Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
JUNE 24, 2021
Subject
SUBJECT: FARELESS SYSTEMS INITIATIVE NEXT STEPS
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE a status report in response to Board Motion 45 by Directors Garcetti, Mitchell, Krekorian, Hahn, Bonin, and Solis at the May 2021 Board Meeting.
...Issue
ISSUE
On May 27, 2021, the Board passed Motion 45 (Garcetti, Mitchell, Krekorian, Hahn, Bonin, and Solis) on implementation strategies for the Fareless Systems Initiative (FSI). The motion directed the Chief Executive Officer to implement the Fareless System Initiative, subject to a final financial plan and while pursuing cost-sharing agreements, and to report to the Board monthly on the development, launch, and performance of FSI.
Background
BACKGROUND
In September 2020, former CEO Phil Washington created the Fareless System Initiative (FSI) Task Force to study the challenges and opportunities of eliminating fares on Metro buses on trains and make recommendations on steps toward accomplishing that goal.
The May 2021 Board Motion requested the FSI Pilot to "be scaled and/or targeted in a manner that best aligns with Metro's Equity Platform, adopted by the Board in March 2018" and to utilize "opportunities to expand or adjust existing fare subsidy programs to maximize community benefit."
Department of Education data shows that 69% of 1.4 million K-12 students in LA County qualify for the Free and Reduced-price Meals for low-income families. Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), obesity rates are increasing in LA County, with 24.3% of adults and more than 20% of junior high school students being obese and the highest obesity rates of up to 37% occurring in low-income neighborhoods. Under the CDC's Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, LA County has implemented a variety of improvements to make healthy living easier, including the creation of a regional bicycle mast...
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