With major sporting events on the horizon, Los Angeles public transit still leaves too many riders waiting.
By Camila Chavarria, Co-Managing Editor
Three times a week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—I ride the Metro bus for two hours to get to campus. I need to leave by 10 a.m. to make sure I arrive at my 1 p.m. class on time. I don’t usually have too many problems with my route, but I sometimes worry about the 51 and 53 lines arriving late and delaying me.
I take that back, actually. It’s not “sometimes,” it’s always.
For example, bus schedules listed on the Apple maps app on my phone aren’t always accurate. Other times, the bus is so full that I have to wait for the next one, which runs the risk of making me late for class or missing it entirely. Most professors count attendance as part of the final grade, and from their perspective, telling them “sorry, my bus was late” gets old after a while.
I’ve been commuting to CSUDH for four years, and the problem hasn’t changed. It doesn’t matter how far in advance I plan my route to campus, my commute is at the whim of the Metro bus—and to a greater extent, Los Angeles’ notorious traffic. Delays don’t happen every day, but enough to make just coming to class a challenge.
Although LA isn’t known for its public transportation, thousands of Angelenos ride the Metro every day, with the agency reporting more than 311 million boardings in 2024—and 8% increase from the previous year.
I know other college students experience the same thing: missing or arriving late to class because of delays beyond our control. Every time the buses arrive, they’re late because of traffic, which only causes more backups and longer waits.
Whether it’s for school, work, or a night out, many depend on Metro to get from point A to point B. With LA preparing to host eight matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games, demand will grow as visitors from around the world come to the city. If Metro already struggles to move more than 311 million passengers a year, how will it handle the influx by July 2028?
Yes, Metro has begun expanding its train network. The A Line (formerly the Blue Line) recently extended service to Pomona as part of Metro’s “Twenty-eight by ‘28” initiative. But, in my opinion, the plan doesn’t appear broad enough to improve bus service citywide. For now, Metro’s expansion focuses on the San Fernando Valley, Gateway Cities, San Gabriel Valley, and Westside/Central LA. This leaves smaller communities such as Carson, Compton, Watts, Lynwood, and Bell Gardens on the margins.
Bus lines serving the 2028 Olympics will stretch across Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona, Carson, Anaheim, and other areas, but many riders will still have to rely on the same unreliable bus system.
Better rides are possible, though, just look at San Francisco’s BART system. BART isn’t perfect, but it shows what’s possible when a city invests in reliable public transportation for both residents and visitors. LA continues to fall short by comparison, held back by its dependence on buses that too often fail to run on time.
LA has shown that Metro is capable of accommodating high demand. When the Olympics came to LA in 1984, transportation was among the city’s biggest success stories. LA’s population has grown by about 1 million people over the past four decades, and city officials need to think about how to move residents long after the Closing Ceremony.
As budgets tighten at every level, and with the economy putting the squeeze on residents across LA County, it’s vital that people can get to where they need to go quickly and reliably. This is particularly important for students, especially those studying at schools like CSUDH, where so many juggle full-time work with full-time course loads.
As a senior, I won’t be riding the Metro to CSUDH for much longer, but I know hundreds of future Toros will continue facing the same frustrations I’ve dealt with over the past four years. If Los Angeles ever wants to stand alongside other world-class cities of comparable size, it must invest seriously in building a world-class public transportation system.
Better buses, trains, and transit access aren’t impossible; they just take vision and commitment. If city leaders can prioritize riders over ribbon-cuttings, LA could finally build a system that connects its communities. Students, workers, and visitors alike deserve a Metro that actually moves Los Angeles forward.