A “bus bridge” is the use of MetroBuses to “bridge” between MetroLink stations when the train cannot continue its normal schedule due to a rail blockage or operational problem. (There are times when a blockage or operational problem occurs and our controllers can use a “single track” — one of the two existing tracks — to keep trains moving. Single track operations move at slower speeds, however, since trains use one track to travel in both directions but in alternating patterns.)
There are two kinds of bus bridges, ones that are scheduled in advance, and here is a Rider Alert that was posted for a planned bus bridge.
For an emergency bus bridge, the situation varies depending on the day, time of day, type of incident, number of stations affected and length of service outage. Here is a Rider Alert posted when there was an emergency electrical outage.
We encourage customers to check our Rider Alerts during bad weather and sign up for Metro’s RSS feeds for notification as Alerts are posted.