The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has reported that May saw the highest level of rail ridership in over six years.
Ridership boosts have been attributed to the opening of three new D Line stations, as well as early use of the World Cup 2026 service to Los Angeles Stadium.
Numbers provided by LA Metro have shown that rail ridership on the new downtown D Line stations added thousands of daily trips after their opening on 8 May, with some bus riders having shifted to riding the D Line in part due to its touted faster travel time.
In total, almost 27 million riders boarded bus and rail services throughout the month of May – a 9.5% increase in rail ridership when compared to May 2025.
The D Line saw a 62% increase in usage compared with the same period in 2025, with the three new stations adding an estimated 8–10,000 rides per day.
Systemwide weekend rail ridership experienced an increase of 18%, with D Line weekend ridership growing nearly 80% alone.
Of the 27 million riders boarding public transit services in May; 20.5 million boarded buses, accounting for roughly 76% of LA Metro ridership for the month.
Finally, approximately 45,000 rides were taken to and from the first two World Cup matches at Los Angeles Stadium.
