From crisis to connection: How fire-impacted riders moved forward with Metro 

Bryan Martin used to rent an apartment in Altadena while working and attending East Los Angeles College (ELAC). After the Eaton Fire ignited, he put a few clothes into a backpack, grabbed his laptop and evacuated with a friend who gave him a ride. Hours later, he saw on the news that his place was gone.    

“I was in shock,” he says. “Because I rode with my friend, I left my car behind, and it also burned.”   

When fires displaced families across Los Angeles County last January, everyday routines disappeared overnight. For many residents, transportation quickly became one of the most urgent challenges — getting to work, reaching medical care, relocating to temporary housing and staying connected to essential services.    

To help meet immediate mobility needs during the crisis, the Metro Board took action that same month by expanding access to Metro’s LIFE program, which provides new participants with a free 90-day transit pass and, after that period, the option of receiving 20 free rides monthly on Metro or discounts on 16 participating transit agencies.    

Through a Board-approved motion, income eligibility requirements were temporarily lifted so people displaced by the fires could receive LIFE benefits regardless of income. In addition, participants received a free 30-day Metro pass — providing immediate access to transportation at a time when too many people had lost their vehicles. The motion was initially approved for six months and later extended through January 2026.    

For Bryan, the program became essential as he adjusted to life without a car. “The free rides have helped me move around,” he says. “Before the fires, I relied 100% on my car. Now, I have learned how to use transit, and my experience has been really good.”    

Presently living in East Los Angeles, Bryan uses the E Line, takes buses and has learned how to use Metro Micro — Metro’s on-demand rideshare service — to get around El Monte. After nearly a year in the program, he says LIFE has helped him save money while adjusting to life without a car.     

Steven Smith, who was affected by the Palisades Fire, has also benefited from LIFE. “My daughter and I grabbed clothes and pictures,” he remembers. “Once we evacuated, the authorities closed the roads. I lost my house and our vehicles.”   

Steven and his 20-year-old daughter spent three weeks in a shelter before receiving vouchers to go to a hotel. Without a place to cook, they often ate out. Medical expenses, medications and co-pays quickly added strain.    

“The LIFE program helped us move around during this time,” says Steven, who has since relocated to the Glendale area. “It allowed us to go to medical appointments, counseling, work and the supermarket. I’m grateful for this program.”    

As part of the Board motion, the LIFE program was also directed to conduct extensive outreach to ensure displaced residents could enroll quickly. The LIFE team — particularly the International Institute of Los Angeles (IILA), who administer the program and conducts in-person enrollments — partnered with FEMA-activated resource centers, the Pasadena Convention Center, the Red Cross, Kaiser Permanente and other organizations to provide on-site enrollment and transportation resources.    

As a result, from January 23 through December 19, LIFE enrolled over 6,700 people impacted by the fires, resulting in over 340,000 transit boardings.    

Emergency Mobility Wallets: More ways to get where you need to go   

After their apartment burned in the Eaton Fire, Christian Garcia and his wife were focused on recovery. He works in construction and relies on the family car to reach job sites.    

With financial pressure mounting after the fire, he began taking on more work — which meant he needed the car full time. That left his wife without a reliable way to get to her job at a moment when every paycheck mattered.    

That challenge is exactly the type of situation Metro’s Mobility Wallet pilot program was designed to address.    

Launched in 2023, the Mobility Wallet is transportation budget combined with an all-in-one way to pay for multiple modes of travel. Now in Phase II, the pilot provided $1,800 annually to 2,000 low-income residents across Los Angeles County, with funds restricted for transportation only, allowing participants to use it across Metro buses and trains, regional public transit, private bus services, shared rides, as well as scooter and bicycle rentals or purchases.    

After the January fires, Metro adapted the program to respond to urgent recovery needs by creating Emergency Mobility Wallets (EMW), a shortened version of the pilot designed specifically for residents impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires.    

Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, Metro mapped fire-impacted areas to identify people living in these locations who had previously applied and were on the waitlist for the regular Mobility Wallet. Through this effort, 100 residents received Emergency Mobility Wallets with $900 over six months.   

For Christian the EMW made an immediate difference. He used the funds to purchase a scooter so his wife could get to work. Later, when she suffered an accident at work and needed physical therapy, the same support allowed her to use rideshare services while recovering with a walker. What began as a commuting solution became essential access to care.    

“Having the EMW was a great support,” Christian says. “After losing everything, we took on debt, and this helped us to keep going.” He added that all the help they received has been invaluable.    

To make access easier, the EMWs were issued as virtual cards, allowing participants to add funds directly to their Apple Pay or Google Wallet. This approach was especially important for people who had lost their homes, didn’t have a stable mailing address or were temporarily living in hotels.    

For Natalia Conant, the EMW supported her entire family of seven during a period of displacement and loss of income. After smoke and ash forced them from their home, the family spent 10 days in a shelter. The situation became more difficult when Natalia’s sister, who worked as a park ranger, lost her job when the Eaton Canyon Nature Center burned. “She was the household’s main source of income,” she says.   

As a college student in Santa Cruz, Natalia used the EMW to purchase an Amtrak ticket so she could return home to help her family clean the ashes. “The EMW helped cover transportation for my dad — who is 73 and retired — to go to the grocery store, my mom to commute to her part-time job and my sister to go to school,” says Natalia.   

Transportation can become a serious barrier in moments of crisis. During the fires, Metro worked to remove that barrier so people could keep going. Through the LIFE program and later Emergency Mobility Wallets, the agency provided flexible transportation options to support riders during an uncertain time. Recovery from disaster looks different for every community and every person, but access for transportation remain essential. For fire-impacted residents, the ability to keep moving has made a difference.