Silver Line (Los Angeles Metro) - History

History

Opening of the route, originally scheduled for June 2009, was delayed until December 2009 due to issues with funding and fare structure on other express lines using the transitways.

Before the Metro Silver Line entered service, the express lines that used to operate on the El Monte Busway and the Harbor Transitway charged an express fare up to $3.95 (included local portion of route plus freeway portion). If a passenger wanted to commute on both busways: El Monte Busway and the Harbor Transitway, the passenger would pay an express fare of $3.95 for each busway, totaling to $7.90.

The proposal base fare for the Metro Silver Line was $1.50, as is available on the Metro Orange Line and Metro Blue Line. Objections were raised by Foothill Transit that the low fare would undermine their Silver Streak service which also runs on the El Monte Busway. A fare of $2.45 for the entire route, regardless of the length, was agreed upon. Ridership has grown steadily on the Harbor Transitway portion and many passengers have become accustomed to the fare structure.

The Metro Silver Line was the only line in the Metro Rail/Liner system that did not have an opening ceremony with free rides offered to the public. This is one reason why the line is not well known by passengers. Many of the current bus timetables do not include any reference to the Metro Silver Line. The line gets its color from the El Monte Busway route color. The Bronze Line name and color were also considered, but was removed from consideration for potential use with a future rail line.

Metro Silver Line route connects all Metro Rail lines, including the Gold and Red/Purple Lines at Union Station, Red/Purple and Blue/Expo Lines at 7th/Metro and the Green Line at Harbor Freeway Station. The new line replaced Metro Express lines 444, 446, 447, 484, and 490 which previously ran on the Harbor Transitway and El Monte Busway. These lines were rerouted and re-numbered to provide connecting service to the Silver Line as follows:

• Line 444 was replaced by 344, which provided local service between the Harbor Gateway Transit Center (formerly the Artesia Transit Center) and Palos Verdes Peninsula.
• Lines 446/447 were replaced by 246/247 which provided local service between the Harbor Gateway Transit Center and San Pedro (Line 247 was later restructured as Lines 205 and 450 in June 2011).
• Line 484 became the 194, providing local service between Cal Poly Pomona and El Monte Station.
• Line 490 became the 190, providing local service between Cal Poly Pomona and El Monte Station.
• Other routes on the transitways remained in operation.

Service frequency on the Harbor Transitway section was increased to every 15 minutes during the midday period and every 40 minutes on Saturday in December 2011.

As part of the Metro ExpressLanes project a number of changes were made between 2010 – October 2012. Funding for increased service has come from federal funds and congestion pricing charges.

• Additional weekday peak services were introduced in June 2012 and Sunday/holiday services were doubled to every 30 minutes.
• In June 2012 Saturday service frequency was increased to 20 minutes and to 30 minutes on Sundays.
• In August 2012 an additional evening service was added due to construction of the Metro Express Lanes project on the I-10 freeway. Service between the hours of 8:21 am – 12:57 am now runs every 30 minutes.
• The Harbor Gateway Transit Center (formerly the Artesia Transit Center) was provided with CCTV security, new bike lockers and a new Sheriff substation.
• Stations were provided with enhanced signage, lighting and security at Park & Ride lots.
• In August 2011 Eastbound local eastbound bus stops were created at the Slauson & Manchester stations under the transitway (prior to this passengers using the Metro Local Line 108 and Metro Limited Line 358 eastbound were required to walk one block to the stations). There is still no westbound stop.

A new Silver 2 Silver fare structure was introduced in October 2012. Prior to its introduction, the fare for the Silver Streak was $2.75 and $2.45 for the Metro Silver Line. As a result, many passengers opted to use the Metro Silver Line as opposed to the Silver Streak. Silver Line buses would often be at capacity during peak hours, even while running a 4-8 minute headway, with Silver Streak buses being under-utilized. Metro was initially looking at the possibility of adding additional service, but wanted to better use the El Monte Busway in conjunction with Foothill Transit. In addition, both services use the same fare pass, the TAP card.

Metro made two minor changes for the Metro Silver Line as part of the June 23, 2013 bus service changes. The first change was a new street stop was added for northbound buses at Figueroa Street/23rd Street to provide better connectivity to the 23rd Street Metro Expo Line Station. The street stop is also served by Metro Local line: 81. The other minor change was a new southbound bus trip going from El Monte Station to Downtown Los Angeles and south to Harbor Gateway Transit Center in the early morning. The first trip departing El Monte Station to Downtown Los Angeles and then to Harbor Gateway Transit Center departs at 3:31 A.M. The new trip was added due to the demand for earlier morning service from El Monte Station to Downtown Los Angeles.