In a bid to serve more passengers and make public transportation competitive with driving, Los Angeles’s largest transit agency is planning a complete overhaul of its sprawling bus network—and riders could start seeing changes by the end of this year.

Under a proposal unveiled last week, some of Metro’s most-used bus lines would see major shakeups. Buses on busy routes would be scheduled to arrive more frequently than they do today. Riders could expect more weekend and late night service. Meanwhile, bus lines that don’t carry many riders could see reduced service, or be cut entirely.

A key part of the proposal involves consolidation of most of Metro’s rapid bus lines, which would merge with “local” buses that serve similar routes but make more stops. Instead of two versions of the same route, operating on two different schedules, Metro plans to run more consistent all-day service on these routes, with fewer stops than a local line but more stops than a rapid line.

Once these changes are rolled out, the number of riders who live within walking distance of a line that arrives every five to 10 minutes on weekdays would more than double to more than 2 million, according to Metro.

More frequent service on key lines could draw new riders, or win back those who’ve stopped relying on Metro to get around. The agency launched the bus network shakeup in 2018, following a half-decade of declining ridership on buses. For the first time since 2013, bus ridership increased slightly in 2019. But Metro buses are still carrying 21 percent fewer riders than they did five years ago.

Still, buses constitute a vital part of Los Angeles’s transit system. Metro has invested billions of dollars over the last decade expanding its rail network, but buses carry more than two thirds of the system’s riders.

Metro staff projects that the planned route and schedule changes will result in a 5 to 10 percent increase in bus ridership. Investing in projects to improve the overall experience of riders could yield gains of up to 30 percent, according to staff projections.

“We’re focused on the entire trip,” says Metro senior executive officer Conan Cheung. “That entire trip includes your access to the bus stop, your wait at the bus stop, and actually being onboard the bus.”

To make bus trips smoother throughout that process, Metro staff will also recommend spending $1 billion on projects aimed at renovating busy stops, expanding all-door boarding to shorten the time it takes to load passengers onto buses, and speeding up buses once they are traveling on city streets.

On a call with reporters Monday, Cheung acknowledged that lengthy travel times on buses could dissuade potential riders—especially those with the option to drive instead. Cheung said that means bus trips shouldn’t take more than 2.5 times longer than a trip by car.

Getting buses moving faster could mean building infrastructure projects like bus-only lanes that give public transit vehicles priority over individual automobiles. Under the proposal Metro staff is recommending, $750 million would be set aside for such projects, though the agency also has a plan in place for even more investment—should funding become available.

Installing bus-only lanes and other infrastructure projects will also require cooperation from local governments in the cities where they would be located.

Cheung says Metro staff is already coordinating with officials from Los Angeles and other cities to plan these projects.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, who sits on the Metro Board, says LA is ready for a better bus network.

Metro's plan "steers us in the right direction—toward dedicated bus lanes, higher ridership, and faster, more reliable service," he said in a statement Monday. "[It] builds on our unprecedented investments in a public transit system that eases traffic, reduces emissions, gets Angelenos out of our cars, and helps us confront the climate crisis."

The plan isn’t set in stone; it still needs to go through a public review process later this year, before being approved by the Board of Directors.

Metro staff will present the results of its NextGen Bus Study to the agency’s Board of Directors later this month, along with the plan for the bus system’s redesign—scheduled to be rolled out in phases starting in December.