MAYOR GARCETTI LAUNCHES SECOND PHASE OF NEXTGEN BUS PLAN
A new dedicated bus lane on Alvarado Street was unveiled during the kickoff
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti today launched the second phase of the Metro NextGen Bus Plan, an ambitious strategy to boost ridership through faster, more reliable, and more frequent service as riders return to the system.
“Metro’s bus network is the backbone of our transit system, and the NextGen Plan is our next step toward higher ridership, faster and more reliable service, and lower emissions,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti. “This next phase of Metro services sends a clear message to Angelenos: We hear your feedback, and are working tirelessly to make our system work better for you.”
The second phase of the NextGen Bus Plan brings hundreds of new bus trips on weekdays and weekends, with a focus on additional mid-day bus service. The new phase also streamlines eight Metro Rapid Lines with local transit operators, increases annual revenue service hours from 5.6 million to 6.5 million, and resumes front-door boarding after only allowing rear door boarding during the pandemic.
The NextGen Bus Plan is Metro’s first major overhaul of its bus system in more than 25 years. To reinvent its bus network, Metro embarked on a two-and-a-half-year study of current travel demand to determine how to shift service toward Metro’s most utilized routes. In addition to realigning current bus service, consolidating routes, and improving bus speeds, the plan includes capital improvements — such as dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority, and new locations for bus layovers — to speed up service.
As a part of the kickoff, Mayor Garcetti also unveiled the plan’s newest dedicated bus lane. Once complete, it will run along a 1.7-mile segment of Alvarado Street between 7th Street and Sunset Boulevard, adding a bus priority lane in the peak direction from Monday through Friday during the morning and evening rush hours.
“The dedicated bus lanes along Alvarado will become a real game changer for the region and for the way Metro serves this heavily traveled corridor,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “We expect bus speeds to improve up to 15 percent and greatly enhance the customer experience through better reliability.”
After the third and final phase of the plan is implemented, 83 percent of riders would have access to buses arriving every five to 10 minutes — compared to only 48 percent today. In addition to increasing the number of bus lines running every five to 10 minutes from 16 to 29 on weekdays and two to 14 on weekends, the plan would also more than double the number of residents who could walk to bus lines running every five to 10 minutes — from 900,000 currently to almost 2.2 million.
