Travel Patterns along the Vermont Transit Corridor: 2023 Snapshot

Fareeha Shah
Nov 13, 2024

The Vermont transit corridor runs along LA’s most diverse, densely populated, and transit-reliant communities. It is also the second busiest bus corridor in the region, with the two main Metro bus lines 204 and 754 carrying over 34k weekday riders in first half of 2024.

Better Transit For All

LA Metro is working to significantly upgrade the transit service along Vermont Av by improving travel times, connecting communities, and enhancing access to the Metro rail lines. The full transition to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is planned for 2028, with near term bus upgrades such improved frequency, transit signal priority, and curb-running bus lanes set to roll out in early 2025.

Vermont Transit Corridor

Credit: LA Metro

Current Demand Analysis

Since the feasibility analysis in 2019, travel patterns have significantly evolved. We wanted to see who travels through this corridor, where they go, what their trip purposes are, and how many of these trips are taken via transit.

We use LOCUS Person+, which integrates Metro and regional agencies’ ridership data within our base multimodal flows product, LOCUS Person, to parse transit and motorized trips for detailed insights into transit mode shares. 

LOCUS Analysis: Transit Corridor

Vermont Av. Transit Corridor vs. Los Angeles Region

We ran a quick analysis of travel patterns in 2023 using a 0.5mi buffer around the Vermont corridor. Here are some key highlights.

  • Large Trip Volumes

    On weekdays, a total of 1.33M trips start in the corridor, which is almost 5% of total trips in the county (30.63M). Of these trips, 43% (577k) also end within the corridor. This illustrates the presence of critical activity centers in this area for residents, many of whom live and work along the corridor.

  • High Transit Mode Share

    Transit is heavily favored compared to the rest of the county: transit mode share is 9% compared to 2% countywide average.

  • Equity and Transit

    Residents of Metro’s Equity-focus communities comprise 84% of all trips made in the region (compared to 38% countywide), many of whom are reliant on transit for most of their travel needs. The feasibility study in 2019 found that 84% of residents did not have access to a car. 

    The data shows exactly that: transit has a 14% share for commute trips and 7% mode share for non-commute trips, which are much higher than countywide shares (4% and 2% respectively).

  • Increased Active Transportation

    The plan also invests in pedestrian and bike infrastructure, which can further increase the lucrativeness of transit. 28% of the trips starting in the corridor are accomplished by active transportation modes (walk/bike), which is more than double of the active transportation shares in the county (12%).

The image below shows the travel shares for trips that start in the Vermont corridor, showing significant travel to the LAX area and East LA (Vernon/City of Commerce). Future transit improvements can also cater to these travel needs.

O-D: Vermont Av

Origin-Destination Analysis (Showing Census Tracts with a Minimum of 200 Trips)

Get Started with LOCUS

Do you want similar analyses for your projects? LA Metro, through their MeasureUp! program, is making LOCUS available to public agencies, universities, and their consultants. Click here to apply for an account.

If you’re interested in other regions, reach out to us at product@locusdata.io.

Curious to learn about how LOCUS can be used for your planning needs? 

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Contributors

Pragun Vinayak

Chief of Staff

Kathie Xu

Data Analyst

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