With a cost to LA Metro of $42 every time a passenger boards one of its e-taxi vans, called Metro MicroTransit, the subsidy amounts to five times what the transit agency pays per ride on a typical fixed-route Metro bus.
While some question this as a waste of taxpayer dollars, including board member and Supervisor Janice Hahn who called it “a money loser” in July, the Metro board of directors voted 12-0 on Thursday to extend the program for another year — but with an eye to bringing down costs.
“It is providing a very valuable service to a lot of people,” said Hahn on Thursday. “But I don’t know how much more we can sustain it at over $40 a ride.”
While subsidies are nothing new to the giant public transit agency that uses tax revenues and grant dollars to keep its trains and buses running, some have questioned the cost-efficiency of Metro MicroTransit, saying it’s money spent that could be used to beef up fixed-route bus service or improve public safety.
MicroTransit runs blue vans that pick up individuals in eight zones in L.A. County: North San Fernando Valley; North Hollywood/Burbank; Highland Park/Eagle Rock/Glendale; Pasadena/Altadena/Sierra Madre; El Monte; UCLA/Westwood; LAX/Inglewood; and Watts/Compton.
Customers summon a ride using a smartphone app, much like the private ride-hailing services of Uber and Lyft, only at a much-reduced fare. The fare is $1 per ride, and the rides must be within their zone. The fare is even lower than the $1.75 fare to ride a Metro bus or train.
The total cost of the program is $31 million a year. Metro started with two zones in December 2020 and gradually amped up to eight. The zones were chosen where bus service was cut due to low-performing routes. The pilot MicroTransit program is intended to provide rides to connect people to other Metro services but it is also used as a dial-a-ride service to go shopping, go to doctor’s appointments or other destinations.
“There’s a huge concentration of…
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