Category Archives: Policy & Funding

Answers to your questions about TAP

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Photo by Fred Camino.

We recently asked readers to send us your questions about TAP, the electronic fare cards used by Metro and several other transit agencies in Los Angeles County. We received several dozen inquiries, which we boiled down to the questions below.

The answers were written by Fred and I, based on information conveyed to us by the Metro officials who run the TAP program that is overseen by Matt Raymond, Metro’s Chief Communication Officer.

Before we get started, a little perspective.

TAP currently records more than 15 million transactions per month. About two million TAP cards have been issued to transit riders in Los Angeles County in the past two year and Metro sells over $6 million of fares on TAP each month. Metro officials consider it a reliable system in “full revenue production.”

The TAP system is also clearly a work-in-progress. Your questions are a testament to that. For one, Metro is hopeful that more transit agencies will adopt the cards, a precursor to having a seamless transit system across sprawling Los Angeles County. There are some issues involving technology that still also must be resolved and some policy decisions to be made about the type of products available on TAP cards and when gates at some Metro rail stations will be locked.

Now, your questions:

Why isn’t there a cash purse available?

A cash purse is available on TAP with several transit agencies in L.A. County — Culver City, Montebello, Norwalk, Foothill, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley. Each allows customers to put random amounts of cash on their cards, but this can only be done at their local agency stores. It’s still a limited operation because it’s a pilot program to see if the cash purse works. So far, Metro officials say it has been successful and there has been widespread interest in this feature.

The new Nokia TAP validator that fare inspectors will be using to ensure that customers tapped their TAP cards.

Now it’s up to Metro and other agencies to decide when or if they want to begin the cash purse feature. This would permit the loading of cash onto the TAP card at Metro Customer Service Centers, retail stores that sell TAP cards, ticket machines at Metro Rail stations (and the Orange Line busway) and the taptogo.net website.

On the financial front, one key step that must be taken is to secure agreements that define when money loaded on the TAP card by customers actually reaches the transit agencies that accepted your TAP fares.

Another issue is how does Metro best check that riders using a cash purse with TAP actually paid their fare? When a customer has a paper ticket, a fare inspector can check the ticket for the correct date and time. A TAP card has no visual clue and that has led to concerns that with a cash purse, some people can abuse the system by carrying around empty TAP cards or not tapping their cards even though there’s value on them.

Why is that a problem? At this time, only some of Metro’s fare inspectors have handheld validators that can be used to check that a customer actually tapped their TAP card before riding. This is about to change, as Metro is phasing in a new type of validator that is actually a Nokia cellular device. These new validators use 3G technology (the same tech that makes surfing the web possible on smart phones) that is faster, smaller and more economical than the current non-cellular devices that are bulky, heavy and expensive.

Soon all fare inspectors will be carrying these new devices.

Which leads to the next question…

When will the fare gates be activated and why are they there if they aren’t going to be activated?

As many of you are surely aware, the gates that have been installed at some Metro rail stations have not yet been locked. But the TAP reader on them works and customers with TAP cards are required to TAP their cards before going through. Continue reading →

Poll suggests riders are open to different fare structure

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A couple of weeks ago we asked Source readers if they had any interest in a different fare structure for Metro. As I wrote at the time, there is no proposal at this time to change Metro’s fare structure, but given concerns and/or questions over the July 1 fare increase, I thought it was an appropriate time to gauge where Source readers were on the issue.

As the above results show, none of the four scenarios I put together earned the support of a majority of the 555 votes cast in the poll. But 71% of those who did vote seemed open to the idea of either a higher base fare or some type of higher fee in order for the right to transfer bus and/or rail lines. As many of you know, Metro currently charges riders per line they take, no matter how far the trip is on the line (daily, weekly and monthly passholders, of course, can transfer unlimited times).

One other note: As we posted the other day, the Board of Directors of Metro will consider a motion by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that seeks to expand the use of EZ passes. An amendment to that motion by Supervisor Mike Antonovich asks the Metro staff to consider time and distance based fares, which are commonly used by transit agencies AND seem like something easier to accomplish with TAP cards, given their ability to store information.

I’ll forward the poll results to the offices of Villaraigosa and Antonovich, given their interest in the issue.

Metro receives grant to study electric car charging stations

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The Chevy Volt. Photo by Chevrolet.

This is sort of a back-to-the-future type post, with the emphasis on “back.”

Attentive Source readers will recall the 1990s when electric car charging stations started popping up around California, the hope being that the state was on the verge of an electric car revolution. For a number of reasons — car manufacturers resisted because of concerns over manufacturing batteries and the state rescinded its own electric car mandates, to name two — it never happened.

The next charge looks to involve plug-in hybrid cars that can run on electricity but also have an internal combustion engine to help extend a vehicle’s range. The much talked about Chevy Volt is one of those type of cars and is supposed to go on sale later this year, according to the Chevrolet website. Other manufacturers such as Toyota have also said they are working on plug-in hybrids.

In that vein, the following news nugget is interesting — Metro has received a grant to study putting charging stations at transit stops. The expectation is clearly that plug-in hybrids will find a market and that some of those drivers will be using their vehicles to reach transit. Here’s the announcement, via Metro’s communications department:

METRO AWARDED $415,000 ENERGY GRANT TO TEAM WITH ELECTRIC CAR DRIVERS

Metro has received a $415,000 energy grant from the California Energy Commission to explore ways for making it easier for drivers of electric cars to charge their vehicles at Metro facilities with the expectation that these commuters would take Metro to work while their car batteries recharge. Continue reading →

Motion asks for daily and weekly EZ passes and true regional trip planner

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Click above to see a larger image.

The Board of Directors of Metro meet on Thursday and they will be considering this interesting motion by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that asks the agency to develop a daily and weekly EZ Pass and develop a regional trip planner.

The motion is in response to a recent string of columns by the Los Angeles Times’ David Lazarus, who has opined that more needs to be done to make it easier for people to take mass transit in the Los Angeles area.

The EZ pass allows transit users to travel across buses and trains run by most agencies in Los Angeles County (here’s the list). It currently costs $70 for a monthly pass but is not available as a weekly or daily pass — both of which would benefit occasional transit users who need to use more than one transit system to get where they’re going. Nor is the EZ Pass available for purchase on TAP cards.

An amendment was also introduced by Supervisor Mike Antonovich to have the agency look at distance and time-based fares. Metro currently charges fares based on how many individual lines a rider uses — it’s $1.25 per line or $5 for a day pass. Other transit systems allow unlimited travel on different lines for a set period of time — although the base fare is usually higher than Metro’s.

In fact, we raised that very subject in our recent fare structure poll. If you haven’t taken it, your vote would be appreciated. It’s a good chance to let the Board of Directors and Metro staffers know where you stand on the fare structure issue, particularly since they’re going to be discussing that issue soon.

Villaraigosa’s motion also calls for a website that also works on cell phones to better help transit users get around Los Angeles County, with schedules from all the county’s transit agencies.

Surprisingly, there’s nothing really like that already in existence. The closest thing to it is Google Transit, although even that is limited by not having schedules for many of the smaller municipal bus operators in the county. There is also a go511 website in its beta stage that should be able to plan transit trips around the region, but it doesn’t have a mobile version and I couldn’t even get it to provide information this morning on a simple bus trip on the Pasadena city system.

Martha Welborne hired as Metro's new chief planning officer

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Metro CEO Art Leahy announced today that Martha Welborne has been hired as the new chief planning officer for Metro.

Welborne is an architect who has been working with the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca firm in Los Angeles (here’s the firm’s bio of her) and also has been serving as the managing director of the Grand Avenue Committee, among other accomplishments.

She has worked in mass transit circles for quite some time. In 1999, Welborne arranged for a trip to Curitiba, Brazil, where Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and Supervisors Zev Yaroslvasky and Yvonne Burke could see firsthand that city’s famous busway system.

As a result, Riordan pushed for the beginning of the Metro Rapid bus lines and Yaroslavsky led the agency into developing the Orange Line busway in the San Fernando Valley.

Here’s the memo from Leahy:


Lonnie Mitchell hired as Metro's new chief operating officer

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Lonnie Mitchell, Metro's new chief operating officer.

Metro CEO Art Leahy announced today that Lonnie Mitchell has been hired as Metro’s chief operating officer.

Mitchell has been serving in that role since December. “Lonnie performed exceptionally well during that time period,” Leahy wrote in a memo to Metro staff. “I look forward to him working quickly to solidify operations, improve performance and help make Metro the world class operation I know it can be.”

As COO, Mitchell oversees bus and rail operations with an annual operating budget of $1.48 billion  and nearly 7,500 employees.

Here is Mitchell’s bio, as provided by Metro:

Lonnie Mitchell was appointed Executive Officer, Procurement and Material Management, in July 2000 after completing a 30-year career in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps. In December of 2006, Mitchell’s position was upgraded to Chief Administrative Services Officer, responsible for Procurement and Material Management, Administration, and Information Technology Services. In December 2009, he was appointed Interim Chief Operations Officer. Prior to joining the MTA, Mitchell was Vice Commander of the Navy Exchange Service Command in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was responsible for oversight of information systems, financial operations, contracting, human resources, training and planning for the Navy Exchange System, a $2 billion worldwide retail and services operation.

Mitchell is a 1969 graduate of Washington State University, where he earned a BA in Economics. He earned a Masters in Acquisition Management at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

Federal Transit Administration chief: 'Paint is cheap, rails systems are extremely expensive'

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FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. Photo credit: U.S. Department of Transportation.

In Wednesday’s transpo headlines, we had an item about a speech that Federal Transit Administration chief Peter Rogoff gave at a transit conference this week.

Rogoff made some pointed remarks, challenging transit officials to think about whether it was best to improve maintenance of their systems before expanding them. He also spoke highly of bus rapid transit as a viable and less expensive alternative to new rail lines in some areas, as well as some of the goals of his boss, President Barack Obama.

This, of course, is pertinent to Los Angeles County. Voters here in 2008 approved the Measure R half-cent sales tax increase to fund rail and bus expansions, as well as highway improvements. And Metro is in the process of asking Rogoff’s agency for federal New Starts funding to help build the Westside Subway Extension and the Downtown Regional Connector projects. A request for money for planning the lines was denied last year, with Rogoff writing that the planning process for the lines wasn’t far enough along yet.

As we reported yesterday, The Transport Politic blog took issue with some of Rogoff’s remarks. I highly encourage anyone interested in transit funding to read Rogoff’s speech, which follows. The text below was taken from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website.

Administrator Peter M. Rogoff
Next Stop: A National Summit on the Future of Transit
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Thank you for that kind introduction.

And special thanks to:

* The MBTA Advisory Board,
* MassINC, Harvard’s Rappaport Institute,
* and the 128 Business Council

for hosting and sponsoring this national summit.

You have done Boston and America a great service.

By calling us together, you are highlighting one of our most important national challenges, one that needs a lot more attention by

* the public,
* the press, and
* government officials at all levels. Continue reading →

State approves big chunk of funding for train safety system for Metrolink

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We posted yesterday that the state was on the verge of approving $46 million in funding for positive train control, a computer-based system designed to keep trains providing. It’s a system that Metrolink has sought since the tragic crash in Chatsworth in Sept. 2008 that killed 25.

More funding is still needed to implement PTC in Southern California. But the state’s action today brings the shortfall to $10 million — money that Metro believes it can get from the federal government. The above video shows how one PTC system works.

Here is the press release.

CTC Action on Positive Train Control Funding Statement by Metro CEO Art Leahy

Quotes from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and MTA Board Chair Ara Najarian

Today’s action by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) approving funding for Positive Train Control (PTC) is a major victory for our region. PTC is a major safety enhancement for passenger rail service throughout the region.

Funding for PTC will enable the region to install an advance computer-satellite tracking system that will monitor trains as they travel across the region preventing accidents.

In approving the funding for PTC, the CTC has paved the way for the state to begin allocating money for PTC with the state, eventually, set to provide $46.5 million.

This is truly a win-win for everyone and a great victory for the region.

Metro worked long and hard with a number of different agencies as part of the Southern California Consensus Group to ensure that funding was made available for PTC as part of our discussions regarding the Los Angeles/Inland Corridor Colton Crossing project.

I would like to acknowledge the leadership of Ara Najarian, Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors, Los Angeles City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as well as CTC Chair James Earp, Vice Chair Larry Zarian and Commissioner Dario Frommer, whose leadership and hard work made this funding possible, moving both projects forward. The CTC action today ensures that safety is priority one for our rail passengers. Continue reading →

Agency's Board of Directors adopt budget for next fiscal year

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Well, that didn’t take long. The Board of Directors had a budget workshop today and went ahead and approved the budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year that begins July 1.

It should be noted that just a few months ago it appeared that Metro would be facing the agency’s largest-ever budget shortfall. But that gap was closed with a variety of belt-tightening moves, including upcoming layoffs at the agency. There will also be a five percent bus service reduction in the coming year that agency officials say can be accomplished by making schedules more efficient and getting rid of duplicate service.

Here’s the press release just issued by Metro:

Metro Board Adopts FY11 Budget

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors today adopted a $3.8 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2010-11.

The spending plan is $47 million less than the current Metro budget but still advances a variety of transportation improvements for the region including a spate of new highway and transit building projects. These are funded largely with federal stimulus funds and the new Measure R transit sales tax.

Against the backdrop of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Metro has seen a sharp drop in local transportation sales taxes and farebox revenue compounded by cuts in state transit funding. As a consequence, Metro originally faced an historic $250-million operating deficit but CEO Art Leahy has managed to balance the budget by severely cutting administrative costs including the elimination of 20 percent of the agency’s non-contract staff, 240 full-time equivalent positions. Continue reading →