LA Metro suspends fares for bus and rail

L.A. Metro suspended fare collection for bus and rail rides, and continued to adjust service routes, as fires burn in Los Angeles County on Thursday.

L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn authorized the agency to suspend fare collection for bus and rail rides across its entire system for Thursday.

“Given the extraordinary demands on the power grid and sporadic outages, it is difficult for many to buy and load their TAP cards,” Hahn posted on social media. “I have authorized Metro to suspend fare collection systemwide for the rest of the day.” 

Ongoing power grid issues and outages have impacted several communities and made it difficult for Metro customers to purchase or reload their TAP cards, according to the transit agency.

Detours have been ordered on the following lines because of street closures:

• Buses on Lines 180 and 217 are detouring between Los Feliz Boulevard and San Fernando Road and Vermont and Prospect avenues due to downed power lines; and

• Buses on Line 296 to Griffith Park are detouring to the Golden State (5) Freeway between Los Feliz Boulevard and Western Avenue.

• Metro has suspended segments of the following bus lines due to fire activity:

• Buses on Line 235/236 in Sylmar are not in service north of Rinaldi Street; and

• Buses on Line 660/662 in Altadena are not in service north of Washington Boulevard.

Metro curtailed service on bus lines 134 and 602 until further notice due to fire activity.

Metro Micro service north of Washington and Sierra Madre boulevards, and west of the 210 Freeway in Pasadena and Altadena is canceled.

The transit agency reported that all rail lines are operating normally except the A Line, which runs from Long Beach to Azusa.

The A Line is operating normally between the Southwest Museum and Downtown Long Beach stations to the south, and from Fillmore to Azusa/Pacific University stations to the north.

A Line service between the Southwest Museum, Highland Park, South Pasadena and Fillmore stations has been replaced by free bus shuttles. The service will remain in place until the debris and trees are removed and repairs are completed, Metro said.

The latest Metro service information is available by following @MetroLAAlerts on the social network X or the agency's webpage at alerts.metro.net.

More information regarding detours can be found on Metro Los Angeles' Facebook page, the Transit App or online at metro.net. Service information is also available in Spanish and English by calling 323-466-3876.

Additional reporting by City News Service.