The Red/Purple Line subway platform under Union Station.
Beginning this Sunday, Sept. 10, we’re adding more frequent service to the B and D Line subway — something many riders have requested.
On weekdays, trains will run every 12 minutes from about 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on weekends it will be every 12 minutes from 8:15 a.m. through 7 p.m. In the B and D Lines’ shared section of track — between Wilshire/Vermont and Union Station — trains will run every six minutes during the above times.
Trains will continue to run every 20 minutes in early mornings and later in the evening — and every 10 minutes between Wilshire/Vermont and Union Station at these times.
The increase in frequencies is part of our ongoing work to restore service to pre-pandemic levels. As many of you know, the pandemic posed dual challenges — staff attrition and ridership losses due to safer at home orders and telecommuting.
We hired enough bus operators to return to pre-pandemic bus service levels last December and this fiscal year we’re working to do the same on the rail side.
Strong ridership gains have also made this possible: we saw a 15 percent year-over-year increase in ridership this past July compared to July 2022. That was the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth.
Metro’s monthly bus and rail ridership is now at 76 percent of its 2019 pre-pandemic level. Average weekend ridership is now at 88 percent of pre-pandemic (July 2019) levels and 72 percent for average weekdays.
Categories: Go Metro, Policy & Funding, Projects
This still leaves a lot to be desired but is a step in the right direction. Having weekend service basically run 20 minute intervals past 730 pm though for example is simply inadequate. Service should be 10 minute frequencies or less, all day, except maybe the latest times, say after 10 pm, at which point 15 minute service is perhaps acceptable. This is still a relatively modest goal when considering many metro systems run 5 minute intervals. Don’t just wait for ridership. Let good service levels come first, which will then help encourage more ridership. There is clearly still a lot of work to do.
When will the temporary shortened rail hours of service that were implemented as part of A/E line testing going to end and normal hours until midnight resumed?
Great news
Would love to see this on all lines, along with later service like 2am.
And so when do you expect maintenance to be done?
Maybe it’s about time we focus on what the real issue is instead of forcing late night workers to take a 90 min late night train ride after 2am
How does Chicago do it? They have 24 hour service at 15 minute frequencies on their red and blue lines. How does Copenhagen do it? Their automated metro system also runs 24 hours. I think asking metro to bring back late night, but not necessarily 24 hour rail service, which was already running pre pandemic, is not alot to ask and clearly is not unprecedented especially given the aforementioned examples. It can be done. The question is if Metro is competent enough to manage the logistics.
I assume by the late night workers with 90 minute train rides example you’re implying having some kind of express bus owl service as a better alternative, which I agree would be welcome, and I wish metro would at the very least have that kind of service. It seems like neither the former or the latter is being considered by Metro which is unfortunate.
I’m sorry but you really used Chicago as an example. How often do those trains break down? How big is their ridership between 10pm-6am? Are there more homeless than late night employees in the system or vice versa. Do they have enough backup operators on call in case of call-out.
The red line is more than half dead after 7pm, by 8pm when security is gone the Red Line becomes a drug haven again, but you want to throw away tax dollar on a few late night employees who probably already have other means of transportation to begin with because let’s face it, their lives are in actual danger riding public transit that late at night.
It’s more than “how does x city does it” especially when a city like Copenhagen has its crime more in check than most cities and has way more transit lines going into the city where both rich and poor have easy access to.
My point still stands, focus on the housing issue if we are really gonna use the excuse of “think about the late night workers” when a late night worker would prefer their home be within walking distance if affordable rather than ride a dark train late at night.
Provide a total all lines equivalence for red, blue, green, black…A B C F E