Metro celebrated 5.6 miles of new bus-only lanes on Sepulveda Boulevard on Tuesday morning as part of ongoing efforts to improve the reliability and speed of transit services.
Metro said the lanes will move 50,000 weekly bus riders through the “congested corridor” and improve bus speeds by 15% or more, as well as boost service frequency. The lanes will help connect customers to destinations such as Sherman Oaks Galleria, Valley Presbyterian Hospital and the Sepulveda G (Orange) Line Station.
“Angelenos deserve a Metro system that can get them where they need to go reliably, quickly and safely. Infrastructure improvements like the Sepulveda bus priority lanes help us make progress towards those goals,” Mayor Karen Bass, who chairs Metro’s board of directors, said.
Los Angeles will now have approximately 51 miles of bus “priority lanes” across the city. Officials said another 46 miles of bus lanes will be implemented over the next year.
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In the Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys area, the bus-only segment runs along Sepulveda Boulevard between Ventura Boulevard and Rayen Street. Also included is a 0.9-mile peak-hour bus-only lane that runs along westbound Ventura Boulevard from Vesper Avenue to Sepulveda Boulevard.
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said the service area is nearly at “pre-pandemic levels,” averaging 50,000 boardings a week in 2023.
“With the addition of bus priority lanes on Sepulveda Boulevard, riders will enjoy a faster and more reliable transit service that will save them valuable time,” Wiggins said in a statement. “Metro thanks the city of L.A. for their partnership on this project, and we look forward to installing even more of these bus priority lanes in the year ahead.”
Metro converted a curbside lane on westbound Venture Boulevard between Vesper Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard into a peak-hour bus lane from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays, and will maintain virtually all curbside parking as it currently exists.
The project maintains two general traffic lanes and left turn lanes in each direction. Drivers can use the bus lanes to make right turns at intersections and driveways.
Bicyclists are encouraged to use the bus lanes to travel through the area as well, Metro said in a social media post.
Wiggins was joined by LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, and City Council President Paul Krekorian to celebrate the bus lanes during a news conference Tuesday morning. Those three officials are members of Metro's Board of Directors.
Also in attendance were City Councilwoman Imelda Padilla and a representative for Councilwoman Nithya Raman, as well as LA Department of Transportation General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo.
Horvath hailed the project, adding, “The San Fernando Valley is benefiting from new investments.”
“Bus speed and reliability are crucial to building our ridership. The city and Metro have the shared goal of getting people out of their cars and onto environmentally sustainable transit,” Krekorian said in a statement. “Dedicated bus lanes are an efficient means of reorganizing our existing roadway infrastructure to prioritize that transit.''
