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Overall System Ridership Declines Modestly after 30 Consecutive Months of Year-Over-Year Growth
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)’s June ridership shows a dramatic increase in ridership on the Metro K Line due to the long-awaited opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center. Overall, system ridership experienced a slight decline of 6.0% compared to 2024 June ridership, better than initially anticipated at the start of the month, due to the increase in federal law enforcement activity across Los Angeles County, numerous protests resulting in station and road closures and several days of curfew in downtown Los Angeles as well as many Angelenos staying home.
LAX/Metro Transit Center
Data shows that year-over year-ridership on the Metro K Line was up 139.5% on weekdays, 198.9% on Saturdays and 214.9% on Sundays, likely attributable to the opening of the LAX/Metro Transit Center. The new station, which opened June 6, provides a new transit connection to Los Angeles International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world. By providing a direct connection to regional transit, the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station expands options for airport-area employees and travelers and decreases reliance on more costly options, such as taxis, rideshares or private vehicles.
The new station closes the final gap along the K Line, so it now runs continuously from the Expo/Crenshaw Station to Redondo Beach, bisecting the loop comprised of the A, C, K and E Lines. This provides improved connectivity regionally via the C, J and E lines. It also extends the C Line, which previously terminated at Aviation/LAX Station, bringing it directly to the LAX/Metro Transit Center and enhancing airport access for riders across the region.
Total monthly ridership on the Metro K Line in June 2025 was 26.8% higher than November 2024, the second highest monthly total ridership in the line’s history. This further suggests that weekend and holiday travel in and out of LAX is the primary driver of Metro K Line ridership.
Overall System Ridership and Experience
In the days following the surge in immigration enforcement activity and the large protests that followed, Metro saw a 10-15% decline in ridership across the system. Over the course of the month, the outlook improved; the system saw a total of 23,751,589 boardings on Metro bus and rail, which represents only a 6.0% year-over-year decrease in total boardings as compared to June 2024. In that same period, bus ridership declined 5.9%, while rail dropped 6.5%.
Many factors influence ridership patterns, including closures due to construction, such as those required to connect the existing D Line to the first phase of the D Line extension that is expected to open later this year or people changing their daily routines, such as to work from home or to transition to summer school.
Customer experience on Metro continues to improve with results from a February 2025 rider survey showing 87% of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with the service. In that survey, 53% of riders said they had seen improvements to the transit system over the past year, with improving service quality and safety as the top reasons cited for the improvement.
Safety and Security Gains
Violent crime dropped 28.9% per 1 million boardings year-over-year and is now at the lowest levels since May 2019 as a result of the agency increasing the visible presence of engaged uniformed personnel on the system to ensure the system is only being used for transit and increasing partnerships with city, county and community agencies to address societal issues, such as homelessness, untreated mental illness and drug addiction.
Metro also continues to see a decrease in operator assault severity, as retrofit enclosed bus barriers help prevent serious injuries. In addition, Metro saw evidence that the modern, taller faregates are contributing significantly to higher paid entries. In June, the LAX/Metro Transit Center faregates validated more entries than all other K Line stations combined. It is also now the top station on the C Line too, with 71% more paid entries than the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station. The Santa Monica/ Vermont and Wilshire/Vermont stations are slated to be retrofitted with the modern faregates before the end of the month.
About Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility through its Vision 2028 Plan. Metro is the lead transportation planning and funding agency for L.A. County and carries nearly 1 million boardings daily on a fleet of 2,200 low-emission buses and six rail lines.
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