LOS ANGELES — The city of Los Angeles has never really been known as a public transportation town.
That's in large part because buses can’t get passengers where they want to go nearly as quickly as cars. But a new type of Metro service called Bus Rapid Transit aims to change that.
Five things you need to know:
- Bus Rapid Transit is a type of bus service designed to be faster than local buses by creating separate lanes for them to travel so they aren't subject to the same traffic as cars.
- The LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning to add three BRT projects to its network by 2028: on Vermont Avenue from Hollywood Boulevard to 120th Street, from North Hollywood to Chatsworth, and from North Hollywood to Burbank, Eagle Rock and Pasadena.
- Metro is currently in the final planning stages for its North Hollywood-to-Pasadena BRT, scheduled to open in 2024. The route along Colorado Boulevard through Eagle Rock would include a bus-only lane in the leftmost lane, dedicated left-turn signals for cars, new pedestrian crosswalks, a protected bike lane and curb extensions. Metro hasn't yet decided if the Colorado Boulevard portion of the BRT will retain the two travel lanes for cars in each direction or reduce it to one.
- BRTs in other U.S. cities have increased ridership and reduced travel times.
- Metro is holding a pair of community meetings to discuss the Burbank portion of the North Hollywood-to-Pasadena BRT on Oct. 7.