Silver Streak (bus)

Silver Streak
Overview
Operator	Foothill Transit
Garage	Arcadia
Vehicle	New Flyer Xcelsior XN60, Alexander Dennis Enviro500 EV
Began service	March 18, 2007 (2007-03-18)
Route
Route type	Bus rapid transit
Locale	San Gabriel Valley, California USA
Start	Montclair Transcenter
End	Downtown Los Angeles
Length	38 mi (61 km)
Stations	18
Route diagram Montclair Transcenter ↓ San Bernardino Freeway Pomona Transcenter Cal Poly Pomona ( weekdays only ) Azusa Av Vincent Av/Lakes Dr Plaza West Covina West Covina Pkwy/Toluca Av Puente Av ↑ San Bernardino Freeway El Monte Station ↓ El Monte Busway Cal State LA LA General Medical Center Union Station ↑ El Monte Busway Los Angeles St Spring St/1st St 1st St/Broadway 1st St/Hill St ( Civic Center/ Grand Park ) ↓ Grand │ Olive ↑ 2nd St 5th St (Pershing Square) 7th St (7th Street/Metro Center) ↓ Grand │ Olive ↑ ↑ Figueroa │ Flower ↓ Olympic Bl Pico Bl (Pico) ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

Silver Streak is a bus rapid transit route between Montclair and Los Angeles operated by Foothill Transit. Between the Montclair TransCenter and the El Monte Bus Station, buses travel on the San Bernardino Freeway. Between El Monte and Downtown Los Angeles, buses use the El Monte Busway. The service was introduced in 2007 in response to overcrowding on Foothill Transit route 480. It runs 24 hours a day, with hourly service in the late evening.

LA Metro's J Line service, which also uses the El Monte Busway, was introduced in 2009, and since 2012, both agencies have offered a reciprocal fare program, allowing pass holders to ride either route between Downtown Los Angeles and El Monte.

History

The express Silver Streak was introduced in 2007 in response to overcrowding on Line 480, Foothill's most popular line. The new service used higher-capacity vehicles and eliminated the many deviations and minor stops on Route 480. It was designed to appeal to discretionary riders. The route is also referred to as Line 707. Silver Streak was introduced with onboard Wi-Fi on the NABI articulated buses.

Ever since the introduction of the Silver Streak, the 'Local Plus Service' on routes 486, 488, 492, and 494 was converted to local service only and terminating at El Monte Bus Station; with routes 480 terminating at Westfield West Covina and 482 terminating at Puente Hills Mall (originally shortening to El Monte Station until it was replaced by route 282). Passengers were then asked to transfer to either Silver Streak, 481 (later discontinued in Late 2017) or Metro service to Downtown Los Angeles.

On-board Wi-Fi was discontinued in 2009 due to low usage and to cut costs. Ridership of the Silver Streak fell since the introduction of the Metro J (Silver) Line in 2009.

In October 2012 the rebuilt and expanded El Monte Bus Station opened, and a joint fare program was introduced on the Silver Streak/Metro J Line. This allows the same ticket to be used on either service between the bus station and Downtown LA.

On January 23, 2023, a weekday-only stop at Cal Poly Pomona was added and hours were later extended to 9 p.m. in October 2023.

The Silver Streak uses a dedicated fleet of New Flyer Xcelsior XN60 buses, which are 60 feet (18 m) in length, articulated and fueled with compressed natural gas, which produces less emissions than diesel fueled engines.

Fares

Metro and Foothill Transit passengers can ride either the Metro J Line or Foothill's Silver Streak using each other's pass between Downtown Los Angeles and El Monte Station. The program is not eligible outside this range. The joint agreement range of the Silver 2 Silver bus program is only between El Monte Station and Downtown Los Angeles. Effective July 2022, one-way fare is $1.75 for trips of any length, including transfers to Foothill Transit local lines. A discounted fare of $0.75 for seniors, the disabled, and Medicare card holders applies.

List of stops from east to west

Station	Major Connections	Stop type
Montclair Transcenter	San Bernardino Foothill Transit: 188, 197, 480, 492, 699 Omnitrans: 66, 85, 88, 290 Riverside Transit Agency: CommuterLink 204 Park and ride: 1,600 spaces	Transit center
Pomona Transcenter	Riverside Amtrak: Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle Foothill Transit: 195, 197, 286, 291, 292, 480, 482, 492 Omnitrans: 61 to Ontario International Airport Park and ride: 907 spaces	Transit center
Cal Poly Pomona (weekdays only)		Transit center
Azusa Av	Foothill Transit: 280, 480	Freeway ramp stop
Vincent Av & Lakes Dr	Foothill Transit: 480, 488	Street stop
Plaza West Covina (West Covina Pkwy & California Av)	Foothill Transit: 178, 185, 272, 480, 488	Transit center
West Covina Pkwy & Toluca Av	Foothill Transit: 178	Street stop
Puente Av	Foothill Transit: 272, 274	Freeway ramp stop
El Monte Station	Park and ride: 1,287 spaces	Transit center
Cal State LA	San Bernardino	Busway station
LA General Medical Center		Busway station
Union Station (Patsaouras Transit Plaza)	‍‍‍ Amtrak, LAX FlyAway and Metrolink Paid parking: 3,000 spaces	Busway station
Arcadia St & Los Angeles St		Street stop
Spring St & 1st St		Street stop
Broadway & 1st St	‍‍ (at Civic Center)	Street stop
Grand Av/Olive St & 2nd St		Street stop
Grand Av/Olive St & 5th St	‍‍ (at Pershing Square)	Street stop
Grand Av/Olive St & 7th St	‍‍‍‍ (at 7th St/Metro Center)	Street stop
Grand Av/Olive St & 9th St		Street stop
LA Convention Center (Flower St & Pico Bl)	‍‍ (at Pico)	Street stop