Before COVID-19 struck, LA Metro seemed to be turning a corner on bus service with the ambitious network redesign known as NextGen. But the new budget plan signals a return to the days when Metro regularly overlooked the bus riders who make the vast majority of trips on its services.

In a new report, TransitCenter provides a roadmap for policy makers to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, safeguard transit workers and transit riders, and prepare transit to serve a critical role in the recovery.

The MBTA has developed a flexible approach to service provision tailored to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

To meet the needs of people who have been most affected by the pandemic, agencies should go beyond the initial transition to weekend schedules and adapt service in response to shifting travel patterns. 

During the protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism sweeping the nation, transit agencies in numerous cities decided to curtail and suspend transit service.

Our latest video presents guidance for service allocation decisions to meet the needs of the millions of riders who continue to rely on transit throughout the crisis.

Keeping bus service reliable and evenly spaced is important to riders in normal times. With the imperative to minimize crowding during the COVID-19 emergency, preventing bunching and gapping is even more urgent now.

So far, LA Metro has taken important steps to protect bus operators and plan for recovery, but the agency’s policy on fare enforcement has lacked transparency, and service allocation decisions have not aligned with the imperative to minimize crowding on board.