Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MARCH 16, 2023
Subject
SUBJECT: MOBILITY WALLET PILOT UPDATES
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE:
A. the finding that Mobility Wallets are exempt from federal income tax because the payments promote the general welfare of low-income eligible participants and do not represent compensation for service; and
B. an amendment to the existing Mobility Wallet Pilot Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Los Angeles and Metro to increase funding from the City by $3,743,230, increasing the total funding from $756,770 to $4.5 million for Metro to lead the implementation and distribution of the Mobility Wallets. (Attachment A).
Issue
ISSUE
Metro is working with the City of Los Angeles to build and test a pilot mobility wallet program that will include 5,000 people including a 2,000-person low-income subscriber base to receive the wallet and a 3,000-person comparison group of pre-enrolled LIFE and Go-Pass participants in South LA. The Mobility Wallet is an all-in-one account payment solution for public transit (bus & rail, Metro Micro) and on-demand mobility options (carshare, ride-hail, taxi, shared scooters, and bikes, including Metro Bikeshare).
Board authorization is necessary in order to ensure that qualified participants in South LA will benefit from a federal income tax exemption.
Background
BACKGROUND
Since 2021, Metro has been working with City of Los Angeles and community partners, including the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), CicLAvia and Slate-Z, to deliver the Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) Pilot project. As part of this larger project, Metro will build and test a mobility wallet that will serve up to 2,500 low-income residents in South LA. The Mobility Wallet is an all-in-one mobility account payment solution. The wallet can be used for public transit (bus & rail, Metro Micro) and on-demand mobility options (carshare, ride-hail, tax...
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