Transportation
When Los Angeles' Blue Line Was New
Celebrate its 24th birthday with a 1990 video touting "a promise delivered." And a talking owl named Travis.
On July 14, 1990, Los Angeles's Blue Line debuted, providing much-needed rail service between downtown L.A. and downtown Long Beach.
It was a big deal, perhaps even more so than the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA) expected. Originally projected to have a daily ridership of 5,000, the Blue Line was carrying 32,000 riders a day by the end of 1990. As of last May, the system's oldest line has an average weekday ridership of 86,065.