Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) revealed that there was a 57% decrease in the number of people experiencing homelessness on the transit system since 2024, the second consecutive year of progress noted by the agency. The 2026 point-in-time count found 31% fewer people experiencing homelessness in the transit system than the previous year. The estimates made in 2026 found 395 to 517 unhoused individuals on L.A. Metro compared to 631 to 684 in 2025 and 1,041 to 1,092 in 2024. As the point-in-time count is not an exact census, L.A. Metro reported the figures as a range to account for any statistical margins of error.

The agency says the results underscore the effectiveness of L.A. Metro’s integrated public safety model, which combines compassionate, care-based services with coordinated law enforcement and security in an effort to improve safety, connect vulnerable individuals with housing and supportive services and enhance the rider experience across the transit system.

“During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, many more unhoused people began to populate our Metro system,” said L.A. Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “Under the leadership of [L.A. Metro] CEO Stephanie Wiggins and the [L.A.] Metro Board during my first term as chair, we combined compassionate outreach with enhanced public safety strategies to get people housed with the services they need. These results prove that our approach is working and these efforts must continue.”

L.A. Metro says the latest point-in-time count builds on the momentum the agency has created through its care-based approach to public safety. In January, L.A. Metro’s Department of Public Safety launched its Care-Based Services Division, bringing together LA Metro Ambassadors, the Homeless Outreach Management and Engagement (HOME) program and Community Intervention Specialists under a single division within the Metro Public Safety Department.

“This continued decline reflects the dedication of [L.A.] Metro employees and our many partners who work every day to address homelessness with compassion, accountability and coordination,” said L.A. Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “Creating the Care-Based Services Division reinforced our belief that public safety is strongest when care-based services and enforcement work together. These results show that our model is making a real difference—for people experiencing homelessness and for the tens of thousands of customers who rely on [L.A.] Metro every day.”

The agency says its success continues to be driven by close collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing, the city and county of Los Angeles and community-based organizations that provide outreach, interim housing, permanent housing placement and other supportive services. The agency says these partnerships ensure individuals encountered on the transit system have meaningful opportunities to transition from transit to appropriate care and housing. In fiscal year 2026, L.A. Metro notes its outreach teams connected 354 individuals to permanent housing.

The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, led by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), was conducted between Jan. 20 and Jan.22, 2026, with the L.A. Metro count taking place on Jan. 20. According to the agency, 62 volunteers consisting of outreach workers, L.A. Metro employees and riders counted the rail and busway system in one evening. The counting methodology used for L.A. Metro is the same as the county-wide effort, developed by LAHSA and aligned with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development standards. The L.A. Metro-specific results, which focused on stations, rights-of-way and parking lots, were not included in LAHSA’s published regional total, but it provided an essential look at homelessness on the transit system.