There has been a lot happening fare-wise at Metro. As we head into December this is a good chance to bring everyone up to speed.
Fare collection resumes on the Metro bus system on January 10.
Your fares help keep our system running, the reason we’re restarting front-door only boarding and fare collection on Jan. 10.
Some big fare discounts on our regular fares and low-income fares are also being offered to help everyone get where they’re going and save money.
We are offering 6 months of discounted Low Income Fare Is Easy (LIFE) passes.
The prices from Jan. 10 through late July are:
$26 for a 30-day pass (regularly $76)
$6.50 for a 7-day pass (regularly $19.50).
Additionally, if you sign-up now, new LIFE riders will get 90 days of free rides starting January 10, 2022, when fare collection restarts.
We’re also making it easier for you to apply for LIFE fares.
You can now complete LIFE applications online — here are the English and Spanish versions.
•All you need is basic info about you and each member of your household applying for a LIFE discount. You can take a photo of each ID with your phone and upload them as part of your application.
•If you have documents showing proof of income, you can easily upload them with your application.
•If you do not have proof of your income, you can self-certify your income on the application.
•If you don’t already have a TAP card, you can now ask for one on the LIFE application for yourself and each household member applying for LIFE discounts.
If you want to pick up or drop off an application at a Metro Customer Center, here are the locations and hours:
Union Station/Gateway Transit Customer Center
East Portal One Gateway Plaza, LA, CA 90012
Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Customer Center
3650 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Ste 189, LA, CA 90008
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
East Los Angeles Customer Center
4501 Whittier Blvd., LA, CA 90022
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Rosa Parks Customer Center
Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station 11720 Wilmington Ave., L.A., CA 90059
Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wilshire/Vermont Customer Center
3183 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 176, LA, CA 90010
Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Big Blue Bus’ “Blue: The Transit Store” at 1444 4th Street in Santa Monica is accepting LIFE applications. The store is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Thursday.
Pop-up events will be held this month to help Metro customers apply for LIFE fares.
Community organizations will also be available to help customers complete LIFE applications. See the list below.
To reach these locations by transit, plan your trip with the Transit app (Metro’s official app) or Google Maps.
December 1, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Norwalk Enrollment Event — Norwalk C Line (Green) Station
12901 Hoxie Ave, Norwalk, CA 90650
Transit options: C Line (Green),
December 2, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
North Hollywood Station Enrollment Event
5391 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601
Transit options: B Line (Red) and G Line (Orange)
December 3, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
IILA’s Office
3845 Selig Place, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Transit options: Metro Bus Lines 78 and 79 (five-minute walk)
December 3, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
La Linterna Program
4650 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Transit options: B Line (Red) Vermont/Sunset Station, Metro Bus Lines 2, 206, 207 and 754
December 6, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Pomona Metrolink Station Enrollment Event
100 W Commercial St, Pomona, CA 91768
Transit options: Metrolink Riverside Line
December 8, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Wilshire/Western Station Enrollment Event — D Line (Purple) and Metro Bus Lines 18, 20, 66, 207, 210 and 720
3775 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90005
December 9, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Pomona Metrolink Station Enrollment Event — Metrolink Riverside Line
We’re also offering 6 months of half price passes for all riders.
We’re cutting the price of our regular passes in half for all customers to make riding easy and affordable beginning Jan. 10.
That means you will pay only $3.50 for a day pass, $12.50 for a weekly pass and $50 for a 30-day pass if you are not enrolled in a discounted program.
The fares will be available on our TAP vending machines, taptogo.net and at Metro Customer Centers and will be available for purchase beginning Dec. 15 until July 20, 2022.
K-12 and community college students can ride for free at participating schools and/or school districts.
Our GoPass pilot program is helping students reach school and other destinations for free — saving families money for other expenses.
More than 60 districts have signed up or have shown interest in the GoPass. To check if your school or district is on the list, click here.
Categories: Go Metro, Policy & Funding, Projects
What happened to Tap as you go and what about if there was money on your card the pandemic how does that play. Thanks.
Hi Marian,
If there was money on your TAP card it should still be there. If having problems, please contact TAP — contact info is here.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
I notice the destination sign on many buses start to display the new marquee “Fares Resume Jan 10”.
I suggest Metro to also put those big cardboard signs at each bus stop’s pole (just like those for the shakeup), in multiple languages. This is a simple old school method and it works very effectively.
“Multiple languages” will only mean English, and smaller font size Spanish. Metro appears to refuse to acknowledge that there are regions where there is a very high concentration of a third language (except maybe for rail construction posters). I’ve seen people waiting for the bus at a cancelled bus stop over a month after the June 2021 changes took place, standing in front of the stop cancellation notice written in English and Spanish. It was funny that by August, Metro staff found it necessary to add a handwritten (in English) note “Bus does not stop here,” as if it would help.
Any update on the full fare EZ Transit Pass?
Finally!! Now please look into Distance Based fare (makes fares cheaper for those only traveling very short distance), that way at least they may make your farebox ratio at higher than 10% while also providing discounts and free fares for those that TRULY need it.
And start enforcing the mask mandate already. Are you guys seriously waiting for a lawsuit to happen to end this attempt of just ignoring the problem?
Did the backlash of the agency’s cute little attempt at collaborating with the LAPD to transport arrested BLM protesters really made you that scared as an agency, Metro?
LIFE 30-day pass rates are almost twice the cost of my pre-pandemic 30-day passes. Below are questions you need to answer:
Will reduced rates for residents of unincorporated areas continue?
Does the $26 30-day LIFE pass rate apply to seniors and disabled riders?
What will the senior *cash*bus fares be during peak hours and non-peak hours?