Sepulveda Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley gets 5.6 miles of bus-only lanes

Can bus-only lanes cut the time you sit on a bus? The Los Angeles Department of Transportation and LA Metro think so. That’s why they’ve opened up 5.6 miles of new bus lanes on Sepulveda Boulevard between Ventura Boulevard and Rayen Street, including a 0.9-mile bus lane on westbound Ventura from Vesper Avenue to Sepulveda.

LA Metro says by keeping cars out of the bus lane, the speed of its Line 234 will increase by 15% or more as it travels from Sherman Oaks through Van Nuys, roughly paralleling the 405 Freeway. Other recently added bus lanes in the city of Los Angeles are on Alvarado Street and a section of Venice Boulevard, said LA Metro spokesperson Dave Sotero, on Tuesday March 26.

The transit agency is working to add 31 additional miles of bus-only lanes in Los Angeles County by the end of the year, he said. On hand to ride the bus and break through the banner were Metro board members Lindsey Horvath, third district L.A. County supervisor; and Paul Krekorian, L.A. City Council president.