Metro Exploring Eliminating Fares On Buses and Trains

Pasadena officials are tracking efforts by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to develop an initiative that would allow people using Metro buses and trains to ride for free.

“Pasadena staff is monitoring this effort very closely, including coordination with other local operators in identifying potential financial and technical challenges of Metro’s Fareless System Initiative on transit agencies in the region,” according to a memo written by Pasadena Director of Transportation Laura Rubio-Cornejo.

Metro spokesperson Joni Honor told Pasadena Now on Monday that the idea is still being researched and is not expected to go before the board until early next year. 

Metro CEO Phillip Washington views eliminating fares as an economic development tool and said in a prepared statement that he believes removing fares would also improve mobility for all people and put money back in their pockets, which will help people recover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Combined with Metro’s other work at reducing traffic congestion, fare-free transit would greatly increase transit ridership, free up space on roads, help create more public spaces that better serve the majority of people, and improve air quality in L.A. County and California, Washington said.

Although Metro is the largest transportation agency in the region, more than 60 other transit operations in Los Angeles County could also be impacted.

Of these agencies, there are more than 40 local operators, including Pasadena, which depend primarily on local funding and are not included in federal or state dedicated transit funding. 

Should Metro go fareless, it is presumed that many, if not all transit operators would decide to follow suit in order to support the complex regional transit network in Los Angeles County.

Pasadena staff is actively engaged in conversations between Metro and the other transit agencies in the region. Staff will keep the city manager’s office and City Council informed, as more information is available on the status of Metro’s Fareless System Initiative, Rubio-Cornejo said. 

“Metro has formed a task force to explore the development of a Fareless System Initiative which would eliminate fares for all riders on Metro buses and trains,” Rubio-Cornejo said. “As part of this effort, an Ad Hoc Committee was formed of the other transit operators in the region to provide feedback to Metro by mid-December. Pasadena joined other local operators in communicating such concerns to Metro and we continue to stay engaged in the ongoing analysis and discussions.”

As such, Metro has been asked to apply their modeling to all transit operators, including local services. Preliminarily, when considering all transit agencies in the region, Metro is anticipating a 33 percent increase in transit ridership demand. Among the critical implications that need to be explored for all operators in the region is how the increase in demand would be met and funded.