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Sing-alongs, selfies, friendship bracelets made experience fun for all
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) announced today that the agency experienced over 150,000 additional Metro Rail boardings during Taylor Swift’s six-night concert tour in Los Angeles representing a nearly 25 percent increase in Metro Rail system ridership over same day averages in July 2023, shattering post-pandemic ridership records, with the previous record set during the Regional Connector opening earlier this year. In addition, special event shuttle bus service carried over 30,000 additional boardings bringing the rail and bus total to over 180,000 boardings carried over the concert series.
The largest increase came on the K Line which saw a nearly 250 percent increase in ridership with nearly 5,000 additional trips taken each night over same day averages last month. This was the first time a SoFi Stadium Express route was added on the K Line at Downtown Inglewood Station, and fans took advantage of the easy 1.7-mile trip from the rail line shuttle stop to SoFi Stadium.
Metro saw ridership grow each night of Swift’s concert dates. On the C Line, Metro offered the 5.1-mile SoFi Stadium Express route from Hawthorne/Lennox Station and saw nearly 35 percent more rail boardings with nearly 6,000 additional C Line trips taken each night. As Swiftie excitement built night after night, so did Metro ridership.
Additionally, both SoFi Stadium Express shuttle routes and the extra Line 117 buses from LAX-area hotels provided over 5,000 shuttle boardings on average per night, or over 30,000 boardings during the concert run.
The A Line and the E Line also saw increases on Taylor Swift concert nights with a nearly 20 percent and 15 percent increase, respectively. This equates to nearly 15,000 additional trips taken each night on both lines combined.
Over the weekend, the E Line, which directly serviced the Hard Summer music festival in Exposition Park on Saturday and Sunday, was up 50 percent over regular weekend boardings welcoming over 20,000 additional customers during the music festival. The E Line has stops at Exposition Park to directly serve fans going to events at there.
“We are thrilled ‘Swifties’ and Hard Summer festivalgoers chose to take Metro to fuel their passion for music,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “Introducing young people to the benefits of using public transit is a priority for Metro. Also a priority: building our capability to provide service to large-scale entertainment and sports events across the region, particularly as we see the strong growth in Metro’s weekend ridership.”
Average weekend ridership is now at 91 percent of pre-pandemic level and 76 percent for average weekdays.
“We will continue to focus on learning about our customers and their needs – no matter when they ride – and improve their experience so it exceeds their expectations for convenience, reliability, safety, and cleanliness. It’s the only way we can become Angelenos’ first choice in transportation,” Wiggins added.
Concertgoers followed Metro’s social media pages for the latest updates on service and all that was happening around the fun and excitement. And they shared their thoughts about the service.
Metro Ambassadors and staff were positioned at stations on the system to help new riders purchase tickets and navigate the rail system and shuttle buses. Metro staff joined the excitement and fun and sang along with riders on platforms and buses, exchanged friendship bracelets, and took selfies with fans at our station take-over signs “Taylor Nation Station” on the C Line and Speak Now/Taylor’s Station on the K Line. The 6-nights of Taylor mania proved to be an exceptional experience for fans and Metro staff alike.
About Metro
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility through its Vision 2028 Plan. Metro is the lead transportation planning and funding agency for L.A. County and carries nearly 900,000 boardings daily on a fleet of 2,200 low-emission buses and six rail lines.
Stay informed by following Metro on The Source and El Pasajero at metro.net, facebook.com/losangelesmetro, twitter.com/metrolosangeles and twitter.com/metroLAalerts and instagram.com/metrolosangeles.
