L.A. Metro to offer free bus and train rides on primary election day

L.A. Metro is offering free bus and train rides to help voters get to the polls for Tuesday’s California primary election.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., but the free rides will continue until midnight. The 2024 primary election includes votes for the presidential race, California’s U.S. Senate and congressional seats, and numerous local races and measures. Learn more about what’s on the ballot at the L.A. Times’ voter guide.

In addition to buses and trains, Metro is offering free transit on Tuesday through its bike share program and Metro Micro, its on-demand ride-share service.

The transit agency is also offering vote-by-mail drop-off boxes at nine Metro bus and train stations:

• Union Station (East Portal)

• El Monte Bus Station J Line, many local bus lines (plaza area)

• Harbor Freeway Station C and J Lines (park and ride area)

• Harbor Gateway Transit Center J Line, many other local lines (transit plaza area)

• Hollywood/Western Station B (Red) Line (mezzanine area)

• North Hollywood Station B (Red) Line (plaza area outside portal)

• Norwalk Station C Line (plaza area)

• Wilshire/Vermont Station B (Red) and D (Purple) Lines (courtyard area)

Metro’s board of directors voted in 2019 to permanently offer free rides on all federal and statewide election days. “Voting is essential to democracy and Metro encourages all eligible county residents to exercise their constitutional right to vote,” they wrote in a news release. “By offering free rides on Election Day, Metro is doing its part to encourage voter turnout and make it easier for people to travel to and from local polling places.”