Harbor Transitway
The Harbor Transitway is an shared-use bus corridor and high-occupany toll roadway that runs in the median of Interstate 110 in Southern California. The main bus service operating on the busway is the Metro J Line which was introduced on December 13, 2009. The Metro J Line bus rapid transit line runs on the Harbor Transitway from Harbor Gateway Transit Center to Downtown Los Angeles and continues to El Monte Bus Station. The line operates daily with frequent service. In addition to Metro J Line, other Metro bus and municipal bus routes also operate on the Harbor Transitway. They include Metro Express lines 442, 460 and 550, Torrance Transit line 4, Gardena Transit line 1X and Orange County Transportation Authority lines 701, 721. Metro Express lines 442 and 550 operate only during weekdays peak hours. Metro Line 442 operates peak a.m. northbound only and southbound p.m. only. Torrance Transit line 4, Gardena Transit line 1X, and Orange County Transportation Authority: 701, 721 operate only during weekday peak hours. Metro Express line 460 operates daily along with the Metro Silver Line. Busway bus lines originate from Downtown Los Angeles and El Monte, with final destinations in Disneyland, and Disney California Adventure Park located in Anaheim, Knott's Berry Farm, Artesia, Fullerton, Gardena, Hawthorne, Huntington Beach, San Pedro and Torrance.
In November 2012, the existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes within the Transitway were converted to high-occupancy toll lanes. This is part of the larger Metro ExpressLanes project which added major transportation improvements to the area. A few project-mandated improvements along the Transitway are still being completed.
There are six transit stations on the main section of the Harbor transitway : 37th Street Station, Slauson Station, Manchester Station, Harbor Freeway/I-105 Station, Rosecrans Station and Harbor Gateway Transit Center. All of these 6 stations are branded as Metro Silver Line stations. In addition, there are two stations on the freeway to the south of the transitway: Carson Station and Pacific Coast Highway station. On December 13, 2015, the Metro Silver Line route was extended to serve and terminate in San Pedro. The extension replaced Metro Express Line 450 which had also utilized the transitway. Not all Metro Silver Line trips terminates in San Pedro.
History
After 20 years of planning and then construction the combined high-occupancy roadway and transitway was opened in 1998 at a cost of $500 million. Provision was made for the transitway to continue further north from Adams Boulevard/ Flower Street to join the El Monte Busway and construction of the busway included 'ski jumps' just past the on/off ramps at this point.During the early months of the busway ridership was roughly 3,000 boardings a day. Initial usage was only 5% of the predicted 65,000 and fares were reduced from $3.35 to $1.35 in 2000 to encourage additional usage. Months later Metro officials made several changes to their bus services operating on the Harbor Transitway. During the 1990s Metro staff was studying the possibility of connecting the El Monte Busway with the Harbor Transitway by operating a bus rapid transit line. The project was supported by Metro, but plans were later scrapped because of the lack of funds to operate the bus rapid transit line. The project was later revealed early 2009 by staff. The new project would be called the Dual Hub BRT which was later called the Metro Silver Line. The line got its color from the former color on the El Monte Busway which was silver. The project looked at operating a bus rapid transit on both the El Monte Busway and Harbor Transitway serving Downtown Los Angeles as the halfway point of the line. Future project amenities looked similar to the ones on the Metro Orange Line. A council meeting was held to propose a fare for the Metro Silver Line. The line was originally proposed to operate with a local fare, but was later changed due to the interference of Foothill Transit's Silver Streak line which does not have a local fare. The Metro Silver Line was presented to several council meetings for support from passengers and was approved for implementation.
The Metro Silver Line was introduced on December 13, 2009 using both the Harbor Transitway and the El Monte Busway for a 26-mile service operating mostly on the freeways. Usage on the Harbor Transit way has significantly increased with the implementation of the Metro Silver Line. In particular, ridership has increased between 7th Street/Metro Center Station and the Harbor Freeway Station. Weeks after the Silver Line began service, Metro mailed thousands of brochures of the Metro Silver Line to people living near the I-110 freeway to become aware of the new bus rapid transit line.
Metro ExpressLanes project
The Metro ExpressLanes project began work in 2010 to add improvements to the public transport services and facilities. The security of the Harbor Gateway Transit Center was improved in November 2010 and CCTV was installed. Bike lockers were installed and the existing building was re-purposed as a Sheriff substation. Improvements were made to station Lighting Improvements and to the Slauson and Manchester stations.The high-occupancy lanes between Harbor Gateway Transit Center and Adams Blvd were converted to high-occupancy toll lanes. Opened in November 2012, the HOT lanes require Fastrak transponders.
Other changes also include:
- Bus priority is being expanded in Downtown Los Angeles, which will improve performance of the Metro Silver Line.
- New security cameras and digital message boards are being installed at stations on the route.
- Park & Ride facilities are being improved at the Harbor Transitway station.
- More bicycle lockers are to be provided the Harbor Gateway Transit Center.
- A new Bus Maintenance Facility is being constructed in Downtown Los Angeles.
- 59 new Compressed natural gas powered 45-foot buses are to be introduced on the Silver Line, together with 100 new Metro Vanpool vehicles.
Bus services
| Metro | Torrance Transit |
Metro Express Lines: 442, 460, & 550. | Torrance Transit: 4 |
Stations
The transitway is a key component served by the Metro J Line and is also served by Metro Express buses, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Orange County Transportation Authority, Gardena Transit and Torrance Transit buses. Carson and Pacific Coast Highway bus stations are not considered part of the Harbor Busway. These stations were considered part of the busway before the Metro J Line was implemented.Usage
Usage of the lanes and bus services has been low, but the J Line has helped raise ridership on the Harbor Transitway. The Metro J Line began service on December 13, 2009. Ridership is lower than the El Monte Busway, which is also served by the Metro J Line. A number of reasons have been identified: The main causes for the low ridership are the premium express fare charged to passengers compared to riders on the A Line and Metro Rapid, the isolated and noisy freeway environment of the stations, and the inconvenience of accessing the stations around the stations compared to surface level light rail or Rapid service. Ridership began increasing with the advent of the Metro J Line. In late June 2011, Metro J Line service frequency increased from 30 mins to 15 mins on Weekdays and on Saturdays, service increased from 60 mins to 40 mins. In the February 2012 Metro Express Lanes Program report, ridership on the J Line alone on the Harbor Transitway was 3,969. The report revealed that ridership on the Metro J Line alone increased 43% from the June 2011 improved frequency of the Metro J Line. On June 17, 2012 Metro added the second phase of adding more service to the J Line. Weekday peak hour service was added for the Metro J Line. Saturday, Sunday/Holiday service was added for the J Line.Its main competitors are the Metro A Line to Long Beach and the Metro Rapid Line 745, just a block away on Broadway. Ridership on the Transitway is not officially tabulated because service on the Transitway consists of several Metro Express lines, two routes operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority, and services operated by the cities of Gardena, Los Angeles, and Torrance.
Usage of the express lanes by private vehicles has become high enough that speeds have decreased, leading to carpool-only restrictions during peak hours. To compensate, Metro is considering increasing the maximum toll from its current $1.40 per mile cap.
Service history
When the Harbor Transitway opened in 1995 increased service on the existing Harbor Freeway express bus lines and operating each as independent routes. Because most of the buses traveling on the Harbor Freeway served the needs of commuters, service was frequent along the corridors during the weekday peak hours, but infrequent during other times. Ridership was much lower than projected. Planners expected that 65,200 passengers would travel along the Harbor Transitway each day, but after 10 years ridership fell far below those predictions, with the route seeing just 3,000 passengers per weekday in 2004.In the early 2000s, Metro tried to increase ridership on the Harbor Transitway by branding it as a part of the Metro system and adding it to maps using a bronze color, however, the line was not officially called the Metro Bronze Line.
As part of the establishment of the J Line, five Metro Express lines were truncated to terminate at either Harbor Gateway Transit Center or the El Monte station, where passengers would transfer to the J Line to continue into Downtown Los Angeles.