Metro ridership levels continued upward trend in June

For a 19th straight month, overall Metro ridership increased in June compared to the same period a year earlier -- with the transit agency reporting almost 25.2 million boardings between buses and rails, and ridership hitting 85.5% of pre-COVID June 2019 passenger levels.

Data released Monday showed a combined bus and rail total of some 18.7 million boardings on weekdays last month, bringing ridership to 82.1 percent of its pre-pandemic levels, the agency said.

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Meanwhile, weekend numbers were up 32.2% over weekend ridership in June 2023, with combined bus and rail boardings reaching 97.7% of June 2019, pre-pandemic levels.

Saturday boardings on bus and rail combined reached 94.6% of June 2019 levels, while Sunday average combined boardings exceeded pre-pandemic levels -- achieving 101.6 percent of June 2019 levels.

Metro officials attributed the weekend increases to the start of summer, with more people taking buses or trains to weekend concerts, parades, festivals and sporting events.

The LA Pride in the Park Concert on June 8 provided a particularly bustling day at the Chinatown Station, which saw a 197 percent ridership increase compared to recent Saturdays, the agency said.

The following day, the Hollywood/Vine Station saw a 188 percent ridership increase, while the Hollywood/Highland Station had 73 percent ridership increase as riders headed to the LA Pride Parade and Block Party.

On Sunday, June 23, Metro's K Line saw a 10 percent increase in ridership as riders headed to CicLAvia South LA ,delivering a 5 percent ridership increase on the entire Metro system for that day.

There were about 19.5 million rides taken on Metro's bus system in June, a 4.6% year-over-year ridership increase. Weekday bus ridership stood at 14.7 million trips taken.

Overall rail boardings in June stood at 5.6 million, with more than 4 million trips taken on weekdays, a 79% increase over June 2019 ridership.

The increases come as Metro continues efforts to bolster public safety on the system amid a recent spike in violent crimes.

"Metro's law enforcement partners have expanded their visible presence on the rail system, and more Metro Transit Security (MTS) officers have been added to enforce Metro's Customer Code of Conduct rules on both the bus and rail system," an agency statement said.

"As part of the MTS surge, Metro Transit Security Bus Safety Teams (BSTs) performed end-of-line operations during late-night `Owl' service on some of the busiest bus lines. Metro Ambassadors are also out in force on Metro's six rail lines and five of the busiest bus lines, to provide support to customers and keep a watchful eye out for problems."

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