Silver Streak is a bus rapid transit route between Montclair and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

operated by

Foothill Transit Foothill Transit is a public transit agency that is government funded by 22 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley region of eastern Los Angeles Cou ...

. Between the Montclair TransCenter and the El Monte Bus Station, buses travel on the

San Bernardino Freeway Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California, to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California, also known as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway, ru ...

. Between El Monte and

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, buses use the

El Monte Busway The El Monte Busway (also known as the I-10 ExpressLanes) is a shared-use express bus corridor ( busway) and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes running along Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway) between Alameda Street near Union Station in Dow ...

. 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.''Foothill Transit - We Drive''
Silver Streak was introduced with onboard

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

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

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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 in length,

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

and fueled with

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...

, 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

References

{{USBRT Bus rapid transit in California Transportation in Los Angeles Transportation in Los Angeles County, California San Gabriel Valley