A series of bus routes through Pasadena will change Sunday as L.A. Metro moves into the second phase of its NextGen plan to rework the regional bus system, officials said.
The changes, which take effect June 27, represent the second of three planned phases. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
The NextGen Bus Plan is meant to improve speed, frequency, reliability and access on Southland bus routes, according to Metro.
Pasadena Director of Transportation Laura Rubio-Cornejo said a great deal of time, effort and public input has gone into the plan.
“The implementation of the service changes came after Metro led a multi-year analysis and community engagement process,” she said.
“That said, Pasadena is always concerned with how any service changes could impact our most transit-dependent residents and visitors,” Rubio-Corneojo said. “We continue to coordinate with Metro on the service changes, will continue to monitor their impact on our customers, and look for ways to minimize those impacts.”
City transportation officials have implemented new schedules for Pasadena Transit lines to coordinate with the new Metro routes, officials added.
According to the Pasadena City Manager’s Office, changes to the Metro routes affecting Pasadena include:
177 – Will resume service after being suspended during the pandemic.
180/181/780 – Lines will merge to become a more frequent Line 180. Service will discontinue on Colorado Boulevard, east of Pasadena City College, and Lake Avenue. The new Metro Line 662 will replace Line 180 on Lake Avenue.
256 – The line between Highland Park and Pasadena will change to travel via Avenue 64, Colorado Boulevard, L Line (Gold) Memorial Park Station, Lincoln Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Altadena Drive and Foothill Boulevard to terminate service at the L Line (Gold) Sierra Madre Villa Station.
264 – The line will be discontinued due to low ridership. New Metro Micro (transit on-demand) will provide alternate service options in Altadena and Pasadena.
267 – Line Will be shortened to operate via the existing route between El Monte Station and Pasadena ending at the L Line (Gold) Del Mar Station. New Line 256 will operate via the south end of Lincoln Avenue and new Line 662 will operate in both directions on a loop route via Lake Avenue, Altadena Drive, Lincoln Avenue, Washington Boulevard and Los Robles Avenue, between Pasadena (L Line [Gold] Del Mar and Lake Stations) and Altadena.
268 – Will be shortened to operate from the El Monte Station to the L Line (Gold) Sierra Madre Villa Station. New Line 256 route will operate on Washington Boulevard, between Sierra Madre Villa Station and Washington Boulevard/Lincoln Avenue.
487 – Will be discontinued due to low ridership. New Metro Micro (transit on-demand) will provide alternate service options in Altadena and Pasadena.
662 – Will operate in both directions on a loop route via Lake Avenue, Altadena Drive, Lincoln Avenue, Washington Boulevard and Los Robles Avenue, between Pasadena (L Line [Gold] Del Mar and Lake Stations) and Altadena, replacing Line 687 and parts of Lines 180, 267 and 268.
686/687 – Line 686 will continue to operate between Altadena (New York Drive/Allen Avenue) and L Line (Gold) Del Mar Station, but will no longer extend south to the L Line (Gold) Fillmore Station due to low ridership. Line 687 will be discontinued due to low ridership. Alternative services include frequent Lines 260 (Fair Oaks Avenue) and new Line 662 (Washington Boulevard, Los Robles Avenue and Lake Avenue).
Metro will also be resuming Line 177 peak weekday shuttle service between Caltech and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which has been on pause over the pandemic as workers at the facilities largely switched to telecommuting, Metro officials said.
More information on Metro’s NextGen Bus Plan is available online at metro.net/projects/nextgen.
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5 thoughts on “New Metro Bus Routes in Pasadena Take Effect Next Week”
What a terrible set of service MTA cuts, don’t they listen at all?
What about the Metro bus that used to be 485, then was renamed, then suspended during the pandemic? The one that went South on Lake and then all the way to L.A.?
The only Metro buses currently scheduled to run in Pasadena are listed in this story.
Most routes canceled are the ones that get you from pasadena to altadena, i find the low ridership hard to beleive, and if it is due to low funding, they have trillions of dollars, the routes were always filled with people this is just making it harder for people going from place to place without a car, we use buses cause not everyone can afford a car.
Well this may be too late to say but if it wasn’t for Metro Micro, I would’ve boycotted Metro as a bus route. These bus lines give me a headache. I liked having to catch the 264/267-268 from home and now they changed the whole route. You could’ve at least allowed the Metro route 180 go to the Sierra Madre Villa station instead of ending it at PCC, I might as well catch the 187 there.