North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project

North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project
Overview
Status	Approved; construction underway
Termini	North Hollywood Colorado/Hill
Stations	22
Website	www.metro.net/projects/noho-pasadena-corridor/
Service
Type	Bus rapid transit
System	Los Angeles Metro Busway
Operator(s)	Los Angeles Metro
History
Planned opening	2028 (2028)[1]
Route map to Chatsworth North Hollywood ‍ to Union Station Vineland/Hesby Olive/Riverside Alameda/Naomi Olive/Verdugo Olive/Lake Metrolink and Amtrak I-5 Olive/San Fernando Glenoaks/Alameda Glenoaks/Western Glenoaks/Grandview Glenoaks/Pacific SR 134 Central/Lexington Broadway/Brand Broadway/Glendale Broadway/Verdugo SR 2 Eagle Rock Plaza Colorado/Eagle Rock Colorado/Townsend Memorial Park Colorado/Los Robles Colorado/Lake Colorado/Hill All stations are accessible

The North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project (formerly the North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor^[2]) is a proposed 18-mile (29 km) bus rapid transit line in the Los Angeles Metro Busway system in Los Angeles, California. It is planned to operate between Pasadena — where it will connect with the A Line — and the North Hollywood station in the San Fernando Valley — where it will connect with the B Line in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and the G Line in the Los Angeles Metro Busway system.^[3][4] The project completed its scoping phase in 2019, was approved by the Metro board on April 28, 2022^[5] and is estimated to be completed by 2027.^[6][7] It is part of Metro's Twenty-eight by '28 initiative.

The east to west/west to east route will have signal priority at traffic lights, and will have exclusive lanes for most of the route. Metro reports the cost is $448 million. Metro received comments it would have to accommodate the annual Rose Parade route on Colorado Boulevard. Destinations along the route include Old Pasadena, The Paseo, and Pasadena City College and The Americana at Brand outdoor mall. It would also connect with Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, The Walt Disney Studios, The Burbank Studios, the Downtown Burbank Metrolink station, and Universal Studios.

The route will run between North Hollywood and Pasadena, serving 22 stations.

The line's western terminus is North Hollywood station, shared with the B Line and G Line. The line briefly runs east before heading south to the Vineland/Hesby station. It then heads east on State Route 134 to the Olive/Riverside and Alameda/Naomi stations in the Burbank Media District. It next heads northeast along Olive Avenue toward downtown Burbank, stopping at Olive/Verdugo, Olive/Lake and Olive/San Fernando.

East of downtown Burbank, the route heads southeast on Glenoaks Avenue, stopping at Glenoaks/Alameda on the Burbank-Glendale border before continuing to Glenoaks/Western, Glenoaks/Grandview and Glenoaks/Pacific. It then crosses the Verdugo Wash as it heads south on Central Avenue, stopping at Central/Lexington before turning east on Broadway. The route then stops at Broadway/Brand, Broadway/Glendale and Broadway/Verdugo before heading into Eagle Rock.

Traveling east on Colorado Boulevard, the route has stations at Eagle Rock Plaza, Colorado/Eagle Rock and Colorado/Townsend. The route then heads east again on State Route 134, exiting at Fair Oaks Avenue and heading toward Memorial Park station, shared with the A Line. It finally heads east of Colorado Boulevard, stopping at Colorado/Los Robles, Colorado/Lake and Colorado/Hill, adjacent to Pasadena City College.

The following table lists the stations of the line, from west to east:

Stations	Date Opening	City/Neighborhood	Major connections and notes[8][9]
North Hollywood	2028	Los Angeles (North Hollywood)	LA Metro: ‍ Park and ride: 1,085 spaces Major attractions: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, El Portal Theater
Vineland/Hesby			Major attractions: NoHo Arts District
Olive/Riverside		Burbank	Major attractions: Disney XD, New York Film Academy, Warner Bros. Studios
Alameda/Naomi			Major attractions: The Burbank Studios, Fremantle, iHeartMedia, KCET, Legendary Entertainment, Providence High School, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, The Walt Disney Studios
Olive/Verdugo			Major attractions: John Burroughs High School
Olive/Lake			Metrolink: Antelope Valley Ventura County Major attractions: Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Olive/San Fernando			Major attractions: Burbank City Hall, Burbank Courthouse, Burbank High School, Burbank Town Center
Glenoaks/Alameda		Burbank (south) Glendale (north)
Glenoaks/Western		Glendale
Glenoaks/Grandview			Major attractions: DreamWorks Animation, Grand Central Creative Campus, KABC-TV
Glenoaks/Pacific			Major attractions: Casa Adobe de San Rafael, Herbert Hoover High School
Central/Lexington			Major attractions: Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles
Broadway/Brand			Major attractions: Alex Theatre, Americana at Brand, Armenian American Museum, Glendale Galleria, Martial Arts History Museum, Museum of Neon Art
Broadway/Glendale			Major attractions: Glendale City Hall, Glendale Courthouse
Broadway/Verdugo			Major attractions: Glendale High School
Eagle Rock Plaza		Los Angeles (Eagle Rock)	Major attractions: Eagle Rock Plaza
Colorado/Eagle Rock			Major attractions: Center for the Arts Eagle Rock
Colorado/Townsend
Memorial Park		Pasadena	LA Metro: Major attractions: Old Pasadena
Colorado/Los Robles			Major attractions: Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena City Hall, The Paseo, USC Pacific Asia Museum
Colorado/Lake			Major attractions: Pasadena Playhouse
Colorado/Hill			Major attractions: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena City College

The North Hollywood–Pasadena corridor was identified by Metro as a potential bus rapid transit route in its 2013 Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study, whiched called for a detailed corridor study for the route. The study also suggested that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) consider modifying their existing peak‐hour Commuter Express line 549 — which operates between Encino and Pasadena, mostly along State Route 134 — to a more frequent, all-day service while the detailed corridor study is conducted.^[10] In March 2016, Metro supplemented LADOT line 549 by launching its own express route: line 501, marketed as "Metro NoHo-Pasadena Express," which runs between North Hollywood station and Del Mar station in Pasadena, mostly along State Route 134.^[11] Metro boardmember and Glendale councilmember Ara Najarian suggested that if the line proved successful, "it could provide the justification we need to consider even greater transit investments in this corridor."^[12]

Later that year, Los Angeles County voters passed Measure M, a sales tax referendum which included dedicated funding for a North Hollywood–Pasadena bus rapid transit project.^[13][14] At the time, Metro noted that "[t]he project could be converted to a rail service at a later date if ridership demand outgrows the bus rapid service capacity."^[15] In 2018, Metro incorporated the project into the "Twenty-eight by '28" plan to complete 28 major road, transit and bicycle projects before the 2028 Summer Olympics and 2028 Summer Paralympics.^[16] The project also received an additional $50 million in state transit capital grant funds.^[17]

By 2019, the planning process had become contentious, with anti-BRT activists in Eagle Rock seeking to route the line along State Route 134 instead of Colorado Boulevard.^[18]

In November 2020, Metro released the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).^[19] In response to the DEIR, a pro-BRT activist group named Eagle Rock Forward created a proposal, entitled "Beautiful Boulevard," to improve walkability along the route.^[20] In April 2022, Metro approved the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the line,^[21] but was later sued in July 2022 as the meeting where the EIR was approved allegedly violated California's Brown Act.^[22] The lawsuit failed in December 2023.^[23]

In December 2024, the Metro Board of Directors approved moving into the construction phase of the project.^[24]

At a May 2025 presentation to the Glendale City Council, Metro stated that construction on the line will begin as soon as June 2025.^[25] In September 2025, Metro began locating and identifying underground utilities along the route.^[26][27][28] In February 2026, Metro announced that the construction is anticipated to begin in Pasadena in April 2026.^[29]

Metro light rail

Metro heavy rail

In 2016, Metro noted that "[t]he project could be converted to a rail service at a later date if ridership demand outgrows the bus rapid service capacity."^[30]

In 2024, Metro released a report on possible light rail or heavy rail conversion of the line. A feasibility study has been requested to study the following routes:^[31]

1. New Rail Alternative: The route would travel east from North Hollywood station at-grade along Chandler Boulevard — with an optional Hollywood Burbank Airport connection — then possibly interlining with Metrolink and travelling along the Verdugo Wash, before being routed along the median of State Route 134 to Pasadena, where it would end in an underground connection with the Metro A Line.
2. BRT Conversion Alternative: The route would mostly travel at-grade along the BRT route, likely tunneling below downtown Burbank and downtown Glendale.

• Project website