If you are headed out to celebrate the arrival of 2012 tonight, and your starting and end points offer convenient access to the Red, Blue, Purple, Gold, Green, or Orange Metro lines, you pretty much have no excuse to not take public transit tonight. more ›

Who's got a ticket to ride? Metro's fare gate lockdown is producing interesting results as the agency determines approximately what percentage of passengers are using paper tickets as opposed to TAP cards. This four-week effort aids in Metro's mission to get the TAP system and turnstile entry secured and running. Metro officials are spot-checking passengers' tickets as they get off the Red and Purple Lines. more ›

Anschutz Entertainment Group isn't the only big winner from a pair of bills Governor Jerry Brown signed on Tuesday that fast-tracks any lawsuits against the proposed downtown stadium. Supporters of the slow-going subway to the Westside believe these bills could help them out, too, according to The Daily News. more ›

You know how you wave your TAP card to log in the fare deduction, but those turnstiles at Metro rail stations are really just going through the motions? This month, riders of the Red and Purple lines will encounter functional (read; locked!) fare gates at four stations as Metro preps to get the TAP system and turnstile entry secured and running. more ›

Tonight marks the next step in Metro's plans for a subway to the sea, as they hold public meetings to inform stakeholders and the general public about progress on the purple line extension. In the works is a proposed expansion of the line from its current stopping point at Wilshire and Western, to the Veteran's Hospital in West LA, reports KPCC. more ›

It's only been a few months since Los Angeles' historic Union Station was sold to a Texas company, but today the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) today announced they have successfully negotiated the purchase of the transit hub property to the tune of $75 million. more ›

LADOT announced two new bike lane projects yesterday which is welcome news after the PR problems of April 2009 when it was believed LADOT planned to remove bike lanes - not add to them - to allow for more car traffic. LA Streetsblog is pleased to see that not only is the Valley getting a better bike network, but "it's also good to see the LADOT keeping its promise to paint the lanes on Reseda and Rinaldi." more ›

In an opinion piece published today in the Daily News, Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge (CD4) asserts the need to expand the region's rail transit lines in order to alleviate traffic. more ›

It was a hectic morning for public transit users traveling around downtown as incidents along three lines temporarily halted or slowed service. more ›

L.A. City Councilmember Tom LaBonge certainly thinks so. At yesterday's Metro Board Meeting, which he is temporarily appointed to, LaBonge entered a verbal motion in an effort to extend rail service on already existing track to 6th Street in the Arts District. more ›

Looks like Metro is beginning to the explore the possibility for that. It started in September when a member of the public requested such a service, which was followed up by up Metro's chairperson. Now that some security concerns have been addressed, the transit agency is taking the necessary steps to see this through. It's pretty loud down there when the train is in motion, but this will be nice for texting. more ›

Going Metro is cheap (a one way ticket is $1.50; a day pass $5.00.) But it's not just a lift to work, or a bulky designated driver. It's your way to some great food that doesn't happen to cost too much. We've Chowed The Red Line before (it was good,) and now, it's time do so the same on The Purple Line. more ›

Metro has intimated that they'll be voting on a preliminary line for their proposed Wilshire extension later next year, and hopes to connect their "current terminus in Koreatown to the Westside," explains MetroRider LA. But where the stops will be are still very much in flux; "one of the stations along the line is still kept as optional: Wilshire Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard." more ›

Although the installation of new gates along Metro rail lines has been partially suspended, a pilot program of sorts will be going in at Union Station and a number of others soon. "It was decided last week to do a pilot test of the gating system at four stations," Metro told Damien Newton at LA Streetsblog in an e-mail. "So gates will be installed at Union Station, Wilshire/Normadie, Westlake and Pershing Square stations on the Red/Purple lines. This will give staff an opportunity to test the gates and see how they are working. During the testing period, the gates will be 'free-spinning.'" more ›

Although they won't be operational for some time now, the first of Metro's fare gates are being installed at the Purple Line's Wilshire/Normandie station. LAist Featured Photos contributor LA Wad shares a few shots. Expect to see these popping up at most train stations over the next few months and say goodbye to the honor system. more ›

By the end of this week, we should see gates in the Metro Purple Line Wilshire/Normandie station, reports LA Streetsblog: "Once the Wilshire/Normandie installation is completed, Metro will continue along the Red and Purple Lines, a process that Rick Jager estimates could take up to six months before moving on to the Green Line, then the Blue Line and finally, the Gold Line." But that doesn't mean they'll be in working condition. "A start date for the turnstiles to be operational hasn't been announced, nor whether they will begin operation "piecemeal" or wait until the system is installed at every rail stop." more ›

The Official Recession has enveloped us for seventeen official months. It’s still no reason we can’t enjoy life. This is LA -- we have a ton of inexpensive options! A Recession Obsession is truly fantastic, whether you've recently been downsized or are about to cash a large commission check. We last obsessed via a Taco Crawl in Highland Park, and Tacomiendo's meaty tacos in West LA. Today, we obsess... more ›

Metro (not Metrolink) will be offering 24-hour service on all its rail lines (that's Red, Purple, Blue, Green and Gold) tonight in celebration of New Year's Eve. They'll be running every 20 minutes from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and you don't have to pay for a fare between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. (and that includes buses, too). Then, Thursday morning to facilitate the large crowds for the Tournament of the Roses and the game, Gold Line trains will run every 7 to 8 minutes between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m., every 10 minutes between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and again every 7 to 8 minutes between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Enjoy your night! more ›

Although expected to pass, it's still extremely close to call. Measure R, which will raise LA County's sales tax a half-cent on the dollar for transportation, is winning by 27,630 votes. It needs two-thirds to pass and it's currently less than a percent higher than that at 67.65%. "At this point, the majority of absentee and provisional ballots have been counted," Bottleneck blogger Steve Hymon notes. more ›

"It depends on how you look at it," Steve Hymon at the Bottleneck Blog said. In October, Metro's ridership increased when you compare it to October's 2007 ridership. However, on a month-to-month basis, ridership in general--except for the subway--is dipping as gas prices continue to fall. more ›

This morning at 9:15 a.m., power at 12 Metro Red and Purple Line train stations between Wilshire/Western and North Hollywood went out for 55 minutes, according to a Metro Spokesperson. No one was hurt or injured, and operations slowed down but never fully stopped. However, patrons riding in elevators at two stations, Wilshire/Normandie and Vermont/Sunset, were stuck for at least fifteen minutes before fire department crews could rescue them. While the Dept. of Water & Power reported no outages at street level, Metro later discovered the problem was within their own system dealing with alternating current. Power never halted on the rails and trains still ran, albeit at a slower speed delaying trains 13 minutes behind schedule and stations were still lit for commuters by emergency flood lights. The incident was cleared by 10:10 a.m. more ›

No mention of Friday's Metrolink crash in this Bottleneck Blog piece, but definitely not the news people want to hear about the Red and Purple Lines: "[Yesterday] morning, a Purple Line train departing from the Wilshire/Vermont station at 9:14 a.m. was supposed to head next to the Wilshire/Normandie station. But instead, the train ended up at the Vermont/Beverly station, serviced by the Red Line, Metro spokesman Rick Jager confirmed..." more ›

For about a year Metro has been meeting with the public over the Westside Extension Project (they have a Facebook group too), usually dubbed as the "Subway to the Sea." In the Fall of 2007 Metro met with the public to talk about initial conceptual designs. Metro planners came back to the public in the Winter with 17 options (or alternatives as they call them) which included light rail, aerial rail, bus rapid transit and subway among them. Then in the late Spring, they focused the routes down into a set of seven options including two options that legally must stay through the process to the end: no build and transit system maintenance (improvements at the street level). more ›

A man at a station in downtown Los Angeles has died after being hit by a Metro Subway train in an apparent suicide this evening. more ›

The next step in moving on from the honor system to the gated system in LA's subways and some light rails was announced today. $16.1 million in transit security funding was awarded to Metro by the state towards implementation of the gating system. 379 fare gates will be installed within the next 18 to 24 months. "The gates are expected to reduce the need for civilian fare inspectors and sworn law enforcement will also be freed of fare checking responsibilities at gated stations, allowing them to focus primarily on station security," said a Metro statement released via e-mail. more ›

Passengers at the Union Station Metro Red/Purple Line Platform stood waiting at 10:00 p.m. Thursday night for an overdue train. A muffled and monotone voice made an announcement that was unintelligible with the exception of the word "Wilshire," which both train routes serve (there was also no update on the LCD screens). Asking other passengers about what it said, they had no idea. more ›

Next week, the Metro board will vote on two very important issues. One will put a half-cent sales tax increase, that would raise funds for public transit, on November's ballot. The other is the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a document guiding public transit in Los Angeles County for years to come. more ›

As an assembly bill that would enable Metro to put a half-cent sales tax increase on November's ballot makes its way towards the state Senate this month, a report released from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) said that such an increase would only cost people $25 extra per year (if the sales tax rate goes up, it will go from 8.25% to 8.75%, "translating to an extra 50 cents in taxes for every $100 you spend on goods and service," says Road Sage Steve Hymon). more ›

The Westside Extension effort, commonly dubbed as the "Subway to the Sea," went social networking/Web 2.0 style a few weeks ago with a group on Facebook. This is the first time a specific project has done outreach like this and word on the transit street is that more project managers may be doing more of this in the future. more ›