Ride Metro for free on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

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All Metro Bus and Rail lines will be free to ride on the nights of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. This means no fare will be charged on Christmas Eve from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Christmas morning and from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve.

All Metro Rail stations with latched gates will be unlatched during this time. Metro will also run 24-hour rail service on New Year’s Eve, as well as enhanced service to the Rose Parade on Jan. 1. We’ll have more information on that in a separate post.

Metro Bus and Rail will run on a Sunday/Holiday schedule on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day — both fall on Tuesdays this year. This means that bus lines that do not operate on Sundays will not run on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

Additionally, some Metro Bus lines may be impacted by detours due to holiday events. Check out Metro’s Planned Service Advisories page to see if your line will be detouring and for detailed bus routes.

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15 replies ›

  7. Seems ineffective is the goal is to keep drunk people from driving. Bars close at 2:00, just when they start charging again? It would be more effective if it were free service all day on Christmas And New Years.

    • I hate to sound self righteous but as I’m getting older I’m starting to realize the invalidity of this argument.

      The argument of lack of train service after 2am I can understand, but if you cannot spend a $1.75 to ride a train home at 3am then why even go out to get intoxicated which can easily run someone $100? Don’t even get me started on the Uber ride cost on New Years Eve.

      It isn’t the responsibility of a sub par transit system to keep drunk drivers off the road, that’s a society issue.

  8. Will the parking also be free during that time at the paid parking station lots?

    • Hi Morris,

      Parking will not be free during that time.

      Thank you,

      Anna Chen
      Writer, The Source

  9. You need to up your game Metro. Took the red line today for the fruit time in a while and i am stunned at the complete lack of security and foul vibe. Nasty people screaming, stink everywhere, and a dirty homeless people. Shame on you. Clean up the damn trains.

    • Hi shepardwalker;

      For what it may be worth, those who are homeless are entitled to ride the system. It’s widely acknowledged that our region has a homeless crisis and Metro is not immune to that. Between the rain and cold in winter, it is also not surprising to perhaps see more homeless on the system.

      We do have homeless outreach teams working on the rail and bus system to try to connect those who are homeless to social services. We also have a considerable law enforcement and Metro security presence on the system. All riders are still expected to abide by the agency’s Code of Conduct and you can certainly report violations to law enforcement or security either by phoning (888) 950-SAFE or using the Transit Watch app.

      All of us who work in social media and ride the system understand your frustration with this issue. We are trying our best to strike a balance between being compassionate to those who are suffering and working to ensure our buses, trains and facilities are a pleasant environment. I think often they are, but I know sometimes they’re not and I appreciate you taking the time to leave us a note about what you’re seeing.

      Thank you,

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  10. “Some enhanced service for the Rose Parade needs to start about 6 pm on the 31st. Those that camp overnight or wish to visit the line-up area at night need these trains.”

    Honestly, I’m not even sure that’s even needed. I rode the Gold Line a few years back (before Azusa Extension to Memorial Park and back to DTLA on NYE. Decided to head back after realizing pulling an all nighter on the parade route was not for me and not only was the train half empty on my way over there, but I hopped on a train back to DTLA right after midnight and it was just a bunch of drunken people on the train with confetti celebrating that it was finally the new year.

    Perhaps things are now different. But I rather spend my NYE warm at home instead than find out.

    So yeah, while early enhanced service at least on the Gold Line would be beneficial, I think those that are pulling an all nighter and camp on the parade route already do it on NYE AM and probably drive there cause of how light traffic normally is if one can bypass Downtown.

    The Red Line on the other hand, could actually use the extra train service early on.

    • Hi Dave —

      All good points. I have lived near the parade route for 15 years and my experience is that most folks who camp overnight drive there and get there during the afternoon before the parade. Most of the folks coming from outside of Pasadena to the parade seem to arrive between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and maybe a little later for those heading to the eastern half of the route.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  11. Some enhanced service for the Rose Parade needs to start about 6 pm on the 31st. Those that camp overnight or wish to visit the line-up area at night need these trains.

    Also, the Red, Purple, Expo and Blue should have trains that run every 1/2 hour or so one-way toward the Gold line over night. Co-ordinate the arrival of the Blue and Expo about the same time, with the Red or Purple (Purple being prefered) waiting for the passengers at 7th/Metro. Then the NB GL waiting for the passengers from the R & P at US. Except the Gold (which should have trains running the full line every 1/2 hour overnight), it should take only 3 trains to service each route.