Los Angeles Metro experienced a significant surge in ridership last month, with World Cup fan zones, major concerts and cultural events driving a substantial increase across its bus and rail networks.
The agency said Tuesday that it recorded a total of 26,265,480 rides in June, marking a 9% growth compared to the same period last year, an increase of 2 million journeys.
The boost was evident across all days, with weekday ridership climbing 8.4% to 953,820 rides. Saturdays saw an almost 13% year-over-year rise to 708,826, while Sundays increased by 7.7%, reaching 611,534.
Bus services accounted for 19,703,996 rides, growing 6.8% year-over-year. Saturday bus travel saw the largest jump, up 9.1% to 514,987, with weekday journeys increasing 5.2% to 721,846. The J Line, a key bus rapid transit route, saw an 11.7% increase, largely attributed to World Cup activities.
Rail ridership demonstrated an even more dramatic rise, with 6,561,484 rides representing a 21.8% year-over-year increase. The D (Purple) Line, in particular, saw a 45% overall increase, and a remarkable 70% jump on Saturdays compared to June 2024. This growth coincides with the one-month anniversary of the D Line Extension’s three new stations at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega, as well as the one-year anniversary of the LAX/Metro Transit Center.
Metro attributed the overall surge to a host of major events, including the L.A. Pride Parade, West Hollywood Pride activities, the new Hollywood Bowl season, Anime Expo at the LA Convention Center, and high-profile concerts by Shakira at the Intuit Dome and Ariana Grande at Crypto.com Arena.
The agency noted that these figures do not yet include ridership from direct enhanced service routes for World Cup game attendees, which are expected to be released later this week.
