The Vermont Transit Corridor (VTC) is the busiest bus corridor in Los Angeles County. It’s one of the oldest transit corridors, partially following the former path of the LARy V Line streetcar. It connects to several rail lines (B, C, D and E) and over 20 east-west bus routes and major activity centers, such as medical centers, Los Angeles City College, USC, Expo Park museums and sports venues.

• Near-term bus service improvements – to be deployed as early as summer 2025. 
• Medium-term Bus Rapid Transit – to be delivered as early as 2028. 
• Long-term study of rail options – to be delivered once funding is identified. 

• Residents and workers in the South Vermont Corridor currently have limited travel options. Transit service is fragmented, and service frequency is relatively low.
• The corridor currently lacks continuous transit service between 120th Street and PCH. To travel the length of the South Vermont Corridor, a bus rider would have to take GTrans Line 2 between 120th Street and 182nd Street, then transfer to Metro Lines 205 or 550 from 182nd Street to PCH.
• This takes approximately 77 minutes, compared to 25 to 28 minutes by car. The transfers and lack of continuous service may be a contributing factor in the low daily bus ridership of only 2,900 versus the 45,000 daily boardings north of 120th Street.

Furthermore:

• Improvements are needed to the existing fragmented transit service, which currently operates with long headways.
• It is feasible to implement and extend the BRT and rail concepts from the North Vermont Corridor.
• Stakeholders generally support the extension of the BRT/rail concepts into the South Bay. There is strong advocacy for further extension to San Pedro.
• Providing continuous bus service on the study corridor with increased service frequency could make bus service more competitive. This would require coordination between Metro as well as GTrans and Torrance Transit.
• Signalized intersections along the South Vermont Corridor are congested during peak periods and not fully synchronized. Signals along the study corridor are operated by four different agencies: City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works (LACDPW), City of Gardena, and Caltrans. As part of near-term improvements, Metro could work with these agencies to implement signal timing optimization and synchronization, and Transit Signal Priority (TSP) along Vermont Avenue.

While the South Bay extension has been studied, it is not part of the scope of current VTC project. In conversation with Metro Directors and transportation staff, we have learned that Metro does not have jurisdiction south of 120th Street. GTrans (Gardena Transit) has pre-emption since the agency predates Metro.

The South Bay is a transit desert, with infrequent bus service and few rail options connecting the South Bay and other parts of LA County. Our leaders lack a vision for connecting the South Bay with better transit. With the C/K Line Extension to Torrance in the works, the Vermont Transit Corridor South Bay would be the next piece to improve transit in the South Bay.

VTC South would connect communities in Gardena, Torrance, LA County, and the Harbor Gateway with high-quality transit service to healthcare, education, and jobs such as Harbor-UCLA, Harbor College, and Kaiser Permanente. Residents, workplaces, and businesses along the Vermont Transit Corridor would benefit immensely from faster buses, dedicated bus lanes, and eventually, rail transit.

The VTC project MUST include the South Bay in near-term and long-term plans. Sign onto this campaign to support:

1. Near-Term: Bus service and signal improvements along VTC South.
   1. Extend Metro Line 204 and 205 service on Vermont Ave south of 120th street to PCH for continuous bus service and improved ridership numbers into the South Bay.
   2. Coordinate signal optimization and synchronization and Transit Signal Priority on intersections along Vermont Ave between Metro, LADOT, LACDPW, City of Gardena, and Caltrans.
   3. Improve frequency of GTrans and Torrance Transit buses along Vermont Ave.
   4. Coordinate across GTrans, City of Gardena, LA CD15, South Bay Cities, and LA Metro to pursue VTC South.
      
   
   
2. Medium-Term: Bus Rapid Transit along VTC South.
   1. Coordinate with LA Metro, GTrans, City of Gardena, and LA CD15 to implement bus rapid transit with dedicated bus lanes and pedestrian boarding stations extending south of 120th to PCH.
   2. Include VTC South in the current scope of the VTC project or accelerate its implementation after VTC north of 120th street is implemented.
      
   
   
3. Long-Term: Include the South Bay in the eventual VTC Rail option.
   1. Plan for rail (LRT or HRT) as part of VTC South in parallel with VTC North.