The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro), Metro Transit in Minneapolis, Minn., Pace Suburban Bus and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) all saw ridership increases throughout the month of September.
L.A. Metro
The agency had more than one million average weekday boardings during September. It is the first time L.A. Metro reached one million average weekday boardings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency notes September 2024 was its 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year ridership gains.
According to L.A. Metro, average weekday bus ridership in September was more than 800,000, also the first time the agency surpassed 800,000 since the COVID-19 pandemic. Its weekend rail ridership reached 99.4 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The agency’s combined bus and rail ridership in September was 86.4 percent of September 2019’s ridership prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
L.A. Metro’s GoPass — which provides a free transit pass to K-14 students at participating schools — had 1.66 million boardings in September, a three percent increase compared to September 2023.
The agency says one of the reasons ridership is up for the 22nd consecutive month is due to the work it is doing to improve public safety on its system, including:
- Increasing the number of uniformed personnel on the system, making a variety of station upgrades and taking measures to improve safety on buses.
- Working to ensure the system is being used only for its intended purpose of transit through fare gate improvements and removal of trespassers.
- Partnering with Los Angeles County, local cities and other regional agencies to address societal issues such as homelessness, untreated mental illness and drug addiction that are impacting its system and riders.
- Metro Ambassadors are deployed on the agency’s six rail lines and five of its busiest bus lines to provide support to customers and identify problems.
Metro Transit
The agency provided nearly 4.3 million rides in September, the highest monthly ridership total of 2024. Through the end of September, Metro Transit says more than 35.8 million rides have been taken systemwide, up eight percent from the same time in 2023.
“Throughout the year, we’ve expanded service and focused on providing a consistently safe and welcoming experience on our system,” said Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras. “We know we have more work to do to fully achieve these goals but we are pleased to see continued ridership growth.”
Metro Transit says the year-to-date total includes 24.1 million bus rides and 11.7 million rides provided on light rail and the Northstar Commuter Rail Line. Ridership on bus rapid transit (BRT) lines such as the METRO D Line is up 17 percent, ridership on the METRO Green Line is up 14 percent and ridership on Northstar is up 50 percent.
The agency notes further service improvements will come in December and three new BRT lines will open next year, beginning with the METRO Gold Line opening in March 2025.
Metro Transit also says its Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP) is growing. After a recent hiring push, Metro Transit says there are now approximately 40 TRIP agents riding light rail from 5:00 a.m. to midnight daily.
According to the agency, many of the newest TRIP agents previously served as bus or train operators. While on the system, their responsibilities include inspecting fares, assisting customers and stepping forward when they observe things like medical emergencies. Metro Transit notes TRIP agents have had more than 250,000 contacts with customers since the program launched in February.
The agency’s proposed 2025 operating budget provides funding for 100 TRIP employees by the end of next year. As the program grows, the agency says TRIP Agents will ride both light-rail vehicles and buses.
Pace
In September, Pace served the highest monthly total of riders throughout its entire system since the COVID-19 pandemic, as the agency carried more than two million riders in September 2024. Pace says ridership for September 2024 increased 13.2 percent from September 2023 figures — with both time periods having the same number of weekdays.
“We are at 89 percent of an average weekday pre-pandemic and our ridership continues to grow on our paratransit service, where we are more than 100 percent pre-pandemic,” said Pace Executive Director Melinda Metzger. “Our focus on innovative and flexible service options, along with increasing our frequency and weekend service on the busiest corridors, is working. We continue to see positive momentum in gaining back riders and the latest ridership numbers reflect this momentum.”
Pace notes ridership trends have continued to surge throughout 2024, as the agency continues to see strong demand for weekend service in 2024, as well as strong demand for the Pulse BRT lines.
At the Oct. 16 board meeting, the Pace Board of Directors discussed significant service expansion pilot projects that take effect at the end of the year. The service changes continue Pace’s ongoing commitment to address the evolving mobility needs of the region.
Beginning Dec. 8, Pace Routes 322, 350 and 364 in Cook County, Ill., will include additional trips, longer service hours and increased frequency on both weekdays and weekends. Route 301, also in Cook County, will see more trips and longer service hours on weekends. Also effective Dec. 8, Pace Route 563 between downtown Waukegan and North Chicago in Lake County will see new weekend service to better meet riders’ travel needs. Route 563 serves several key destinations in the area, including Naval Station Great Lakes, the Lovell Federal Health Care Center and three separate Metra UP-North Line stations.
Effective Dec. 9, Route 564 will see longer hours of service and more trips on weekdays, providing increased opportunities for riders traveling between Washington/Sheridan in downtown Waukegan and Fountain Square in Waukegan.
“Pace is committed to meeting the evolving needs of our riders in this post-pandemic era,” said Pace Chairman Rick Kwasneski. “These piloted expansions of high-demand fixed bus routes in the region creates increased frequency and expanded options on both weekdays and weekends, ensuring riders have stronger access to jobs, education and essential services in the area. Pace is looking forward to continuing our positive post-pandemic momentum to serving our riders.”
SEPTA
System-wide ridership on SEPTA services in September 2024 was 74 percent of pre-pandemic September 2019 ridership. The agency notes August 2024 still holds the record for highest recovery rate.
According to the agency, average daily ridership was 791,101 unlinked passenger trips across all modes, the highest total ridership since the start of the pandemic. SEPTA says there were approximately 73,500 more passenger trips per day than in May 2024 – which was the prior best month since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency notes system-wide ridership increased 16 percent from September 2023. On average there were approximately 93,452 more trips per day in September 2024 compared to September 2023.
SEPTA says all modes experienced the highest total ridership since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bus ridership increased nine percent relative to September 2024 and has exceeded 400,000 unlinked trips per day for the first time since March 2020. Trolley service experienced both the highest recovery rate (71 percent) and total ridership (57,661) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bus and trackless trolley ridership increased nine percent from September 2023 (367,249) to September 2024 (401,877).
The agency says the five routes with the highest recovery rates are Route 49 (121 percent), Route 77 (101 percent), Route 42 (99 percent), Route 40 (98 percent) and Route 21 (98 percent). SEPTA notes Sunday recovery was strongest.
According to the agency, subway/elevated ridership increased 27 percent relative to September 2023. It is at 72 percent of pre COVID-19 pandemic levels. August 2024 experienced both the highest total ridership (205,179) and recovery rate (77 percent) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and September 2024 experienced the highest total ridership since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEPTA says ridership recovery for trolley is at 71 percent as of September 2024 when compared to the pre-COVID-19 September 2019 total, which is the strongest month both in terms of the recovery rate and total ridership since the start of the pandemic, surpassing October 2023, which was highest both in terms of the total number of unlinked passenger trips and recovery rate.
The agency notes regional rail ridership recovery is at 61 percent as of September 2024 when compared to the pre-pandemic August 2019 total. The agency says ridership has also increased 19 percent relative to September 2023, an increase of 13,627 unlinked trips per day, which is the highest total ridership for regional rail since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2024, SEPTA notes the average ridership on Mondays and Fridays was approximately 81 percent of the average daily ridership on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Brandon Lewis | Associate Editor
Brandon Lewis is a recent graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lewis is a former freelance editorial assistant at Vehicle Service Pros.com in Endeavor Business Media’s Vehicle Repair Group. Lewis brings his knowledge of web managing, copyediting and SEO practices to Mass Transit Magazine as an associate editor.
