consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth.

Metro’s Ongoing Success

In February 2024, Metro had 23,031,303 boardings on its bus and rail services. An average of 872,167 rides were taken each weekday with Saturday boardings averaging 662,561 and Sunday boardings averaging 516,388.

Metro’s February bus and rail ridership combined was at 80.8% of its February 2019 pre-pandemic level. Average weekend ridership in February was 97.2% of pre-pandemic (February 2019) levels and average February weekday ridership was 73.8% of its February 2019 pre-pandemic level.

Ridership continues to grow after the 2023 launch of Metro’s human-centric, multilayered approach to safety, improved cleanliness, improved reliability, and frequency of service, as well as fully restored bus service.

A Closer Look at LA Metro’s Ridership

Bus Ridership: Metro bus ridership saw a 10.6% year-over-year increase over February 2023. More than 18 million (18,073,168) rides were taken on Metro buses, with total bus ridership in February 2024 at 86.5% of its pre-pandemic (February 2019) level. Metro recorded an average of 688,956 bus boardings on weekdays in February, an average of 514,337 boardings on Saturdays and an average of 386,936 boardings on Sundays.

Rail Ridership: February 2024 marked the ninth month of operation for the newly reconfigured A and E Lines. The A Line, which serves customers from Azusa to Long Beach, saw 1,642,226 boardings. The E Line welcomed 1,057,112 users travelling on the line that services East L.A. to Santa Monica. The B/D subway lines saw the largest number of rail boardings during the month with 1,727,895 trips taken. Ridership on the A/E Lines combined was 2,699,338 during the month signaling riders are benefiting from the new Regional Connector A/E Line stations for more convenient one seat rides to and from downtown LA.

Leisure Travelers: Weekends continue to show the greatest ridership recovery as leisure travelers are increasingly turning to Metro. Average boardings on Saturdays reached 98.4% of February 2019 levels and on Sundays during the month average boardings reached 95.5% of February 2019 levels.

During February, weekend activities such as the Skyline LA music and art festival at Grand Park, the Firecracker Run and Festival in Chinatown, CicLAvia Melrose, and sporting events such as Los Angeles Football Club versus the Seattle Sounders at Exposition Park all welcomed riders to the system, boosting weekend ridership recovery.

Fare Programs

Metro continues to provide programs that make riding more affordable for everyone.

The agency’s reduced-price transit pass programs, such as the student GoPass pilot program, which offers free transit passes to K-12 and community college students, and its Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program, which provides free rides and reduced fares to low-income customers, are helping those who need it most.

In February, the GoPass Pilot Program saw 1,708,763 total boardings versus 1,459,167 in February 2023, a 17% increase. The LIFE Program observed a 20% increase in February ridership with 1,337,033 boardings compared to 1,075,678 in February 2023.

Metro’s fare capping policy provides riders who pay with a TAP card a set fare of no more $5 a day or $18 over seven days. Once they’ve reached those limits, they ride free for the remainder of the day or seven-day period.

And, Metro’s Mobility Wallet Pilot Program gives in-need Angelenos the freedom to choose the mode that best suits their travel requirements by providing a debit card with $150 per month to spend on transportation. The card can be used to take the bus, ride the train, use bike share, take Metro-Micro, and much more.