The LAX/Metro Transit Center opened in June 2025 before the airport people mover
The LAX/Metro Transit Center opened June 6, 2025, linking the C and K rail lines with Metro and municipal buses near the airport. On opening day, passengers still needed a shuttle to reach terminals while the planned people mover remained a future connection.
Period covered: 2025-06-06
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Rail and bus gateway opens
LA Metro opened the LAX/Metro Transit Center at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street at 5 p.m. on June 6, 2025. The station linked the C and K lines and replaced the LAX City Bus Center and Aviation/LAX Station Bus Transit Center as the transit gateway to LAX. Metro described the station as serving six Metro bus lines, eight municipal bus lines and Metro Micro. [1] [2]
Metro’s June service notice listed routes 102, 111, 117, 120, 232 and 40 Owl as starting or ending trips at the center. It also said the temporary Line 857 shuttle between Westchester/Veterans and LAX/Aviation stations had been discontinued; riders could take the K Line south of Westchester/Veterans. [2]
Schematic of the June 2025 opening arrangement, not a geographic map or a current journey planner. Metro’s people-mover date was a forecast at that time.
LACEHH original graphic · Sources: LA Metro; LA Metro / The Source.
The terminal trip still required a shuttle
The station opened near the airport, not inside its terminals. The Automated People Mover had not opened, and Metro’s announcement described it as a future connection expected in 2026. While passengers awaited it, Los Angeles World Airports was to provide shuttles every 10 minutes, with schedules based on the C and K lines and municipal bus routes serving the station. That was the opening-day arrangement and forecast described in June 2025. [1]
Metro’s release described the station as connecting regional transit and airport shuttles, with a bus plaza, bike hub and customer service center. The station extends more than 1,100 feet from north to south. Its opening made the K Line connection to the C Line functional at the transit center, while the last leg to airport terminals remained a shuttle ride. [1]
A connection for workers and travelers
Metro presented the station as serving travelers and airport-area employees, and pointed to LAX as a major job center, particularly for South Los Angeles residents. The agency said the new connection expanded options beyond taxis, rideshares and private vehicles. For workers and households without cars, the station added a rail-and-bus connection near the airport, though the opening announcement did not measure changes in commute costs, travel times or job access. [1]
The June bus notice also shows how the opening changed local service: several routes began or ended trips at the center, and Line 857’s temporary shuttle service ended. Those route details describe the service transition announced in June 2025; Metro’s release treated the people mover as a later project, not part of the station’s opening-day configuration. [2] [1]
Sources & further reading
- Now Boarding: Metro’s LAX/Metro Transit Center Station Officially Opens, Connecting Communities; Bringing Faster, Easier Travel for Angelenos, VisitorsLA Metro · 2025-06-06
- Metro bus service changes to reduce wait times and improve transit connections begin Sunday, June 22LA Metro / The Source · 2025-06-13
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