Los Angeles is pursuing possibly the most ambitious rail transit investment program in the nation. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) long-range plan commits funds to six new rail transit lines scheduled to open between now and 2019, of which the Expo Line (along Exposition Boulevard) will be the first. In total, those six lines will increase the Los Angeles Metro rail network from 73 to approximately 120 miles (116.8 km to approximately 192 km), making it larger than the current Washington DC Metro system. This impressive commitment to transit infrastructure will play out in the context of ambitious state-level greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, making it important to have useful data regarding the impact of rail transit infrastructure on travel behaviour. This report provides policy makers and planners a better understanding of the potential impacts of Los Angeles Metro’s major rail transit investment program by assessing the changes in transit use of nearby residents and nearby bus service associated with the Expo Line. This is a new Light Rail Transit (LRT) service in Los Angeles County, California that extends south and west from downtown Los Angeles. This report focuses on the first phase of the line’s construction, which opened in two stages in April and June 2012. It runs 8.7 miles (13.9 km) from downtown Los Angeles westward to Culver City, near the junction of the 405 and 10 Freeways. This report has the following research objectives: * Assessment of Ridership and Service Changes — To examine changes in Metro’s LRT and bus service and ridership associated with the opening of the first phase of the Expo Line in April/June 2012 and the opening of the Gold Line Eastside extension in November 2009 * Assessment of Travel Pattern Changes — To assess potential changes in travel behaviour associated with the new Expo Line service and corresponding changes to nearby bus service based on travel survey data collected for 193 households in late 2011 before the line opened and in late 2012 after the line opened This report is structured as follows — in Chapter 2, review existing literature is reviewed to (a) provide insights from previous evaluations of the impact of LRT on travel behaviour and (b) review previous empirical assessments of factors associated with household travel mode choice. Chapter 3 compares service and ridership changes associated with the opening of the Expo and Gold lines. Chapter 4 examines changes in travel patterns associated with the new Expo Line service. The report concludes and presents some policy considerations and identifies avenues for future research in Chapter 5. (Author/publisher)
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