According to LA County Supervisor Zev Yeroslavsky's blog, ridership on the Expo Line Phase I, which runs from Culver City to downtown Los Angeles, increased 55 percent over the last three months. The line had 497,449 boardings in July, compared to 320,627 in May. Ridership rose on Saturdays and Sundays as well as on weekdays. In fact, weekday ridership was up more than 60 percent -- with 18,181 boardings in July, compared to 11,347 in May. Metro has estimated that eventually 27,000 people will ride Expo Phase I on an average weekday,

Added Samantha Bricker, Expo’s chief operating officer, "We fully anticipate that ridership will continue to increase in the fall when school starts again and people realize there is a viable alternative to the congested I-10 freeway.”

The numbers are encouraging, especially in the context of the criticism leveled on the Expo line shortly after the line opened.

Special thanks to LA Streets Blog for reporting this story.