As Metro expands its rail network to cover more of the greater Los Angeles area, agency officials are puzzling over what to call the many new transit lines set to open in coming decades.
Right now, every train or rapid bus lines in Metro’s system is named after a color—except the Expo Line. With multiple new routes set to open in time for the 2028 Olympics, including the Crenshaw/LAX Line (also not named after a color) the agency will need to dig deeper into its box of crayons or come up with a new system.
A new report indicates that, after studying the naming conventions used by other transit agencies, Metro has honed in on four options:
- Name every line after a color
- Name every line after a number
- Name every line after a letter
- Use the existing system, with both colors and words
A sample map of the first option includes a Pink Line, a Lime Line, and even a Lavender Line. The Crenshaw/LAX Line has merged with the eastern part of the Green Line, and the western portion of the existing Green Line is labeled as the Olive Line.
A presentation from Metro notes that this naming system would be simple, but potentially confusing (is that purple or lavender?) and tricky for colorblind people to master.
A system with number or letter names could still make use of the existing color scheme on maps, notes the report, but these options might make the system easier for newcomers to decipher.
In focus groups conducted by Metro, a majority of those surveyed preferred the number naming system over all other options, but the presentation notes that this could become confusing if train lines are given the same names as existing bus routes.
However the agency decides to name its new routes, it will have to move quickly if it wants to roll out the changes in time for the train and bus lines to open.
Service is expected to begin on the Crenshaw/LAX Line next year, and in 2021, the Expo Line will link up with the southern part of the Gold Line, creating a new route that will need a name of its own (the northern portion of the Gold Line will merge with the Blue Line at the same time).
Metro staff is recommending that a plan for the new naming system be fully fleshed out by December.
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