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LA Metro Marks 2 Consecutive Years of Ridership Growth

The combined bus and rail ridership for November reached nearly 88% of its 2019 pre-pandemic ridership level.

December 20, 2024
LA Metro Marks 2 Consecutive Years of Ridership Growth

The Metro bus system saw 20,031,255 trips taken in November, marking a 4.5% ridership increase compared to November 2023. 

Photo: LA Metro

2 min to read


L.A. Metro celebrated its 24th consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth in November with 25,844,065 boardings. The combined bus and rail ridership reached nearly 88% of its 2019 pre-pandemic ridership level. 

While Metro typically sees a drop in ridership during November and December due to the holiday season, Metro’s average weekday boardings still reached 84.4% of its 2019 pre-pandemic levels and on the weekends, ridership attained 99.3% of its pre-pandemic level. 

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Bus Ridership 

The Metro bus system saw 20,031,255 trips taken in November, marking a 4.5% ridership increase compared to November 2023. 

Weekday bus ridership saw an average of 760,985 daily boardings, while weekends saw an average of 528,078 trips on Saturdays, and an average of 434,233 trips on Sundays. 

November’s weekend bus ridership surpassed its pre-pandemic level for the first time marking a 102.9% increase of its November 2019 pre-pandemic level. 

Ridership on the Bus Rapid Transit J Line, which runs on dedicated bus lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways from El Monte to San Pedro, rose 5.5% compared to November 2023. 

Rail Ridership 

Rail boardings grew 11.2% in November 2024 over November 2023, with November 2024’s rail ridership standing at 75.3% of its November 2019 pre-pandemic level. 

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Weekday rail boardings grew by 12.2% year-over-year and reached 71.2% of its November 2019 pre-pandemic level. Weekend rail in November 2024 grew 13% year-over-year and is now at 89.6% its of pre-pandemic level. 

E Line ridership grew 14.1%, led by Saturday and Sunday boardings, which were 19.3% and 24.3% higher, respectively, in November 2024 compared to November 2023. 

The day of the Dodgers World Series Parade, Nov. 1, Metro saw approximately 80,000 additional rides on its system. 

Photo: LA Metro

Continuing Strong Leisure Ridership

Weekend and leisure riders continue to drive ridership growth. 

Weekend rail ridership exceeded its year-over-year ridership by 13% and reached 89.6% of its pre-pandemic November 2019 ridership. Notably, weekend bus boardings exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 2.9% for the first time. 

The day of the Dodgers World Series Parade, Nov. 1, Metro saw approximately 80,000 additional rides on its system. 

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