Fareless System Initiative (Operation FSI) Metro Policy Advisory Council

Co-leads doreen Morrissey, AICP and Dennis Tucker

December 8, 2020 Operation FSI – Fareless

• Metro CEO announced Fareless System Initiative (FSI) • As a Moral Obligation to serve our communities & improve mobility • As an Economic Development Tool-post pandemic

• Creation of FSI Task Force • To identify facts and challenges to eliminating fares on all buses and rail

• Why “Fareless”? • Emphasize the system is not free to operate • People do value services provided for ‘free’ • K-12 education, libraries, voting, public health clinics, firefighting 2 of 11 Operation FSI – Equity

• Fareless Transit: contribute towards mobility the elderly, youth, and low- income riders • Access to Opportunity • Trips forgone due to costs • Transit dependent-shoulder fare increase • Serve communities historically marginalized by transportation investments

3 of 11 Operation FSI – Economic Enabler

• Transit = Economic Enabler • Supports low-income and late-shift essential workers, & local economies • Investment in Transit Jobs - economic stimulus • Ridership growth • encourage travel/economic activity in community business districts

4 of 11 Operation FSI – Funding

• Fare collection = diminishing fund source • Economy up/fares down • 13% farebox recovery/Operation Costs (pre-Covid) for Metro and region • Unclear when all agencies may resume fare collection • Study alternative funding sources • Revenue replacement • Increased costs associated with demand • Determining fare collection cost • High costs, low market competition • Contracts and liabilities, annual costs • High-cost legacy hardware and software with little market competition • Access Services

5 of 11 Operation FSI – Mobility Providers

Ad Hoc Committee Agency Representation 1 Access Services • FSI Ad Hoc Committee-municipal and local 2 City of Glendale transit operators 3 City of Glendora • Weekly, commenced 9/29 4 Commerce Bus Lines • Listening and Open Dialogue session 5 Culver CityBus • Information sharing – Metro to share resources 6 for informed briefings to local Boards 7 Gardena Transit • Complexity-some fund awards calculated 8 SCAG/CTC CEO's Meeting based on farebox recovery 9 (LBT) 10 Norwalk Transit (LACMOA Chair) 11 Pomona Valley Transit Authority 12 Santa Monica (BBB) 13

6 of 11 Operation FSI – Security

• Bus Operator positions: hard-to-fill, essential positions • FTA: 44% of Operator assaults are fare related • Fareless removes source of conflict • Protects Bus Operators & the general public • Reduces work related stresses • Improves Operator attraction, retention, and morale • Increases the perception of safety & appeal of public transit. • Increased ridership could make system safer • More "eyes on the street"

7 of 11 Operation FSI – Profiling

• Issuing Fare citations=highly visible, public shaming • Exacerbates the stigma of poverty

• Evasion creates a hostile transit environment • ‘evader’ feels defensive • ‘paying rider’ feels indignant and perceives the system as unsafe

• Racial Profiling Reckoning that is happening in the country • Daylighting of injustice also exposes tensions • Remove fare checking tasks and reconstruct role of uniformed safety officers

8 of 11 Operation FSI – Homelessness

• Persons experience Homelessness is everywhere • Metro’s compassionate response • PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) • Everyone has a right to use public transportation • Service seeking • Performing multiple unhoused individual counts

9 of 11 Operation FSI – Next Steps

• Fast Three Months • Analyze General Public Survey (85% support from riders and non-riders) • Meet with Regional Transit Partners • Research costs, implementation considerations • Explore Data Collection alternatives • Build a campaign of ownership, respect, appropriate behavior, safety

10 of 11 Thank You

Co-Leads

doreen Morrissey Dennis Tucker Principal Transportation Planner Veteran’s Program Manager LA Metro Talent Acquisition Dept. 213.418.3421 213-418-3160 [email protected] [email protected]