L.A. Metro to study and consider eliminating bus and rail fares

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) CEO Phil Washington announced beginning Sept. 1, a new internal exploratory task force will start work on a proposal to eliminate fares for all riders on buses and trains.

The effort will be called the Fareless System Initiative (FSI or OPERATION FSI) and the task force will deliver a plan to the L.A. Metro CEO and ultimately to the L.A. Metro Board of Directors for their consideration by the end of 2020 with the plan including possible funding scenarios and sources.

No other large transit system in the world has gone entirely fare free. Washington said that he views eliminating fares as an economic development tool that will also improve mobility for all people and put money back in the pockets of those who need it the most. That’s especially important as L.A. County recovers from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington also made it clear that he views fare free transit as a transformative effort. Combined with L.A. Metro’s other work to reduce traffic congestion, fare-free transit would greatly increase transit ridership, take a noticeable number of cars off the road, help create more public spaces that better serve the majority of people and improve air quality in L.A. County and California.

“LA Metro has a moral obligation to pursue a fare free system and help our region recover from both a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and the devastating effects of the lack of affordability in the region,” Washington said. “Fare-free transit will help essential workers, moms and dads, students, seniors and riders with disabilities. I view this as something that could change the life trajectory of millions of people and families in L.A. County, the most populous county in America.”

The median household income of L.A. Metro riders is $17,975 for bus riders and $27,723 for rail riders, according to a customer survey conducted by L.A. Metro in fall 2019. The agency says it realizes that low-income people have been hit especially hard by the pandemic in terms of their health, jobs and overall ability to pay bills.

The Initiative’s task force will consist of L.A. Metro staff and will begin their work next week. Among the things that will be studied:

• Funding opportunities in terms of local, state, federal grants and/or re-prioritizing L.A. Metro funds — such as revenues from advertising or sponsorships — that may be available to pay for a free fare program.
• The impact of fare free transit on other transit agencies in L.A. County. L.A. Metro will work with other transit agencies to look at the impact on their ridership and the issue of local and state fund allocations – which are, in part, based on fare revenues.
• Determining how much it costs the agency to collect fares in terms of equipment purchase and upkeep, staff and enforcement. In Fiscal Year 2019, which ended prior to the pandemic, L.A. Metro collected between $250 and 300 million in fares versus $1.9 billion in operating costs — for a fare recovery ratio of approximately 13 percent. That percentage has been in decline for the past 20 years and is expected to decline further as operating costs rise.
• The impact of a fareless L.A. Metro system on ridership, the rider experience, the 16 Munis, Access Services, Metrolink, the safety of Metro employees, the impact on car traffic and the impact of a fareless system on bus and train service levels and operations.
• How fareless transit will mitigate and/or eliminate allegations of targeting people of color for fare enforcement.

L.A. Metro says it also needs to learn more about how a fare free system would affect the ongoing issue of homelessness in the region and on the transit system. The agency says it thinks that free fares would encourage higher ridership and having more people on buses and train would likely make riders feel safer.

Going fare free is something the agency has discussed in the past in the context of its Measure M and it’s Traffic Reduction Study to use tolls to reduce traffic congestion and subsidize fares. That study is underway, and in 2021, L.A. Metro will propose a pilot location to test the concept.

L.A. Metro has also been researching how to allow students to ride for free and conducting a comprehensive pricing study as part of the agency’s Vision 2028 Plan to provide high-quality and affordable transportation services available to all. The new exploratory task force will build on the work of the pricing study.