LA Transit Ridership Plummets Amidst ICE Raids

Fear of immigration raids is decimating transit ridership in Los Angeles, where tens of thousands of low-income workers rely on the city’s public transit system.

In a piece for the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Buchanan, Colleen Shalby, and Hannah Fry describe the rippling impacts of ICE raids that have forced many Angelenos into hiding. “After June 6, when immigration agents launched a campaign in Los Angeles to find and capture undocumented immigrants, some residents have started to go underground, staying away from work, school, churches and other public venues for fear of being swept up in a raid.”

Bus and rail ridership in the region has dropped by between 10 and 15 percent since June 6, when purported immigration officials in unmarked began detaining people in the street, including at bus stops.

Public transit is a lifeline for many L.A. residents who can’t afford cars. “A 2023 Metro survey showed that more than 60% of bus riders and roughly 50% of rail riders are Latinx/Hispanic. And nearly 90% of bus riders and more than 70% of rail riders’ annual household income is less than $50,000.” In L.A.’s commercial corridors, the absence of vendors and customers is palpable.