As many of surely know, Metro is proposing to increase fares while eliminating the need to pay to transfer on Metro. The above document from Metro describes the changes and the need for them.
The changes are pages 14 and 15 of the above document or can be seen on the section of metro.net devoted to explaining the proposed changes.
A public hearing on the fare increases will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, at Metro headquarters adjacent to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. If you would like to speak at the public hearing, sign-up forms will be accepted until 11:30 a.m.
Members of the public can also mail comments on the fare changes to:
Metro, One Gateway Plaza, MS 99-3-1, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Attn: Michele Jackson
All comments must be postmarked by March 29, 2014.
Email your comments to publichearing@metro.net.
This pdf also explains the changes and the upcoming hearing:
Click above to see larger.
Categories: Policy & Funding
Dana,
Although you do say that driving a two-wheeler in LA is dangerous and I have to agree to a certain extent, I have to admit that I am seeing more motorcycle shops popping up all over LA today. I see a lot more two wheelers today than I have ever seen in all my years in LA and it’s spanning quite a large mix of age groups. It’s from young hipster urbanites on their Vespas and Buddys, to dudes in Harleys, to kids on Suzukis and Kawasaki sport bikes. Even on radio and TV ads these days, we’re hearing more motorcycle insurance ads from Geico. and Allstate. We’re seeing more highway alerts to keep an eye out on motorcyclists. I have a friend who works for the DMW and in the past five years, applicants for the M1/M2 motorcycle license has shot up tremendously in the last five years as well as the number of those who are showing up with MSF safety course certificates to waive the driving tests.
You nor I may not see or contemplate the idea to take the risk of driving a motorcycle or scooter in LA traffic. But when I ask those who drive motorcycles and scooters and ask them if they don’t feel scared in LA traffic, they reply LA traffic is actually the reason why they ride two wheelers. LA traffic is so bad that streets are essentially like parking lots they say. So with a motorcycle or scooter, they can just snake on between the cars that are stuck in LA traffic. While everyone is stuck in traffic, including the buses, they’re the only ones moving.
Unfortunately, we cannot rule over the minds and decisions of other people. What Frustated said is a valid point, if fares are raised to $2.50, there might be people who might choose to forego public transit over to cheaper, fuel efficient, and agile scooters and motorcycles – an alternative mode of transportation that’s separate from cars and public transit, and it’s really none of our business to say that they shouldn’t just because it’s dangerous. People will find what works best for them. If they see that a scooter or a motorcycle best fits their lifestyle, that’s what they will go for.
Honestly, we really don’t know what’s going to happen. The whole point about considering to increase our fares to $2.50 flat rate is to hopefully increase our pitiful farebox recovery ratio so that we can continue to receiving federal funding.
Raising the fares to $2.50 might help do that so we can continue to get federal funding. As some has stated, our prices are lower than other cities in the US. Therefore, we might actually level out with other cities by increasing our fares to the same level as the rest of the US.
Or it could backfire miserably where farebox recovery ratios become worse as the distance based camp states because LA is different than other cities in the US. LA Metro does has to cover an extremely wide area than most cities in the US and there is a big discrepancy between short and long distance travelers where it’s true that it doesn’t make sense that it should cost the same price to go to the closest supermarket versus going all the way from Santa Monica to City of Commerce.
I say give the “raise the fares to $2.50” idea a shot first because that is what the rest of the US is doing. And only if that fails, we can go back to drawing board and look into the distance based fares idea. Of course, that is if we could get the federal funding to do those changes as well.
Frustrated with TAP, you state elsewhere how out of touch some of us are with how transit operates in other areas, $2.50 is not terribly high compared to other peer agencies in the U.S. and I don’t seem them being abandoned the way your describe. Heck the overall trends in transit ridership nationwide is up. Fare elasticity isn’t as extreme as you describe it. And driving a scooter in crazy L.A. traffic is taking your life in your own hands — YEOW!
I’ll tell you what’s going to happen when fare hikes happen. Fewer people are going to use Metro because not everyone here in LA is going to end up paying $2.50 without considering the travel distance factor and those who have shorter trips will just go find alternative means to get around. Overall, Metro will end up in worse shape than today.
Cars and buses aren’t the only way to get around LA. If you’re in DTLA, you notice that there are more people riding scooters and motorcycles lately due to rise in gas prices and poor bus service.
And Metro want us to pay more for poorer service? At $90 a month times 12 or $1080, people can buy a nice, fuel efficient scooter at Scooter Dynasty, right within walking distance from Pico Station. http://www.scooterdynasty.com/
You want to raise the daily pass to $8.00? On a scooter, $8.00 worth of gas will last me TWO WEEKS!
All Metro will do is push more people AWAY from using transit than convincing more to “Go Metro”
If fares are going to go up to $2.50 a ride or $90 a month, I’ll just buy a moped.
Southern California Transit Advocates has posted its position on the fare restructuring on our website:
http://socata.net/
Also to foster discussion we have posted recommendations prepared by local transit user Eugene Salinsky.