When Christopher Astoquillca was done filling up his 2002 Mercedes-Benz Kompressor at a gas station in May, he knew he had to snap a photo of the total.
The 27-year-old was forced to shell out $105, nearly $40 more than the average cost of filling his car with premium-level fuel.
“I sent it to a few friends who have Priuses and they were like, ‘Oh my god. I’m sorry,’” Astoquillca said laughing.
Desperate for an alternative, the Glendale resident learned that due to his socioeconomic status, was eligible for Metro Life, a program for low-income riders to receive 20 free rides on Metro buses and trains for life. The decision was simple.
“I put my car down for a week,” he said.
And Astoquillca isn’t alone.
Local transit agencies Metro and Metrolink saw record ridership levels over the past few months, in part because of global fuel shipment disruptions brought on by the U.S. and Israeli military conflict with Iran.
After the United States and Israel launched an offensive in Iran on Feb. 28, gas prices in the U.S. began to creep upward, reaching about $5.80 per gallon by late March in LA County. Just two months later, the average gas price in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area peaked at around $6.10 per gallon, according to AAA data.
Metro rail ridership increased 5.4% in March and April compared with the same period in 2025, suggesting that high fuel prices drove more people to public transit this year than ever before.
A Metro representative said several factors are likely contributing to the trend.
Expansions to Metro’s rail system, including connections serving LAX and Union Station, gave Angelenos more convenient ways to travel, but rising fuel costs are also a major factor in increased ridership, Maya Pagoda said.
“With gas prices in April averaging roughly $5.70 per gallon, the ability to travel across the county for just $1.75 makes rail an increasingly attractive and cost-effective alternative. We hope this growing price gap, combined with the reliability and convenience of the system, will encourage more Angelenos to choose transit for both leisure and daily commutes,” Pagoda told The LA Local.
Astoquillca said he hasn’t really looked back and enjoys incorporating public transit into his daily commute to offset his car use.
He’s a professional saxophone player, and whether he has to take the bus to Eagle Rock or the train to Azusa, Astoquillca has become even more familiar with the public transit network available to him and other Southern Californians.
A spokesperson from Metrolink told The LA Local that the intercounty transit agency saw an estimated 4% increase in ridership as gas prices began to rise in early March.
March also marked Metrolink’s highest monthly ridership since before the pandemic, representing a 3% year-over-year increase.
Metro’s Bike Share program also saw an 11.5% bump in ridership since the beginning of the year, the spokesperson said.
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in LA County in late July was around $5.57, down from the peak but still higher than the average price of around $4.40 during the same time last year.
East LA resident Diego Torres-Casso said he, too, had been driven to take Metro buses, DASH buses and even East LA’s shuttle, El Sol, to work and to run errands. The 28-year-old noticed the pain at the pump immediately and transitioned to taking public transit to offset costs before moving cross country for graduate school later this year.
“Having a longer commute for me isn’t an issue because I can read a book while taking the bus or do stuff on my phone. I’ve even pulled out my laptop and used a hotspot and like worked on Metro,” Torres-Casso said. “I have also just relaxed and looked out the window and enjoyed just being a passenger. It’s kind of a nice way to see the city.”
Torres-Casso also said he enjoys the “communal feeling” he gets while taking public transit and feels like it increases community safety. He’ll spark up conversation with some people waiting at the bus stop, give the time or estimated arrival times to others, he said.
“It weirdly also kind of makes me feel a little bit more connected to my local community by being able to take the bus,” he said.
