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Metro Micro sticking around for another few years
A rendering of a Metro Micro vehicle.
(
Courtesy LA Metro
)
Metro Micro will continue offering on-demand rides around L.A. for at least another three years.
The Los Angeles Metro Board of Directors agreed to shake up the business model last week, voting to contract out some services, including the drivers and vehicles.
Patrick Chandler, L.A. Metro media relations manager, told LAist that the program will continue uninterrupted, and the agency will keep adjusting services to improve performance.
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What’s changing?
A company called Nomad Transit LLC will be taking over a bulk of the operations.
L.A. Metro will no longer provide drivers, operators, and supervisor staff, which will instead be left up to the contracting company.
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It’ll also be responsible for the vehicles, management, maintenance, and surveillance, to name a few.
However, the eight service zones will stay the same, and people will still be able to use Metro Micro for $2.50 in the El Monte, Altadena/Pasadena/Sierra Madre, Highland Park/Eagle Rock/Glendale, North Hollywood/Burbank, Northwest San Fernando Valley, Watts/Compton, LAX/Inglewood, and UCLA/Westwood/VA Medical Center areas.
How we got here
Metro Micro is a “well-liked” transit service that can help introduce new customers to the L.A. Metro system, according to a board report.
Nearly 350,000 people would lose access to transit without Metro Micro, the report said, with 19% of its customers using it to connect to fixed route options like buses or trains.
But the program has faced its fair share of challenges, including how much it costs Metro to operate.
The original goal for the average price per ride was up to $25, but as of last September, it was $42. That’s more than four times the average on the Metro bus system.
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Officials ended up extending the program to give staff more time to work out a business model that could improve performance and make it more sustainable. The cost per ride has since dropped to around $29, in part due to a higher fare and increased ridership.
Officials expect the new business model to bring that down even further, to $24.77, which would meet the initial goal.
What’s next?
This service contract will be followed by a software contract, which is expected to go to the board for its approval next month. Those software services will let passengers book rides on the app, online, or over the phone and give operators driving instructions for picking them up.
Nomad Transit LLC’s contract is for three years, but Metro has the option to extend if it wants to continue with the same company.
Both the service and software contracts will go into effect in the spring.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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