Metro - File #: 2021-0627

• File #: 2021-0627
• Type: Motion / Motion Response
• Status: Passed
• File created: 9/17/2021
• In control: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• On agenda: 9/23/2021
• Final action: 9/23/2021
• Title: APPROVE Motion by Mitchell, Solis, Garcetti, Sandoval, Bonin, and Dupont-Walker that the Board direct the Chief Executive Officer to: A. Develop a plan to double the number of LIFE Program enrollees by the end of 2022. B. Expedite a streamlined application system that enables on-the-spot enrollment and the immediate issuance of LIFE Program benefits through a process that allows applicants to self-certify qualification in the program. Applicants should attest that their information and eligibility in the program is accurate under penalty of fine. C. Ensure the fare capping pilot approved by the Board in March 2021 applies to LIFE Program participants. D. Expand partnerships with local, state, and federal public benefit programs to automatically enroll members in LIFE upon qualification. E. Partner with community-based organizations to canvass LA Metro buses and trains to enroll qualifying riders. F. Provide three months of fareless transit to new enrollees as an incentive to enro...
• Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• Indexes: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Eric Garcetti, Fare Zone, Fareless System Initiative, Funding plan, Hilda Solis, Holly J. Mitchell, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE), Mike Bonin, Motion / Motion Response, Partnerships, Plan, Program, Ridership, Shelia Kuehl, Students, Tim Sandoval
• Related files: 2021-0574, 2023-0095, 2023-0002

Date	Action By	Action	Result
9/23/2021	Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting

Meeting_Body
REVISED
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Preamble
Motion by:

DIRECTORS MITCHELL, SOLIS, GARCETTI, SANDOVAL, BONIN, AND DUPONT-WALKER

Related to Item 35: Fareless System Initiative (FSI)

Effective March 23, 2020, former LA Metro CEO Phil Washington ordered that all passengers shall board the rear door when entering an LA Metro bus and, accordingly, removed the requirement for bus passengers to use the fare box. This practice was established to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmissions on transit and to protect transit operators at the front of the bus from potential exposure to COVID-19. While put in place as a health pandemic response, this practice has been one of the most effective strategies in our region to respond to the economic pandemic our communities face.

Riders and community advocates quickly embraced LA Metro's fare free bus service and in August 2020, CEO Washington announced the formation of the Fareless System Initiative (FSI) Task Force to study the potential for continuing fare-free service as a recovery strategy to continue after the pandemic. The Task Force's research confirmed what riders already know; that LA Metro's riders are overwhelmingly low-income people of color for whom transit fares are an economic burden and for whom fare enforcement perpetuates racial disparities. Furthermore, the Task Force found that a fareless system would grow ridership and help the region meet its mobility, congestion reduction, and sustainability goals more effectively than almost any other LA Metro initiative. Buoyed by these findings, on May 27, 2021, the Board directed staff to proceed with FSI, subject to a final financial plan, which is before the Board for consideration today.

The financial plan identifies funding for free student passes as Phase 1 of FSI. Staff has moved quickly to build on the previously existing U-Pass program to expand free student passes to students in every participating school district throughout the c...