Metro Improves Frequency of Morning and Afternoon Rush Hour
Beginning June 27, Metro will add additional train service on the Metro Gold Line to improve the frequency of trains during both morning and afternoon peak periods to handle continued ridership growth.
The added service will allow trains on the line to operate every six minutes during the peak periods from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Metro Gold Line trains presently operate every seven to eight minutes during the peak periods. A total of five, two-car trains will be added to improve the service.
The Metro Gold Line is a 19.7-mile light rail line that operates between Pasadena and East Los Angeles and serves Union Station in downtown Los Angeles where patrons can make easy connections to Metro buses and Metro Red/Purple lines as well as Amtrak and Metrolink trains.
May ridership levels on the Metro Gold Line reached 36,623 average weekday boardings, an increase over May 2010 ridership of 32,434. Weekend ridership remains high with over 25,000 boarding passengers using the service on Saturday and nearly 19,000 on Sunday.
“With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon and the summer months ahead, providing this added service on the Metro Gold Line will be welcome relief to our Gold Line passengers,” said Metro CEO Art Leahy.
Also beginning Monday, June 27, Metro will improve the frequency of Metro Silver Line buses operating along the Harbor Freeway Transitway. The Metro Silver Line (El Monte-Los Angeles-Artesia Transit Center) will operate every 15 minutes during mid-days on weekdays and every 40 minutes on Saturday.
In August, riders can enjoy a price break for the popular Day Pass that will be sold for $5, down from the current price of $6. The Metro Day Pass allows users unlimited travel on all Metro operated buses and trains for the day the pass is purchased.
Under the Board approved program, the Metro Day Pass will be lowered as part of a 1-year test to determine whether the price roll back will encourage more commuters to try the Metro system. In addition, Metro TAP cards will begin to be sold on board Metro buses to make it more convenient to customers.
Also beginning in August, Metro monthly and weekly passes will be replaced by 7- and 30-day rolling passes – with time beginning the day they are first used rather than on the first day of the week or month. The new rolling passes will be sold every day, so riders can buy them when it’s convenient.