Los Angeles Metro Lands $150M Federal Grant for Vermont Avenue Bus Rapid Transit

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has obtained $150 million in federal funding to advance the Vermont Avenue Bus Rapid Transit project, California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff announced.

The planned transit corridor will stretch 12.4 miles from Hollywood Boulevard in Los Feliz south to 120th Street in unincorporated Athens. Plans call for 26 transit stations and dedicated side-running bus lanes. Initial prep work commenced over the summer, and heavy roadway construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026. Local backing was previously established in 2016 through Measure M sales tax revenues.

Vermont Avenue currently represents Metro's busiest bus corridor, serving approximately 36,000 daily trips. The rapid transit improvements are projected to expand ridership to 66,000 daily passengers—including 12,000 new transit users—while lowering overall end-to-end trip times from 70 minutes down to 53 minutes. While a potential conversion to heavy or light rail is studied, local funding for rail conversion remains decades away.

For real estate developers and property owners, the dedicated transit infrastructure will substantially enhance transit access and density feasibility along a major north-south commercial artery.