One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Late-Night Subway Service Attracted 1,000 Riders a Night
Metro is estimating that 1,000 people a night took advantage of Metro's late-night subway service pilot program last Fall and Winter. For six weekends, Metro extended service on the Red Line until 3 a.m. at the behest of the business community who helped pay for the majority of the program. "Because Metro does not have turnstiles to track exact ridership, the numbers presented came from a survey conducted on Friday, December 12, and Saturday, December 13," observed Eric Richardson at blogdowntown. "Another survey conducted the next weekend offered roughly the same numbers." The report also hints that homeless accounted for up to 25% of the ridership. Again, of course, ridership counts were not an exact science here.