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Good news: it turns out Los Angeles' newest light rail line does exactly what it was supposed to do. When the Expo Line opened in Spring 2012, people living nearby started using more public transportation, driving less and polluting less.
USC conducted a study of the transportation habits of people who live within a half-mile of the western stops of the line that goes from downtown to Culver City. The study looked at seven days before the line opened and seven days after the line opened. Their habits were compared to a control group that had statistically similar habits before the Expo Line opened.
Here are some of the interesting stats from the study:
Overall ridership has been increasing, and August was the best month for ridership on the Metro. KPCC reports that there were 27,000 weekday boardings that month for the Expo Line compared to 22,000 the year before.
