The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority tweaked its bus routes in Beverly Hills at the end of June, and after a month, Metro officials are looking at ways to improve service.

As part of its NextGen Bus Plan, the agency eliminated three bus routes – bus lines 14, 16/316 and 30/330 – and replaced them with one, bus line 617, which runs from Robertson Boulevard westbound onto Burton Way to Beverly Drive, and south to Pico Boulevard.

“I think structurally it’s helped. I don’t know that we’ve got to the frequency on the 617 that we ideally should be at,” Metro’s director of service, performance and analysis Joseph Forgiarini told the Beverly Hills City Council on July 27. “That’s something we as staff need to work on.”

While Metro staff has already identified some issues to address in Beverly Hills, there is no formal plan or timeline to implement further changes, he said. The agency will implement the final stage of the NextGen plan in December and will formalize its findings after that, Forgiarini said. However, Metro is always looking at ways to improve its bus lines.

“It’s a continuous review process,” Forgiarini added. “It never ends.”

He said the NextGen Bus Plan “emphasized high-frequency service on key corridors,” such as Santa Monica, Wilshire and Olympic boulevards in Beverly Hills. While the bus lines offer less coverage overall, buses come more frequently in high-traffic areas, Forgiarini said.

He said the agency began reviewing its Los Angeles County bus system in 2018. In early 2020, it proposed eliminating the Beverly Hills bus routes, a move the city staff opposed. Metro officials then proposed replacing/extending bus line 617 to accommodate the loss of service.

According to a staff report, the city accepted the compromise because service to the business triangle and future Wilshire/Rodeo subway station would be preserved.

Resident Steve Mayer said individual bus riders were not consulted about the changes, and that the alterations negatively impact Metro riders in Beverly Hills. He said some stops on the new line require lengthy walks to certain locations.

“And this is to gain new users, which is the whole reason of this exercise,” Mayer added.

Councilman Lester Friedman asked how many stops were eliminated in Beverly Hills as part of the plan. Metro’s service planner for the area, Carl Torres, said the removal of bus line 14 included 14 stops between Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards.

Mayer said some bus stops are still scheduled to be eliminated, such as one at Santa Monica Boulevard and Roxbury Drive. He also referenced some stops that had been removed on Olympic Boulevard.

Forgiarini said that information came from a consultant’s recommendation list that was shared publicly and is not necessarily representative of what was approved. Torres said the Santa Monica/Roxbury stop will not be eliminated.

“Good. Thank you for that,” Mayor Bob Wunderlich said. “That would be an example of one that is essential to our central business area. That … would be far from optimal for that to be eliminated.”

The Metro representatives also gave the council an update on its Fareless System Initiative, which is looking into the possibility of making all Metro bus and rail lines fareless.

“That is currently a study in progress,” Forgiarini said, adding that the study is being broken into phases. Currently, Metro is exploring its K-14 initiative, an effort to partner with school districts to provide free rides for students.

The Beverly Hills Unified School District has opted not to participate but is following the program.

“Metro has shared presentation opportunities about the pilot program, but other priorities have filled the current capacity we have at this time,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Bregy said. “We are very interested to know the results of the pilot program to understand how this program will impact our students.”

Forgiarini said the program’s next phases will benefit students in community colleges and qualified low-income residents.

“We don’t anticipate any major challenges,” he added.

For information, visit metro.net/projects/nextgen.