If you rely on public transit to get around the county, your daily commute might look a bit different from now on. This week, Metro rolled out its biannual service update, rewriting timetables for multiple routes, which will help “reducing passenger wait times and ensuring more reliable transfers”.
From a new late-night connection to LAX to optimized subway schedules, here is your guide to navigating the latest updates.
Key system upgrades to discover
- Extended Late-Night LAX Access (C Line): Traveling to the airport late at night is now significantly easier. The final two westbound C Line trips of the night now extend directly to the brand-new LAX/Metro Transit Center Station on both weekdays and weekends.
- Subway Connections (B & D Lines): If you are traveling after 9:00 p.m., final trains departing from the newly opened La Cienega terminus and Union Station will now leave exactly one minute later to guarantee seamless transfers.
- Weekend Exploring (J Line 910): A new weekend trip has been added at 11:40 a.m. on both Saturdays and Sundays, smoothing out midday travel between the South Bay, Gateway Cities, and Downtown LA.
Commute Boosts:
- Line 48 (South LA/DTLA): Three extra weekday trips have been added, including two extra southbound slots during the morning rush (6:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.).
- Line 166 & 489: Line 166 adds an eastbound trip in the 2:00 p.m. block, while Line 489 gains an eastbound commuter trip in the 6:00 p.m. window.
- Line 244 (Chatsworth): A specialized morning trip running strictly on school days has been added to transport students safely to Chatsworth High School.
📍 Cuts and reroutes to keep on your radar
Metro trimmed a few underutilized routes and adjusted select stops to bypass local street congestion:
- A new commercial development at Ventura Blvd and Rigoletto St has prompted a permanent loop change. The southbound stop at Fallbrook Ave & Ventura Blvd is closed; riders will now use the new stop on Ventura Blvd eastbound at Fallbrook Ave.
Targeted Trip Reductions:
- Line 2 (Westside/DTLA): One eastbound trip in the 5:00 a.m. hour has been removed.
- Line 28 (Century City/DTLA): Removed one eastbound trip (9:00 a.m. hour) and one westbound trip (6:00 p.m. hour).
- Line 51 (Mid-City/South LA): Rush-hour windows are shifting from rigid 5-minute intervals to a more flexible 5.5- to 7.5-minute range to align with standard NextGen service structures.
- Line 204 (Central LA/South LA): Reduced two weekday evening trips (6:00 p.m. northbound / 7:00 p.m. southbound) and one Saturday trip (6:00 p.m. northbound).
By revising the timetables for 42 weekday routes, 37 Saturday routes, and 22 Sunday routes, the transit system is educing passenger wait times across the board and ensuring more reliable transfers so you aren’t left stranded on a platform or sidewalk.
To ensure your next cross-town trip goes smoothly, you can pull up the exact, real-time timetable for your specific stop directly at metro.net/mybus.
