Subway ridership in June marked the 19th consecutive month of year-over-year growth, with bus and rail boardings reaching about 25.2 million people and ridership reaching 85.5% of June 2019 levels, pre-COVID-19, the transit agency reported.
About 18.7 million people rode buses and trains combined on weekdays last month, bringing ridership to 82.1% of pre-pandemic levels, according to data released by the agency on Monday.
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Meanwhile, weekend ridership was 32.2% higher than weekend ridership in June 2023, and combined bus and rail ridership reached 97.7% of June 2019, before the pandemic.
Combined bus and rail ridership on Saturday reached 94.6% of June 2019 levels, while average Sunday ridership exceeded pre-pandemic levels, achieving 101.6% of June 2019 levels.
Metro officials attributed the increase in weekend ridership to the start of summer, as more people take buses and trains to weekend concerts, parades, festivals and sporting events.
The Chinatown station was especially busy during the L.A. Pride in the Park concert on June 8, with ridership increasing 197 percent compared to a recent Saturday, according to the agency.
The next day, Hollywood/Vine station saw a 188 percent increase in ridership, and Hollywood/Highland station saw a 73 percent increase as passengers 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 passengers headed to CicLAvia South LA, and ridership across the Metro system was up 5 percent that day.
Metro’s bus system saw about 19.5 million rides in June, up 4.6% from a year ago. Weekday bus rides were 14.7 million.
Overall rail passenger numbers in June were 5.6 million, with over 4 million on weekdays, a 79% increase on June 2019 passenger numbers.
The increase comes as Metro continues its efforts to enhance public safety following a recent spike in violent crime.
“Metro’s law enforcement partners have increased their visible presence on the rail system and increased Metro Transit Security (MTS) officers to enforce Metro’s Customer Code of Conduct on both the bus and rail systems,” the agency’s statement said.
“As part of MTS’ increased staffing, Metro Transit Security Bus Safety Teams (BST) conducted end-of-line operations during late-night ‘Owl’ services on some of our busiest bus routes. Metro Ambassadors have also been deployed on Metro’s six rail lines and five busiest bus routes to assist customers and keep a close watch for any issues.”
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