View source for El Monte Busway

{{Short description|Los Angeles Metro Busway}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox bus line
|name        = El Monte Busway
|subheader   = I-10 ExpressLanes
|logo        = 
|logo_width  = 
|image       = LAC & USC Med. Center Metro Silver Line Station- 6.JPG
|image_width = 
|caption     = Metro J Line bus running east on the El Monte Busway stops at [[Los Angeles General Medical Center]]
|system      = [[Bus rapid transit|Busway]] & [[High-occupancy toll lane]]s
|status      = 
|locale      = [[Los Angeles County, California]]
|start       = [[El Monte station]]
|end         = [[Los Angeles Union Station|Union Station]]
|stations    = 4
|routes      = {{Plainlist|
*{{LACMTA icon|J|showtext=yes}}
*[[Los Angeles Metro Bus|Metro Bus]]: Express {{LA Metro route|487}}, Express {{LA Metro route|489}}
*[[Foothill Transit]]: [[Silver Streak (bus)|Silver Streak]], [[Foothill Transit#490|490]], [[Foothill Transit#493|493]], [[Foothill Transit#495|495]], [[Foothill Transit#498|498]], [[Foothill Transit#499|499]], [[Foothill Transit#699|699]]
}}
|ridership   = 
|open        = {{Start date and age|1973|01}}
|close       = 
|operator    = [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] (LACMTA)
|length      = {{Convert|12|mi}}
|map         = {{maplink-road|from=El Monte Busway.map}}
|map_state   = uncollapsed
}}

The '''El Monte Busway''' (also known as the '''I-10 ExpressLanes''') is a {{convert|12|mi|adj=on}} shared-use express bus corridor ([[Bus rapid transit|busway]]) and [[high occupancy toll lane|high occupancy toll]] (HOT) lanes running along [[Interstate 10 in California|Interstate 10]] (San Bernardino Freeway) between Alameda Street near [[Union Station (Los Angeles)|Union Station]] in [[Downtown Los Angeles]] and a point west of [[Interstate 605]] (I-605) in [[El Monte, California]]. From Alameda Street to [[Interstate 710 (California)|Interstate 710]] (I-710) in [[Monterey Park, California|Monterey Park]], the El Monte Busway runs parallel to the north side of the freeway. After the I-710 interchange, these lanes merge back to the [[Median strip|median]] of I-10. Eastbound busses exit the El Monte Busway at [[El Monte station]] before the HOT lanes for other vehicles end west of I-605. Buses also make intermediate stops at [[Cal State LA station]] and [[LA General Medical Center station]]. The busway opened in January 1973 to buses only, three-person [[carpool]]s were allowed to enter in 1976, and the facility was converted to HOT lanes as part of the [[Metro ExpressLanes]] project on February 22, 2013. The entire bus route along the El Monte Busway between Alameda Street and El Monte station's bus entrance at Santa Anita Avenue carries the hidden state highway designation of '''Route 10S'''.<ref name="SR10S El Monte Busway">{{cite web|url=https://postmile.dot.ca.gov/PMQT/PostmileQueryTool.html?type=C&mode=L&lat=34.055404&long=-118.238054&lat2=34.071105&long2=-118.042202|title=Route 10S: Postmile LA 16.968 to LA 28.613|website=Postmile Services Postmile Query Tool|publisher=Caltrans|accessdate=March 19, 2025}}</ref>

The El Monte Busway is used by two [[bus rapid transit]] routes: the [[J Line (Los Angeles Metro)|J Line]], operated by [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority|Metro]] and the [[Silver Streak (bus)|Silver Streak]], operated by [[Foothill Transit]]. It is also used by several [[Metro Express (Los Angeles County)|Metro Express]] and [[Foothill Transit]] bus services, most of which only run during weekday peak periods.

The busway now carries 16,000 bus passengers per day with 49 buses using the system each hour at peak times<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=James E. |display-authors=etal |title=Planning and Markets II. Alternative Transit Options |url=http://www-pam.usc.edu/volume3/v3i1a4s2.html}}</ref> and was described by the [[United States Department of Transportation]] as one of the most successful HOV facilities in the country in 2002.<ref name="Turnbull 2002" />

==History==
{{Main|History of Los Angeles Metro Rail and Busway}}

=== Construction ===
[[File:El Monte Busway construction.jpg|thumb|El Monte Busway under construction in 1972]]
The El Monte Busway was conceived in 1969 as a way to allow travelers to avoid traffic on [[Interstate 10 in California|Interstate 10]] (San Bernardino Freeway), promising an 18-minute trip between El Monte and Downtown Los Angeles, compared to 35–45 minutes in the general-purpose lanes.<ref name="Library Busway Groundbreaking">{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2012 |title=40 Years Ago This Week: Groundbreaking For El Monte Busway — California's First Multi-Modal System & The World's First Bus Rapid Transit Station |url=http://metroprimaryresources.info/40-years-ago-this-week-groundbreaking-for-el-monte-busway-californias-first-multi-modal-system-the-worlds-first-bus-rapid-transit-station/2745/ |access-date=November 29, 2020 |website=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive |language=en-US}}</ref> The project was developed jointly by the California Department of Public Works, Division of Highways (a predecessor of today's [[Caltrans]]) and the [[Southern California Rapid Transit District]] (SCRTD) (a predecessor of today's [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority]]).<ref name="Environmental Statement">{{Cite web |date=January 1971 |title=Draft Environmental Statement of Proposed Express Busway on the San Bernardino Freeway |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/scrtd/1971_des_proposed_express_busway_i10.pdf |access-date=November 29, 2020 |publisher=California Department of Public Works, Division of Highways, Southern California Rapid Transit District |via=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive}}</ref> The 53 million dollar project was paid with federal, state and SCRTD funding and was also intended to be an experiment testing the feasibility of joint highway-bus operations and to increase the overall people-carrying capacity of freeway corridors.<ref name="Library Busway Groundbreaking" />

The project was built in a right of way located north of and in the median of the freeway that was owned by [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] who purchased it from the bankrupt [[Pacific Electric]] streetcar system.<ref name="RTD Flyer February 1972">{{Cite news |date=February 11, 1972 |title=Red Car Tracks Come Up To Make Way For Busway |page=1 |work=RTD Flyer |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/employeenews/RTD_Flyer_1972_Feb11.pdf |access-date=November 29, 2020 |via=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive}}</ref> In exchange for giving up part of their property, Southern Pacific would get new tracks capable of handling heavier freight loads compared to the old streetcar tracks.<ref name="RTD Flyer February 1972" /> The project would also include a viaduct in El Monte to elevate Southern Pacific trains as they moved between the area near the east end of the busway to the mainline tracks near the present-day [[El Monte station (Metrolink)|El Monte Metrolink station]].<ref name="Environmental Statement" />

The formal groundbreaking for the El Monte Busway took place on January 21, 1972.<ref name="RTD Flyer January 1972">{{Cite news |date=January 28, 1972 |title=El Monte-Los Angeles Busway Groundbreaking Marks New Era For RTD |pages=1–3 |work=RTD Flyer |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/employeenews/RTD_Flyer_1972_Jan28.pdf |access-date=November 29, 2020 |via=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive}}</ref>

The El Monte Busway opened in stages, with the seven-mile eastern segment between [[Interstate 710 and State Route 710 (California)|Interstate 710]] (then-signed as SR 7) and Santa Anita Avenue opening in January 1973.<ref name="Hillmer & Parry 1994">{{Cite report |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/presentations/1994_el_monte_busway_20_year.pdf |title=The El Monte Busway: A Twenty-Year Retrospective |last1=Hillmer |first1=Jon |last2=Parry |first2=Stephen T. |date=June 5, 1994 |publisher=Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=November 30, 2020 |via=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive}}</ref> The El Monte station near the Santa Anita Avenue terminus would open later on July 14, 1973.<ref name="Library Busway Groundbreaking" /> The eastern section is located in the median of Interstate 10, with only paint lines separating traffic on the busway from the general-purpose lanes. Railroad tracks are also located in the median, separated from vehicle traffic with concrete barriers.

The western segment has a unique design that took longer to build. Traveling from east to west, a flyover ramp near Interstate 710 moves the lanes north of Interstate 10 to a station near [[California State University, Los Angeles]]. Just west of the [[Cal State LA station]], the westbound busway lanes crossover the eastbound lanes, reversing the normal placement of the lanes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1975 |title=From Dream to Reality El Monte-Los Angeles Busway |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/scrtd/1975-from-dream-to-reality-el-monte-los-angeles-busway.pdf |access-date=November 30, 2020 |publisher=Southern California Rapid Transit District |via=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive}}</ref> The reversed lanes allow buses to serve a single [[island platform]] station at the [[LAC+USC Medical Center|Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center]] but prevent vehicles from entering the busway from the general-purpose lanes of Interstate 10 in the eastbound direction.<ref name="Hillmer & Parry 1994" />

The LAC+USC Medical Center station was completed in November 1974, the four-mile western segment between Mission Avenue in Los Angeles and Interstate 710 was completed in January 1975, and the Cal State LA station was finished in February 1975.<ref name="Hillmer & Parry 1994" /> The entire 11-mile busway was dedicated on February 18, 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 29, 2011 |title=February 18: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History |url=https://metroprimaryresources.info/this-date-in-los-angeles-transportation-history/february/february-18/ |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive |language=en-US}}</ref>

The El Monte was extended to its present length of 12 miles in 1989 with the opening of a one-mile extension from Mission Road to Alameda Street adjacent to [[Union Station (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles Union Station]].<ref name="Turnbull 2002">{{Cite web |last=Turnbull |first=Katherine F. |date=June 2002 |title=Executive Report. Effects of Changing HOV Lane occupancy requirements: El Monte Busway Case Study |url=https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/3299 |access-date=January 1, 2018 |publisher=[[Texas Transportation Institute]], [[Federal Highway Administration]]}}</ref>

=== Opening to carpools ===
The busway was opened to vehicles with three or more occupants during the 1974 Southern California Rapid Transit District strike, which lasted 68 days between August and October.<ref name="Hillmer & Parry 1994" /> In 1976, the busway was converted into a shared-use express bus corridor and high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, with carpools and vanpools with three or more occupants permitted during peak hours only. HOV access was extended to weekends in 1977 and 24 hours a day in 1981.<ref name="Library Busway History">{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2013 |title=El Monte Busway |url=http://metroprimaryresources.info/encyclopedia/el-monte-busway/ |access-date=November 29, 2020 |website=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive |language=en-US}}</ref> Opening the busway to HOVs had only minimal impact on bus running time and transit ridership remained stable.<ref name="Hillmer & Parry 1994" />

The requirement that vehicles must have three or more occupants left the El Monte Busway out of alignment with California's other HOV lanes, which generally required only two or more occupants. State senator [[Hilda Solis]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[La Puente, California|La Puente]]) authored State Bill 63,<ref name="SB63">{{cite act |type=Senate Bill |index=63 |date=July 23, 1999 |article= |article-type= |legislature=[[California State Legislature]] |title=Preferential vehicle lanes: occupancy level: State Highway Route 10 |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=199920000SB63 |language=}}</ref> which would lower the occupancy requirement from three occupants to two for a 24-month experiment starting January 1, 2000, hoping it would increase carpool rates. Despite opposition from [[Caltrans]], [[Foothill Transit]] and the Southern California Transit Advocates (a transit users' organization), the bill was passed the state legislature and signed into law by Governor [[Gray Davis]] in July 1999.

The experiment was a disaster, journey times increased by 20 to 30 minutes as speeds on the busway dropped from {{convert|65|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} to {{convert|20|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} which was slower than the general-purpose lanes of Interstate 10 where speeds also dropped from {{convert|25|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} to {{convert|23|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Turnbull 2002" /> The change generated over 1,000 complaints to government agencies from bus riders and prior carpoolers.<ref name="lat012200">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-22-mn-56559-story.html | title=Easing of Carpool Rules Backfires as Lanes Jam | author=Shuit, Douglas P. | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=January 22, 2000 | access-date=March 14, 2009}}</ref> Solis at first defended the change,<ref name="lat012200"/> but by May, she supported Assembly Bill 769,<ref name="AB769">{{cite act |type=Assembly Bill |index=769 |date=July 3, 2000 |article= |article-type= |legislature=[[California State Legislature]] |title=Vehicles: preferential vehicle lanes |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=199920000AB769 |language=}}</ref>  which would rescind the change and restore the higher occupancy requirement during peak hours,<ref name="lat051700">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-17-me-31101-story.html | title=Bill to Restore El Monte Busway Moves Forward | author=Shuit, Douglas P. | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=May 17, 2000 | access-date=March 14, 2009}}</ref> which passed and took effect in July 2000.<ref name="Turnbull 2002" /> However, the lower two occupant requirement remained during off-peak hours and weekends.

=== Conversion to bus rapid transit and high occupancy toll ===
In the early 1990s, Caltrans built another busway in Los Angeles County, the [[Harbor Transitway]] from Los Angeles south to the new [[Harbor Gateway Transit Center]]. [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] (Metro) staff recognized that there was an opportunity to link the operationally similar Harbor Transitway and El Monte Busway, even suggesting to Caltrans that a direct connection be built between the two busways.<ref name="dual hub">{{Cite web |date=August 1993 |title=Dual Hub High Occupancy Vehicle Transitway Report |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/hov/dual_hub_hov_transitway.pdf |publisher=Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Scheduling and Operations Planning Staff}}</ref>{{rp|3}} In 1998, Metro studied the extension but found it expensive and technically challenging, and to date, there have been no further efforts to connect the busways directly.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gabbard |first=Dana |date=June 24, 2010 |title=Busway Linkage Obsession Puzzler |language=en-US |work=Streetsblog Los Angeles |url=https://la.streetsblog.org/2010/06/24/busway-linkage-obsession-puzzler/ |access-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref> Ahead of the 1996 opening of the Harbor Transitway, Metro staff studied how to operate its buses on the new facility. In 1993, they recommended the creation of a dual [[hub-and-spoke]] ("dual hub") system with a trunk route that served both the Harbor Transitway and the El Monte Busway and El Monte station and Harbor Gateway Transit Center serving as hubs. Ultimately, the Metro Board of Directors decided to continue running bus routes on both the El Monte Busway and Harbor Freeway as they had before.<ref name="Radcliffe 1996">{{Cite news |last=Radcliffe |first=Jim |date=June 27, 1996 |title=Harbor Transitway opens, reducing congestion - Impact felt during evening commute |page=A3 |work=[[Daily Breeze]] |via=NewsBank}}</ref>

After the very successful launch of the [[G Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Orange Line]] (now G Line), a new busway in the San Fernando Valley, Metro decided to rebrand the county's other busways in an attempt to increase awareness.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Emsden |first=Maya |date=March 16, 2006 |title=Approve color designations for Metro lines and fixed guideways |url=http://media.metro.net/board/Items/2006/03_march/20060316Item13EMAC.pdf |publisher=[[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]}}</ref> In March 2006, Metro decided that the Harbor Transitway would be colored bronze and the El Monte Busway would be colored silver on Metro's maps, and the two would be marketed as a "Combined Transitway Service." No changes were made in the operations of the bus routes operated on the lines. The changes were criticized as being difficult to understand for irregular and new riders.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Freemark |first=Yonah |date=December 10, 2009 |title=Los Angeles Integrates Service on Two Busways, with Plans to Implement Congestion Pricing |language=en-US |work=The Transport Politic |url=https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/12/10/los-angeles-integrates-service-on-two-busways-with-plans-to-implement-congestion-pricing/ |access-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref>

The first [[bus rapid transit]] route came to the El Monte Busway in 2007 when Foothill Transit introduced the [[Silver Streak (bus)|Silver Streak]]. The line replaced Foothill Transit route 480, the agency's busiest line. The Silver Streak used higher-capacity vehicles and eliminated many of the off-freeway deviations and minor stops on Line 480.<ref name="Gutierrez 2007">{{Cite news |last=Gutierrez |first=Nisha |date=September 28, 2007 |title=Foothill Transit's Silver Streak Set to Launch |publisher=San Gabriel Valley Tribune |url=http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?id=2953&siteSection=3 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928170624/http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?id=2953&siteSection=3 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |via=Mass Transit}}</ref>

Metro returned to its plan for a dual-hub route in 2009, proposing a new bus rapid transit service called the [[J Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Silver Line]] (now J Line) utilizing both the El Monte Busway and the Harbor Transitway. The new higher frequency service would be funded by converting both corridors into [[High occupancy toll lane|high occupancy toll]] (HOT) lanes, to be branded as the [[Metro ExpressLanes]]. The Silver Line began operations on December 13, 2009, with Metro planning to refurbish the aging stations along both corridors over the coming years. The eastern section of the El Monte Busway, between Interstate 710 and El Monte was restriped to create two HOT lanes in each direction. The [[electronic toll collection]] equipment for the HOT lanes on the Harbor Transitway went into service on November 10, 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kudler |first=Adrian Glick |date=November 6, 2012 |title=Everything You Need to Know About New 110 and 10 Toll Lanes |language=en |work=Curbed LA |url=https://la.curbed.com/2012/11/6/10310060/everything-you-need-to-know-about-new-110-and-10-toll-lanes |access-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref> The El Monte Busway's HOT lanes opened on February 22, 2013.<ref name="Pamer 2013">{{Cite news |last=Pamer |first=Melissa |date=February 22, 2013 |title=Metro ExpressLanes to Open on San Bernardino (10) Freeway |language=en-US |work=[[KNBC]] |url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/metro-express-lanes-to-open-on-san-bernardino-10-freeway/2056152/ |access-date=November 25, 2020}}</ref>
[[File:El Monte Station main entrance (8172818357).jpg|thumb|Entrance to rebuilt El Monte station]]
By 2010, El Monte station had become one of the busiest bus terminals west of Chicago, with 22,000 boardings daily as of 2010.<ref name="Hymon 2010">{{Cite web |last=Hymon |first=Steve |date=April 13, 2010 |title=El Monte bus station work begins next week |url=https://thesource.metro.net/2010/04/13/el-monte-bus-station-work-begins-next-week/ |access-date=December 1, 2020 |website=The Source |language=en-US}}</ref> Starting in 2010, the old station was demolished and replaced in October 2012 with a new station capable of handling up to 40,000 passengers per day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Projects and programs: El Monte Station |url=http://www.metro.net/projects/elmonte/ |quote=Project Schedule Construction start date: September 2010 Anticipated completion date: Late Summer 2012}}</ref>

In January 2015, the Cal State LA and LA General Medical Center stations were temporarily closed for one month for refurbishment and stairway and light replacement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hinton |first=Lexi |date=February 5, 2015 |title=El Monte Busway Stations reopen after month long construction project |work=The Source |agency=Metro |url=http://thesource.metro.net/2015/02/05/el-monte-busway-stations-reopen-after-month-long-construction-project/ |access-date=June 8, 2015}}</ref>

[[Transit Access Pass]] (TAP) card [[ticket vending machine]]s were added to most stations in early 2017 to support all-door boarding on the Silver Line.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2016 |title=Universal Fare System Contract Modification |url=https://metro.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2686286&GUID=477B5E19-F988-4239-8E4B-AD4601EDF6B6&Options=&Search= |access-date=November 25, 2020 |publisher=[[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]}}</ref> Pre-payment of fares and all-door boarding reduces the time buses need to remain stopped at stations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All-Door Boarding |url=https://www.metro.net/projects/silverline/all-door-boarding-pilot/ |access-date=June 25, 2016 |publisher=[[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] |archive-date=August 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815102337/https://www.metro.net/projects/silverline/all-door-boarding-pilot/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On November 1, 2020, a new transitway was opened on the south side of [[Patsaouras Transit Plaza]] to serve Union Station, funded in part by Metro ExpressLanes toll revenue.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 30, 2020 |title=Metro announces bus plaza, pedestrian bridge to open Sunday at Union Station |language=en-US |work=Los Angeles Daily News |agency=City News Service |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2020/10/30/metro-announces-bus-plaza-pedestrian-bridge-to-open-sunday-at-union-station |access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref> The station was originally scheduled to open in 2015, but project delays had pushed the opening back.<ref name="McCarty Carino 2017">{{Cite news |last=McCarty Carino |first=Meghan |date=January 2, 2017 |title=Metro starts work on pedestrian bridge at LA's Union Station |work=[[KPCC (radio station)|KPCC]] |url=http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/01/02/67692/metro-starts-work-on-pedestrian-bridge-at-la-s-uni/ |access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

==Entrances and exits==
El Monte Busway can only be entered and exited at a few points.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013|title=Metro ExpressLanes Entry and Exit Locations|url=http://media.metro.net/projects_studies/expresslanes/images/ExpressLanes_Map_Toll_Entry.pdf|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Hillmer & Parry 1994" />

Westbound entrances are at I-605 (from Interstate 10), Santa Anita Avenue (from Interstate 10), El Monte station (buses only), Del Mar Avenue (ramp from street level), Fremont Avenue (from Interstate 10), and I-710 (buses from southbound I-710 only).

Westbound exits are at Santa Anita Avenue (to Interstate 10), Fremont Avenue (to Interstate 10), [[U.S. Route 101 in California|US 101]], and Alameda Street

Eastbound entrances are at Alameda Street, Fremont Avenue (from Interstate 10), and [[California State Route 19|Rosemead Boulevard/SR 19]] (from Interstate 10)

Eastbound exits are at I-710 (buses to northbound I-710 only), Fremont Avenue (to Interstate 10), Del Mar Avenue (ramp to street level), Rosemead Boulevard/SR 19 (to Interstate 10), El Monte station (buses only), and I-605 (to Interstate 10).

==Tolls==
{{As of|2025|January}}, the [[high-occupancy toll lane]]s (HOT) are a [[24/7 service]]. Solo drivers are tolled using a [[congestion pricing]] system based on the real-time levels of traffic. For two-person carpools, they are charged the posted toll during the peak hours between 5:00&nbsp;am and 9:00&nbsp;am, and between 4:00&nbsp;pm and 7:00&nbsp;pm; no toll is charged during off-peak hours. Carpools with two or more people and motorcycles are not charged at all hours.<ref name="using">{{Cite web |title=Using Metro ExpressLanes |url=https://www.metroexpresslanes.net/how-it-works/using-metro-expresslanes/ |website=www.metroexpresslanes.net |publisher=Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref> All tolls are collected using an [[open road tolling]] system, and therefore there are no toll booths to receive cash. Each vehicle using the HOT lanes is required to carry a [[FasTrak]] ''Flex'' transponder with its switch set to indicate the number of the vehicle's occupants (1, 2, or 3+). Those with clean air vehicles need to apply to get a 15 percent discount. Solo drivers may also use the FasTrak standard tag without the switch. Drivers without any FasTrak tag will be assessed a toll violation regardless of whether they qualified for free.<ref name="using" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Clean Air Vehicle Discount |url=https://www.metroexpresslanes.net/offers-discounts/clean-air-vehicle-discount/ |website=www.metroexpresslanes.net |publisher=Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=January 12, 2025}}</ref>

==Bus services==
A mix of [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] and [[Foothill Transit]] bus services utilize the El Monte Busway to operate between [[Downtown Los Angeles]] and various points in the [[San Gabriel Valley]] and [[Pomona Valley]], as well as the [[San Bernardino County]] city of [[Montclair, California|Montclair]].

Two [[bus rapid transit]] routes utilize the El Monte Busway: the [[J Line (Los Angeles Metro)|J Line]], operated by [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority|LA Metro]] and the [[Silver Streak (bus)|Silver Streak]], operated by [[Foothill Transit]]. These routes offer frequent service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Metro and Foothill Transit offer a reciprocal fare program where pass holders may ride either J Line or Silver Streak buses between Downtown Los Angeles and El Monte station.<ref name="Silver to Silver">{{Cite web |title=Silver Streak to the J Line (Metro Silver) |url=http://foothilltransit.org/lines-and-schedules/silver2silver/ |access-date=December 1, 2020 |website=Foothill Transit |language=en-US}}</ref>

The El Monte Busway is also used by [[Metro Express (Los Angeles County)|Metro Express]] 487 and 489 along with [[Foothill Transit]] 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, and 699. Metro Express 487 operates all-day, seven days a week; the rest only run during weekday peak periods.

===List of stations===
The El Monte Busway has four stations served by the [[J Line (Los Angeles Metro)|Metro J Line]], the [[Silver Streak (bus)|Silver Streak]] and is also served by [[Metro Express (Los Angeles County)|Metro Express]] and [[Foothill Transit]] buses. The stations from west to east are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Station
!Busway Services
!Station Type
!Date opened
!City (Neighborhood) <!--Do not add addresses, they are listed on station pages-->
!Major connections and notes
|-
|[[Union Station (Los Angeles)|Union Station]]
|{{ubl|
*{{LACMTA icon|J|showtext=yes}}: 910, 950
*[[Los Angeles Metro Bus|Metro Bus]]: Express {{LA Metro route|487}}, Express {{LA Metro route|489}}
*[[Foothill Transit]]: [[Silver Streak (bus)|Silver Streak]], [[Foothill Transit#490|490]], [[Foothill Transit#493|493]], [[Foothill Transit#495|495]], [[Foothill Transit#498|498]], [[Foothill Transit#499|499]], [[Foothill Transit#699|699]]
}}
|Transitway median
|November 1, 2020
|[[Downtown Los Angeles|Los Angeles (Downtown)]]
|{{Show by date|2023|06|16|{{LACMTA icon strip|B|D|L}}|{{LACMTA icon strip|B|D|E}}|hour=-7}}<br />{{Rint|us|amtrak}}{{nbsp}}[[Amtrak]]<br />{{Rint|air|link=FlyAway (bus)}}{{nbsp}}[[FlyAway (bus)|LAX FlyAway]]<br />{{Rint|losangeles|metrolink}}{{nbsp}}[[Metrolink (California)|Metrolink]]<br />Paid parking: 3,000 spaces
|-
|[[LA General Medical Center station|LA General Medical Center]]
|{{ubl|
*{{LACMTA icon|J|showtext=yes}}: 910, 950
*Metro Bus: Express 487, Express 489
*Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, 699
}}
|Transitway median
| rowspan="2" |February 18, 1975
| rowspan="1" |[[Boyle Heights, Los Angeles|Los Angeles (Boyle Heights)]]
|Metrolink does not stop here, but there are plans to add it as an [[infill]] station.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=numble |number=1671287371994677255 |title=LA Metro study on infill Metrolink station at LA General Medical Center (LA County-USC Medical Center). Would build a second track and center platform. Cost $51m-$110m (depends on if pedestrian bridge is built). Existing bridge is hard to retrofit.}}</ref>  
|-
|[[Cal State LA station|Cal State LA]]
|{{ubl|
*{{LACMTA icon|J|showtext=yes}}: 910, 950
*Metro Bus: Express 487, Express 489
*Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 490, 493, 495, 498, 499, 699
}}
|Transitway median
| rowspan="1" |[[East Los Angeles, California|East Los Angeles]]
|{{Rint|losangeles|metrolink}}{{nbsp}}{{rcb|Metrolink (California)|San Bernardino|inline=route}}
|-
|[[El Monte station]]
|{{ubl|
*{{LACMTA icon|J|showtext=yes}}: 910, 950
*Foothill Transit: Silver Streak
}}
|Off-freeway transit center
|July 14, 1973
| rowspan="1" |[[El Monte, California|El Monte]]
|[[Park and ride]]: 1,287 spaces
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/99-00/bill/sen/sb_0051-0100/sb_63_cfa_19990709_130346_sen_floor.html SB 63 analysis]
*[http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/99-00/bill/asm/ab_0751-0800/ab_769_cfa_20000607_162442_sen_floor.html AB 769 analysis]

==External links==
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}{{Commons category}}
*{{official website|http://www.metroexpresslanes.net|name=Metro ExpressLanes}} – includes FasTrak and other toll information for the HOT lanes
*[http://www.foothilltransit.org Foothill Transit]
*[http://www.metro.net Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]

{{Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}
{{USBRT}}

[[Category:Los Angeles Metro Busway]]
[[Category:Southern California freeways]]
[[Category:Busways]]
[[Category:Toll roads in California]]
[[Category:Transport infrastructure completed in 1973]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in California]]
[[Category:High-occupancy toll roads]]