Welcome to my first Transportation Thoughts Thursday! This is an editorial component of Urbsearch where I (David) get to share some of my personal thoughts, ideas, and opinions on various transportation topics. Suggestions for future posts are welcomed! And if you’re interested in the real projects happening, check out our Story map which has a bunch of facts and resources about various LA area transportation projects!
LA’s Most Exclusive Bus
As I waited for a bus on the corner of Temple Street and Vignes Street, I was filled with excitement. Not because of any special obsession with buses (but I do love buses) or even because of the happy hour where I was going. I was excited to finally experience a one seat transit ride from the Arts District in Downtown LA to Culver City.
Of course, now I can make this trip entirely on the E Line from the Little Tokyo/Arts District station, saving me so much time and inconvenience! But this was in May of 2023. The Metro Regional Connector project hadn’t opened yet, and the alternatives required walking 15+ minutes down narrow sidewalks next to speeding cars and then waiting up to 10 minutes (sometimes twice!) for my bus or train.
However, on this sunny, pre-regional connector opening day, the stars (and my schedule) aligned to take advantage of a different option. I finally had the privilege of taking LA’s most exclusive public bus: the LADOT Commuter Express. Specifically route 437A.
A Brief History
The Commuter Express was originally started in the 1980s and took over many of the bus lines operated by Metro’s predecessor, the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD). The original intention was to reduce peak hour traffic for people heading to major commercial centers, such as Downtown LA, for work in the morning and returning home to their suburban neighborhood at night. Many of the stations were, and still are, located near park and rides – allowing people to drive to the stop, park, and hop on.
Keep in mind, this was before any of our modern rail services were operational. Metrolink first started service in 1992, and Metro’s A, B, and C lines (blue, red, and green) would open shortly after. Thus, the Commuter Express provided a much needed alternative to driving for office workers.
The system would grow to have 16 routes, though currently has 15. Most routes serve Downtown LA, however some travel to other major areas like Pasadena, Glendale, Thousand Oaks, and Long Beach. The system would grow to carry about 2 million annual riders prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not bad considering most routes only run a few one-way buses during peak hour traffic.
Which is exactly why this bus is so exclusive. If you aren’t going to and from a 9-5 office job, taking one of these buses is practically impossible. But it shouldn’t be.
In fact, we need more express buses in Los Angeles.
Afternoon Schedule for the 437A Commuter Express
Source: LADOT
Readers note: These six buses from Downtown LA to Venice are the entire afternoon service for the 437A. In the morning there are six buses from Venice to Downtown LA.
The Case for Non-Commuter Express Buses
I’m going to focus on four areas: speed, accessibility, ridership, and equity.
Speed
As I sat on the Commuter Express Line 437A, I kept thinking about how fast it was compared to my other transit trips. We traveled on the 10 Freeway with no stops between Downtown and Culver City, which was actually about 5 minutes faster from 7th Street / Metro Center to Culver City Station than the E Line during rush hour!
And because the bus utilizes the MOVE Culver City bus lanes, the bus can travel efficiently through traffic down Washington Blvd and Culver Blvd, all while increasing the utilization rate of this (in my opinion, underutilized) bus lane. This means people in Marina Del Rey and Venice have a significantly faster transit alternative than local services like Culver CityBus Line 1 or Metro Line 33 (RIP Metro Rapid 733).
It doesn’t stop there. There is no faster transit option to travel between DTLA and the Beach Cities than the 438. In fact, the line was so popular, expanded service was being considered back in 2019. While the pandemic likely halted those plans, it’s not too late to add more service and take advantage of this amazing alternative.
Accessibility
LA’s transportation system has grown significantly since the Commuter Express service was first started. We now even boast the longest light rail line in the world! But LA is a massive region with 10 million residents, and many areas lack the regional transit accessibility that Downtown LA and other neighborhoods have. While we can and should add more rail connections, they don’t come cheaply. The Metro D Line Extension was over $1 billion per mile, and that’s after years of planning, outreach, and construction.
With the Olympics coming up in 4 years, why not fill in the gaps with regional buses?
Region-wide express buses could quickly connect major neighborhood centers across the City and County. Think about Glendale, Warner Center, San Pedro, West Hollywood and other areas where regular all-day freeway and bus lane running buses could connect major residential and commercial hubs. Building out the system would also be a fraction of the cost of rail.
Ridership
The 9-5 commuter population which the Commuter Express is intended to serve is a fraction of what it used to be. Work from home is much more commonplace in 2024, and many vacancies plague our once busy office buildings. Even for the commuters who go to the office now, the limited bus schedules means no staying after work for happy hour or heading into work late after a doctor’s appointment.
As a result, ridership on the service has suffered. Though rebounding from the darkest days of 2020, the Commuter Express still only serves about half of its pre-pandemic ridership average among its 15 routes, according to a recently published annual report from LADOT.
Agencies like Metrolink are fighting commuter ridership declines by increasing frequency and implementing a pulse schedule. Instead of focusing the majority of their service on the morning and afternoon rush hours, Metrolink is planning to provide more consistent service throughout the day with small increases to service during rush hours. Further, they are aligning train schedules to allow for faster transfers at Union Station. This would make trips from, as an example, Burbank to Anaheim much quicker and more attractive to riders for all kinds of trips.
A regional express bus service could do the same. This would drastically increase the population of riders for which this service would be useful, and the demand for this type of service is there.
An overwhelming number of trips in Los Angeles County are less than three miles, but according to USDOT data, there are still well over 10 million average daily trips between three and 25 miles that could utilize an express bus system. Now, some of these trips may already be on transit, or might involve a non-transitable trip (such as service trucks). However, the vast majority are taken in single occupancy vehicles. Further, this is also only accounting for realized trips, not necessarily trips people would like to take but don’t because of traffic or inconvenient transit alternatives.
Average Daily Trips in Los Angeles County – All Modes, April 2024
Source: US Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Equity
Historically speaking, Commuter Express riders have generally been more affluent than other transit riders. This logically makes sense when you consider their schedule around commuting hours, higher fares, and the use of park and rides at stops to encourage short drives to the bus.
It’s also worth noting, according to this study from 2008 (which I recognize is old, sadly), despite paying higher fares, Commuter Express services were subsidized nearly twice as much as DASH services on a per passenger basis (though at similar rates on a per mile basis). Given the affluence of these riders, this is not a very equitable outcome.
Certainly a lot has changed since then. Aside from pandemic ridership declines, DASH services have been free since the pandemic started. Also the budget for operating the Commuter Express service was about $13 million in 2008. Based on The City’s budgeting tool, only approximately $6.5 million was allocated for all city transit services, including DASH and Commuter Express. However, this seems like an error (Where’s the money for maintenance? New buses? Fuel?).
Open Budget – City of Los Angeles Public Transit Services
Source: City of Los Angeles
That being said, giving millions of Angelenos the opportunity to ride regional transit all day, every day is the much greater equitable outcome here. Plus it would add more flexibility for 9-5 commuters who do want more flexible transit options.
What Could A Non-Commuter Express Look Like?
We should start by increasing service along select existing Commuter Express Lines. I’m partial to the 437A/B, the 438, and the 549, but that’s without looking into line ridership data and demographics, which I don’t have.
I’d suggest 10-15 minute headways from 6 AM to 10 PM along these routes, and would suggest changes to branding (Regional Express instead of Commuter Express?), fare structure (I didn’t go into this, but it’s pretty confusing and would need an overhaul), and stop consolidation (Also didn’t go into this, but my trip on the 437A made 17 stops downtown before leaving for Culver City, when it probably could’ve made ~4-5).
If successful, let’s add even more service and routes!
Imagine living in Wilmington and having an express journey to Glendale for work. Or getting lunch in Hollywood and heading to a meeting in Venice afterwards. These are absolutely terrible trips for any mode, any time of day. But regional express buses could utilize existing bus improvements, like the La Brea bus lanes, and existing freeway infrastructure (HOV/Express Lanes) to get it done.
I didn’t dive too deeply into the cost of the program, mostly because of that potential budget discrepancy I mentioned earlier. Obviously the City of Los Angeles is fighting a budget deficit. However, it’s possible to partner with Metro for funding this program as it serves other cities in Los Angeles County. Other cities receiving enhanced service could also contribute a proportionate share, but this would require lots of individual negotiation.
It’s likely the state or federal government would need to chip in funds, especially to purchase additional buses. With the Olympics coming in 4 years and Metro already looking to purchase 3,000 buses, this may also be an opportunity to show a long-term lasting impact for these buses, outside of one month in 2028.
Key Takeaways
More regional buses, more often! Commuters shouldn’t be the only ones who get to quickly move about LA without cars. Expanding the Commuter Express service would attract thousands of daily new riders, quickly and affordably fill in gaps to our regional transit network, and more equitably serve Los Angeles County.
As a result, we can lower our transportation emissions and better utilize our growing bus infrastructure. Additionally, if we’re ambitious and coordinated enough, we could have this in place to help move thousands of people across LA for the 2028 Olympics. Where the games can leave a positive lasting legacy on our transportation network.
Want to see more regional buses? Let us know your thoughts!
