With numbers as high as 500,000 projected to attend the Immigrants Make America Great march on Saturday, Feb. 18 and a crowd of 100,000 expected for Monday’s Not My President’s Day Rally, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is planning extra bus and rail service and security. Metro also is issuing this advice: Patrons heading to the march or rally via Metro on Saturday or Monday are advised to buy TAP cards and load them with fare in advance and go early to avoid what could be massive crowds. Rides will not be free on either day and all riders will need a TAP card loaded with fare to board the trains and buses.
TAP cards are sold at all Metro Rail and Metro Orange Line stations, at Metro Customer Centers and more than 400 outlets across L.A. County, including Ralphs and many check cashing stores. For a list go to taptogo.net.
The 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday march is scheduled to begin at Pershing Square and travel to Los Angeles City Hall. The Monday rally is set to take place at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Additional Metro Rail service will be provided on both days and Metro also will add extra security and staff at various stations to assist with crowd control.
As Metro learned from the Women’s March in January, the most significant crowding occurred in the morning, as early as 7 a.m., as tens of thousands of marchers simultaneously converged on rail stations. Similar but not as extreme crowding also occurred later, with the largest numbers appearing at train stations an hour or two after the march conclusion, around 5 p.m.
Metro staff will be on hand to help new customers buy TAP cards at TAP vending machines but if the projected number of participants converge on the rail lines simultaneously as they did for the Women’s March, lines will be long.
Therefore, riders are advised to take a few minutes this week — before the Saturday and Monday events — to buy a $1 TAP card and load it with at least $3.50 in stored value (the equivalent of a round-trip ride). The regular adult fare is $1.75 and includes two hours of free transfers on Metro buses and trains (Blue Line, Expo Line, Gold Line, Green Line, Red/Purple Line subway). And remember that every rider must have his/her own TAP card.
Or consider taking the bus. For the Women’s March, Metro Rail was packed but many buses experienced ridership similar to a normal Saturday and had room for more riders. But remember that as the Women’s March progressed, the streets of downtown Los Angeles became jammed with marchers, as Los Angeles Police Department officers closed down the streets and did not allow Metro buses to enter. So if you plan to take the bus, plan to get off just before you reach downtown.
For the Women’s March, the busiest rail stations were in downtown Los Angeles at 7th Street/Metro Center Station, which serves the Red, Purple, Blue and Expo lines; Pershing Square and Civic Center stations, which serve the Red and Purple lines, and Union Station, which serves the Red, Purple and Gold lines, as well as Metrolink commuter trains. Beyond downtown, the North Hollywood and Universal/Studio City stations for the Red Line were among the busiest.
Metro Rail carried a total of 592,000 boarding passengers — 360,000 more riders than on a typical Saturday. Los Angeles Police Department estimates placed the crowd at 100,000 and event organizers pegged that number at more than 750,000.
