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Still riding the Metro? You may be the only one: 10 scenes from L.A.’s transit system

Blue Line train wrapped with Los Angeles Clipper
A man waits on a Metro A Line train wrapped with images of Clippers players at the 7th Street/Metro Center subway station in Los Angeles.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Ridership on California’s largest transit system has fallen by more than half during the coronavirus outbreak as life in Los Angeles County has all but ground to a halt, officials say.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not plan to shut down the system. The Metro is a “lifeline” for people who still need to commute to essential jobs, take care of relatives, go to medical appointments and run errands, Chief Executive Phil Washington says.

Los Angeles Times photographer Brian van der Brug gives us a look inside the L.A. Metro system during the coronavirus pandemic.

Metro Red Line's Hollywood/Vine station
A lone man rides the escalator up to Hollywood Boulevard at the Metro Red Line Hollywood/Vine station in Hollywood.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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LAPD officers patrol inside the 7th Street/Metro Center subway station in Los Angeles.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Metro North Hollywood station
Metro B Line train operator walks toward the cab through a nearly empty North Hollywood station.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Metro B Line train
A couple nap during their commute on a Metro B Line train.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
An L.A. Metro custodian cleans a transit map inside the North Hollywood station.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A man waits at the nearly deserted Metro Wilshire/Vermont station.
A man waits for a train on a nearly deserted platform at the Wilshire/Vermont station in Los Angeles.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Metro A Line riders exit a train at Pico Station.
Metro A Line riders exit a train at Pico Station, donning masks in an effort to guard against the coronavirus.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman rides an early-morning Orange Line bus in Canoga Park.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Danny Armada on an Orange Line bus in Woodland Hills.
Danny Armada is accompanied by his own reflection on an Orange Line bus in Woodland Hills.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times’ visual coverage of the coronavirus crisis

April 30, 2020

Gov. Newsom has issued a stay-at-home order and all nonessential businesses are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. So what does it look like outside — from above?

March 26, 2020

Airline service in the United States is teetering on the brink of collapse, with near-empty planes and coronavirus outbreaks that have left some air traffic control towers empty.

March 25, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered Californians to stay at home. With businesses and popular destinations closed, The Times’ Luis Sinco documented the surreal scenes.

March 20, 2020

On Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills the high-end shops are closed, the normally bustling sidewalks empty because of California coronavirus restrictions.

March 23, 2020

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