When the Metro Blue Line reopens next month as the A Line, riders won’t need to give up one luxury they’ve grown to love during the line’s nine-month closure: the express shuttle.

Mayor Robert Garcia announced during his annual “Building a Better Long Beach” presentation on Tuesday, Sept. 24, that the bus, which takes riders straight from downtown Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles and vice versa, will become a permanent service.

“The members that are riding this bus absolutely love it,” Garcia said. “When we reopen the Blue Line, our goal and our hope is to welcome riders back to a system that, for too long, has been under-utilized.”

In addition to keeping that service, Garcia said L.A. Metro is inching closer to meeting its goal of shortening the light rail line’s trip time from downtown L.A. to Long Beach by 10 minutes.

Currently, testing shows the trip has already been shortened by seven minutes. By the time the line reopens, though, Garcia said he believes the remaining three minutes can be shaved off.

“Speeds will be faster,” he said.

Metro has not yet announced an official reopening date, but Garcia said Tuesday that the ribbon-cutting is currently scheduled for the week of Oct. 28.