LA’s ‘Universal Basic Mobility’ Pilot, Eight Months In

A one-year ‘universal basic mobility’ pilot project in Los Angeles is nearing its close, writes Maylin Tu in Next City, offering a model for how cities can improve mobility for low-income transit users, boost ridership, and reduce emissions.

Other cities have experimented with the concept of ‘transit wallets’ that give residents a fixed subsidy that can be used for any transit service or product (for example, recipients can save unused funds over several months to use toward purchasing an e-bike). In Los Angeles, the pilot program included 1,000 South Los Angeles residents.

“In addition to the mobility wallet, the pilot includes an e-bike lending library, an expansion of BlueLA, an electric vehicle car-share program and the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, among other initiatives.” Future phases will expand the program to another 2,600 residents from South L.A. and Los Angeles County, and Metro is working to secure federal funding for the program’s future expansion.

While the majority of trips using the program were taken on public transit, participants spent the most funds on ride-hailing and taxi services (likely because of their higher cost). “According to Metro, participants are taking the bus or train during normal commute times and taking ride-hailing services early in the morning or late at night, indicating that participants are using options like Uber and Lyft when transit options are less available.”