The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (L.A. Metro) is expanding the Mobility Wallet pilot program. Phase I of the program, which ran between May 2023 and April 2024 in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, provided an all-in-one way to pay for multiple modes of transportation throughout southern Los Angeles, Calif.
The pilot falls under the wider umbrella of Universal Basic Mobility, a program led by the city of Los Angeles to expand transportation options and provides a minimum level of mobility to all members of society regardless of age, ability, location and socioeconomic status. The program is funded by a California Air Resources Board grant through the city of Los Angeles and a Regional Early Action Planning 2.0 grant by the Southern California Association of Governments.
Phase I of the program, which ran between May 2023 to April 2024, focused on 1000 low-income residents of south Los Angeles. L.A. Metro says an initial survey of participants revealed that 80 percent of the population were enrolled in financial assistance programs. Out of the 80 percent, 40 percent of lived in a non-car household, 50 percent didn’t have a driver’s license and more than 60 percent of people regularly took public transportation. During each month of Phase I, L.A. Metro loaded the wallets with $150 for one person or several members of the same household to pay for public or private transportation.
The agency says participants spent more than $1.36 million in total, with the most popular types of trips being:
- 140,000 bus and rail trips
- 60,700 trips via ride hail/taxi/access services
- 80,800 trips via public transit (Bus/Rail)
- 2,600 trips via shared scooters and bikes
- 169 bike shop purchases
Application for Phase II is now open and will remain open until August. Phase II will provide participants up to $1,800 to spend on public or private transportation. To be eligible, residents must meet the income requirements for L.A. Metro’s Low Income Fare is Easy program.
