Metro - File #: 2023-0089

• File #: 2023-0089
• Type: Project
• Status: Consent Calendar
• File created: 2/7/2023
• In control: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• On agenda: 3/23/2023
• Final action: 3/23/2023
• 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).
• Sponsors: Planning and Programming Committee
• Indexes: Bike and ride, Budgeting, Central Los Angeles subregion, City of Los Angeles, Demand responsive transportation, Grant Aid, Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE), Memorandum Of Understanding, Metro Bike Share, Metro Vision 2028 Plan, Partnerships, Payment, Project, Promotion, Rail transit, Ridesharing, San Fernando Valley subregion, Shared mobility, South Bay Cities subregion, South Los Angeles, Sustainable transportation, Testing, Transit buses, Twenty-eight by '28 Initiative, Vehicle sharing, Westside Cities subregion, Zoning

Date	Action By	Action	Result
3/23/2023	Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
3/16/2023	Executive Management Committee

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...