Agenda packet — Montebello City Council, July 20, 2023 (part 1 of 2)

CITY OF MONTEBELLO

CALL AND NOTICE OF A SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA

THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2023 AT 6:00 PM

CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1600 WEST BEVERLY BOULEVARD

MONTEBELLO, CALIFORNIA

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting for the City of Montebello City Council is hereby called to be held on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, Council Chambers, located at 1600 West Beverly Boulevard, Montebello, CA 90640. The meeting will be live streamed and can be watched on the City’s website and YouTube Channel via the following link: https://www.montebelloca.gov, and may also be viewed on Spectrum Public Access Channel 3 for all Spectrum cable subscribers.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) any person with a disability who requires special accommodations in order to participate in a meeting should contact the Administration Office at (323) 887-1437 Monday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Please call 48 hours prior to the meeting to ensure that reasonable arrangements can be made to provide accessibility to this meeting (28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title II 1203). If you require translation services, please contact the City Clerk’s office 48 hours before this meeting. Si necesita servicios de traducción, comuníquese con la Oficina del Secretario Municipal 72 horas antes de esta reunión. 如果您需要翻译服务，请在会议前 72 小时联系市书记员办公室

RULES OF DECORUM:

Pursuant to Section 54957.95 of the Government Code, the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting, or their designee, is authorized to remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. Any such removal will be preceded by a warning to the disruptive individual by the presiding member of the legislative body or their designee that the individual’s behavior is disrupting the meeting and that the individual’s failure to promptly cease their disruptive behavior may result in their removal.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

In-Person: For those interested in participating during the Public Comment period(s) or public testimony period for Public Hearings of the City Council meetings, you may only address the City Council in person the day of the meeting. The public may only address the City Council during this Special Meeting on items which have been described in the notice of this meeting, in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.3(a). Speakers will be required to fill out a speaker card provided at the door and submit it to City Clerk staff prior to each Public Comment announcement period; Public Hearing items do not require a speaker card. Please be aware that the maximum time allotted for members of the public to speak shall not exceed three (3) minutes per person; staff will number and call each speaker card in the order received. There is no Closed Session; Regular Session begins at 6:00 p.m.

AGENDA MATERIALS: The agenda/agenda packet are available for public inspection at City’s website at: Agendas, Minutes, and Videos.

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July 20, 2023: Call and Notice of a Special Meeting Page 2 of 3

IN CONSIDERATION OF OTHERS, PLEASE TURN OFF, OR MUTE, ALL CELL PHONES AND PAGERS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.

OPENING CEREMONIES

CALL TO ORDER - 6:00 P.M.

ROLL CALL

PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY (30 MINUTES)
At this time, the general public may only address the City Council during this Special Meeting on items which have been described in the notice of this Special meeting in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.3(a). Please be aware that the maximum time allotted for members of the public to speak on shall not exceed three (3) minutes per person. State Law prohibits the City Council from taking action or entertaining extended discussion on a topic not listed on the agenda.

Please show courtesy to others and direct all of your comments to the Mayor.

CLOSED SESSION - NONE
The City Attorney shall provide a briefing on the item listed for Closed Session as follows:

REGULAR SESSION – IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING CLOSED SESSION

CLOSED SESSION REPORT - NONE

INVOCATION

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA - ACTING CITY MANAGER

STAFF COMMUNICATIONS ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST

REGULAR BUSINESS

1. RECEIVE AND FILE MONTEBELLO BUS LINES’ COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONS ANALYSIS FINAL

REPORT AND AUTHORIZE STAFF TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN

RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Receive and File Montebello Bus Lines’ (MBL) Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) Final Report; and

2. Authorize Staff to begin Implementation of the Plan; and

3. Approve the Following Line Geometry Modifications: Line 10 to Cal State Los Angeles, Line 30 to South Pasadena Metro Station, the Split of Line 50 into Line 50 and Line 55, Shorten Line 55, and the Discontinuation of Line 60; and

4. Approve the Following Service Increases: Upgrade Line 20 and 30 to 30-minute service, add Sunday service to Line 50 and 55, add weekend service to Line 70, upgrade Line 10 and 40-to-15-minute service and increase service in the early morning and evening; and

5. Approve the COA fare structure recommendations to be consistent with regional fares; and

6. Take such additional, related action that may be desirable.

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2. AUTHORIZE THE MONTEBELLO FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DELIVERY

PROPOSAL AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Receive and file the Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services delivery model Proposal Plan with authorization to implement a new organizational response model at a subsequent meeting; and

2. Recommend increasing full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in the "Firefighter/EMT" classification, which will include estimated costs for the additional positions and potential funding sources in addition to the general fund; and

3. Recommend the necessary Paramedic Rescue Squad vehicles, including an agreement authorizing the lending/leasing of a Rescue Squad from a partnering Fire Department. All Purchases of the Fire Related Equipment will be in conformance with bidding procedures 3.20.050; and

4. Take such additional related actions as necessary to Implement the Proposed Plan.

ADJOURNMENT
The City of Montebello will adjourn to the next Regular Meeting on July 26, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., which can be live streamed at https://www.montebelloca.gov (Click on Live Stream).

Date and Posted: July 19, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.

I, Kimberly Guillen, Acting Sr. Deputy City Clerk for the City of Montebello hereby certify that the foregoing Notice of the Special Meeting was posted at City Hall and the City’s website and delivered to each member of the City of Montebello City Council no less than 24-hours before the start of the Special Meeting.

Kimberly Guillen, Acting Sr. Deputy City Clerk

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ITEM # 1

CITY OF MONTEBELLO

SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA STAFF REPORT

TO:

Honorable Mayor and City Council Members

FROM:

Arlene Salazar, Acting City Manager

BY:

Adrianna Kendricks, Director of Transportation

SUBJECT:

RECEIVE AND FILE MONTEBELLO BUS LINES’ COMPREHENSIVE

OPERATIONS ANALYSIS FINAL REPORT AND AUTHORIZE STAFF

TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN

DATE:

July 20, 2023

RECOMMENDATION(S):

It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Receive and File Montebello Bus Lines’ (MBL) Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) Final Report; and

2. Authorize Staff to begin Implementation of the Plan; and

5. Approve the COA fare structure recommendations to be consistent with regional fares; and

6. Take such additional, related action that may be desirable.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Funded by Transit’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 operating budget.

BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:

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In May 2021, the City of Montebello contracted with Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. (Consultant), to conduct a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (“Montebello Moves”) for MBL. The purpose of Montebello Moves was to provide an in- depth evaluation of MBL’s existing transportation system, garner public and stakeholder feedback regarding service priorities, and identify short-term and long-term actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the transportation system that better aligns service with community needs. These initiatives would position MBL to become a more reliable and convenient mode of transportation to get to places of employment, attractions, and other travel destinations. MBL has eight (8) fixed routes that serve 2.5 million passengers annually throughout 13 different cities. Each route within MBL’s system was evaluated for potential improvements, realignments, or discontinuation.

The project was initiated during the COVID pandemic and was delayed twice due to changes in leadership at MBL. Under the current administration, the COA regained momentum and the Consultant was able incorporate months of extensive research, ridership assessments, an online survey, pop-up events, stakeholder meetings, multiple virtual public meetings, and presentations to regional partners and LA Metro service councils, to complete a final report that provided statistical analysis into a service recommendation plan broken into four phases.

MBL staff is requesting the City Council adoption of the Montebello Moves Transit Plan.

The Plan adoption will allow MBL staff to move forward with implementing plan recommendations, including route and schedule changes, coordination with other city departments regarding the potential for a transit/mobility hub within the City of Montebello, and potential changes to its fare structure.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:

N/A

ANALYSIS:

The Final Recommendations of the study are as follows:

• Service Recommendations:

Montebello Moves outlines four phases to adjust MBL services to provide more regional connectivity, reduce wait times, and to incrementally increase “revenue hours” based on resources and service demands. A revenue hour is defined as the time a bus is in service or when a bus is generating revenue. Each phase would also require an increase in “peak vehicle” usage. Peak vehicle usage is the maximum number of buses in operation on a service line.

The recommendation plan is designed as an incremental approach to reduce wait times with increased service availability and improve regional connectivity. Route geometry

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modifications are being made to optimize the system while provide greater connectivity within the region. Line 10 is recommended to be extended to CSULA in order to provide a one seat ride to the residents of Montebello and surrounding communities. Line 30 is recommended to extend to South Pasadena Metro Station to provide connectivity in the northern portion of the MBL Service area to a light rail network. Line 50 is recommended to be split into Line 50 and Line 55 (shortened version) to optimize operations since the current route alignment is a two-hour drive. The recommendation for Line 60 is that the line be discontinued, however further outreach and analysis will be needed.

The recommendations following are for improvements of scheduled service. The recommendations for Line 20 and 30 are to increase service to 30-minute service to bring the system closer to pre-pandemic service levels. The COA recommends that Line 50 and Line 55 provide Sunday service to increase transit access to patrons during the weekend. The addition to weekend service to Line 70 is recommended as Line 70 acts as the circular for Montebello and would provide greater transit access to its residents.

Upgrade Lines 10 and 40 to 15-minute headways as they are the lines that bear the highest number of riders within the busiest corridors in the service area.

• Montebello Mobility Hub:

The Consultant found a desire to create a “mobility hub” during the public outreach portion of their research. A mobility hub is a public space with amenities designed to improve the public transit riders experience. However, the hub functions as a public space designed as a transportation center with access to restrooms, first/last mile bus connectors, and can also serve as a community activity ground.

• Fare Policy Options:

The Consultant included six (6) possible fare adjustments in Montebello Moves based on a peer review study of similarly sized agencies. The Consultant recommends the “Modified Fare Scenario” option for MBL. This fare adjustment would include a base fare rate increase of $0.15, a $0.50 transfer fare, and free fare for K-12 students. The projected impact of these changes would be an increase of 51,000 riders (3% increase) and a $54,000 decrease in farebox revenue (4% decrease).

While Montebello Moves establishes goals, objectives, and procedural steps to streamline MBL operations, it does not commit MBL to any specific expenditures. Staff will publish any major proposed changes stemming from Montebello Moves and allow the community the opportunity to review and comment on the possible changes.

SUMMARY:

Staff recommends that the City Council: Receive and file Montebello Bus Lines’ (MBL) Comprehensive Operations Analysis (COA) Final Report; authorize Staff to begin

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Implementation of the Plan; approve the Following Line Geometry Modifications: Line 10 to Cal State Los Angeles, Line 30 to South Pasadena Metro Station, the Split of Line 50 into Line 50 and Line 55, Shorten Line 55, and the Discontinuation of Line 60; approve the Following Service Increases: Upgrade Line 20 and 30 to 30-minute service, add Sunday service to Line 50 and 55, add weekend service to Line 70, upgrade Line 10 and 40-to-15-minute service and increase service in the early morning and evening; approve the COA fare structure recommendations to be consistent with regional fares; take such additional, related action that may be desirable.

ATTACHMENT(S)

1. Attachment A - Comprehensive Operational Analysis Final Report

NEXT STEPS:

N/A

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Comprehensive Operational Analysis
Final Report
April 2022

ATTACHMENT A

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Comprehensive Operational Analysis | Final Report
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Table of Contents
Page
1 Executive Summary ................................ ................................ .............................. 1-1 Montebello Bus Lines Overview .......................................................................................................... 1-1 Project Goals .......................................................................................................................................... 1-1 Project Timeline ...................................................................................................................................... 1-2 Key Findings............................................................................................................................................ 1-3 Community Participation....................................................................................................................... 1-7 Service Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 1-8 Montebello Mobility Hub ...................................................................................................................1-12 Fare Policy ............................................................................................................................................1-13 2 System Overview ................................ ................................ ................................ . 2-1 Ridership and On-Time Performance................................................................................................. 2-3 Bus Stops................................................................................................................................................2-13 End-of-Line Evaluation ........................................................................................................................2-14 Fares.......................................................................................................................................................2-15 Dial-A-Taxi............................................................................................................................................2-16 Montebello Link ....................................................................................................................................2-16 Regional Connectivity..........................................................................................................................2-17 3 Rider Characteristics ................................ ................................ ............................. 3-1 4 Service Recommendations ................................ ................................ ..................... 4-1 Phase 1 Recommendations................................................................................................................... 4-1 Phase 2 Service Recommendations .................................................................................................... 4-5 Phase 3 Service Recommendations .................................................................................................... 4-7 Phase 4 Service Recommendations .................................................................................................... 4-9 Future Service Considerations ...........................................................................................................4-12 Supporting Recommendations ...........................................................................................................4-13 5 Montebello Mobility Hub ................................ ................................ ....................... 5-1 Identified Need...................................................................................................................................... 5-1 Potential Solution ................................................................................................................................... 5-1 Mobility Hub Planning Process ............................................................................................................ 5-3 6 Fare Policy Options ................................ ................................ .............................. 6-1 Peer Review ............................................................................................................................................ 6-1 Fare Alternatives.................................................................................................................................... 6-2

Appendix A: Community Outreach Summary
Appendix B: Fare Study
Appendix C: Existing Conditions Report

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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MONTEBELLO BUS LINES OVERVIEW
The City of Montebello has operated Montebello Bus Lines (MBL) since 1922. MBL is the third largest municipal bus system in Los Angeles County . MBL provides transit services in Montebello as well as the neighboring communities of Alhambra, Bell Gardens, Boyle Heights, Commerce, Downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, La Mirada, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, South Gate, and Whittier.

PROJECT GOALS
In July 2021, the City of Montebello init iated a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) of the MBL system. Goals of the COA included:
▪ Evaluating transit needs within the study area
▪ Identifying community priorities for transit
▪ Creating a more effective, efficient, and sustainable transit system ▪ Creating an implementable plan to optimize and expand MBL This executive summary highlights key study findings and plan recommendations.

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PROJECT TIMELINE
The COA included a range of analyses and activities to develop a cross-sectional understanding of the existing MBL system and reveal opportunities for improvement.

Community participation was a critical component of the study and was incorporated throughout the project schedule. COA recommendations were finalized in March 2023.

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KEY FINDINGS
The first phase of the COA consisted of a detailed review of the MBL system. This phase also examined socio-economic conditions, employment characteristics, and regional connections within the study area. The system analysis yielded the following findings :

MBL provides an extensive transit network.

The MBL network consists of seven local lines and one express line all of which extend well beyond Montebello city limits. MBL serves several major regional destinations that include Downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles College (ELAC), the Shops at Montebello, and Uptown Whittier. MBL route alignments are generally direct and intuitive and operate primarily along arterial streets.

California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA), Rio Hondo College, and the South Pasadena Gold Line Station are major unserved destinations that are within two miles of existing MBL service.

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MBL ridership has not fully recovered but is trending upwards.

Like all transit providers across the country, MBL experienced severe ridership declines between March and July 2020 due to the COVID -19 pandemic. MBL implemented significant service suspensions and reductions during this timeframe.

Since July 2020, system ridership has increased steadily year over year. As of October 2022, weekday ridership is at approximately 50% of pre-pandemic levels and weekend ridership is at just over 60% of pre -pandemic levels. These trends indicate that fewer workers are using MBL for weekday commute trips while weekend service remains popular for work and shopping trips.

0 50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
500,000
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
2019 2020 2021 2022
Monthly Boardings
Historical MBL System Ridership
Service suspensions and
reductions due to COVID-19

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Lines 10 and 40 are MBL’s core services .

Lines 10 Whittier Boulevard and 40 Beverly Boulevard account for over 65% of MBL’s total system ridership. Both lines offer riders frequent service every 17-20 minutes and daily operation.

Lines 20 San Gabriel, 30 Garfield Ave, and 50 Washington Blvd represent the second tier of MBL routes with moderate ridership. While Line 20 has lower daily ridership than Lines 10 and 40 due to its shorter length, it maintains similar passenger loads, indicating a need for more freque nt service. Line 50 does not operate on Sunday.

Lines 60 Passons Blvd, 70 Wilcox Ave, and 90 MBL Express operate exclusively on weekdays and have very low ridership compared to other MBL routes. Line 70 operates almost entirely within the City of Mo ntebello and serves key destinations, such as the Montebello/Commerce Metrolink Station and the Shops at Montebello. Line 90 provides Montebello residents with a fast and direct connection to Downtown LA. Line 60 primarily serves El Rancho High School students in Pico Rivera and is the only line that does not operate within the City of Montebello.

-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Average Daily Ridership by Line
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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MBL is a critical transportation service for residents of Montebello and several other communities .

Nearly one-quarter of MBL riders are Montebello residents. Other cities and communities with a high number of residents that ride MBL include Whittier, East LA, Pico Rivera, and Boyle Heights.

Montebello, Whittier, Downtown LA, East LA, and Pico Rivera are the top five destinations for MBL riders.

Improved facilities are needed for MBL riders and operators.

While the Shops at Montebello and Montebello/Commerce Metrolink Station function as adequate connection points between MBL lines and other transit services, the City of Montebello lacks a formal transit hub.

End-of-lines are critical locations for bus operators to take scheduled breaks . Several MBL lines lack dedicated and/or easily accessible restroom facilities.

MBL riders and operators would benefit from the creation of a formal transit hub within the City of Montebell o and improved facilities at end-of-lines.

Montebello, 24%
Whittier, 22%
East LA, 9%
Pico Rivera, 10%
Boyle Heights, 8%
Monterey Park, 4%
Bell Gardens, 3%
Rosemead, 2%
Alhambra, 1%
San Gabriel, 2%
Other, 16%
MBL Rider Place of Residence

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COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
The MBL COA included community outreach efforts at multiple stages of the project , summarized below:
▪ A project brand – Montebello Moves – used in all community outreach. ▪ On-board surveys to understand rider characteristics and satisfaction. ▪ Online surveys to reach a broader audience, including non-riders. ▪ Flyers on buses to inform riders of surveys, events, and proposed changes . ▪ Pop-up events to meet the public at community events and activity centers. ▪ Virtual meetings to provide project updates and obtain community feedback . ▪ Stakeholder meetings to discuss transit issues and opportunities . ▪ Project website to review study deliverables and proposed changes . ▪ Presentations to regional partners and LA Metro service councils .

These outreach activities were invaluable to the project team and provided a better understanding of transit needs and community priorities.

Project website on mobile device Montebello Moves project team conducting outreach at ELAC

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SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS
The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on transit service in the Los Angeles region. In many ways, MBL is still contending with the consequences.

Meeting the evolving transit needs of the MBL service area requires a commitment to system optimization and expansion. However, the continued shortage of operators and mechanics along with changes in ridership patterns have made it difficult to anticipate and address long-term service needs.

To respond to this inherent uncertainty, the recommendations presented in this report are divided into four phases, each requiring approximately a 5-15% increase in revenue hours. This approach allows MBL to make incremental service improvements as resources allow and as warranted by demand for service.

Phase 1 Service Recommendations
Phase 1 increases service availability, improves regional connectivity, and addresses operational challenges.

Phase 1 service recommendations include:
▪ Extending Line 10 to Cal State LA.
▪ Extending Line 30 to the South Pasadena Gold Line Station. ▪ Splitting Line 50 into two lines (50 and 55) to improve operational efficiency . ▪ Shortens Line 55 from Santa Gertrudes Ave to Imperial Hwy in La Mirada. ▪ Discontinuing Line 60 due to low ridership and lack of service within Montebello.

Phase 1 recommendations would require a 15% increase in revenue hours and 3 additional peak vehicles.

Phase 2 Service Recommendations
Phase 2 creates a more robust transit network with upgraded frequencies on Lines 20 and 30, later service on high-performing routes, and daily service on all local lines.

Phase 2 service recommendations include:
▪ Upgrading Line 20 to 30 -minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 30 to 30 -minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Extending late night service on Lines 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 55. ▪ Adding Sunday service on Line s 50 and 55.
▪ Adding Saturday and Sunday service on Line 70.

Phase 2 recommendations would require a 14% increase in revenue hours and 4 additional peak vehicles.

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Phase 1 Recommended MBL Network

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Phase 3 Service Recommendations
Phase 3 upgrades weekday frequencies Lines 10, 50, and 55 to increase convenience, reduce wait times, and improve connections between lines , specifically:
▪ Upgrading Line 10 to 15-minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 50 to 30-minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 55 to 30-minute frequency on weekdays.

Phase 3 improvements would require an 9% increase in revenue hours and 6 additional peak vehicles.

Phase 4 Service Recommendations
Phase 4 upgrades weekday frequenc ies on Lines 40 and 70, specifically:
▪ Upgrading Line 40 to 15-minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 70 to 30 -minute frequency on weekdays.

Phase 4 improvements would require a 5% increase in revenue hours and 4 additional peak vehicles.

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Phase 4 Recommended MBL Network

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MONTEBELLO MOBILITY HUB
During the project outreach process, the study
team collected feedback from riders and
identified a desire for more amenities at bus
stops, such as seating, lighting, and real-time
information displays. The study team also
interviewed bus operators who expressed a need
for better access to restrooms at end-of-lines.

Mobility hubs were identified as a potential
solution to improve the rider experience, provide
better access to first mile/last mile solutions, and
resolve some operator challenges. Mobility hubs
are public spaces designed and maintained to
bring together frequent transit service, supporting
amenities, sustainable mobility choices, and
community-serving activities in one place.

While multiple locations in Montebello could
support the creation of a mobility hub, South
Montebello, specifically the vicinity of Greenwood
Ave and Washington Blvd, was identified as the
priority location for a mobility hub.

Potential mobility hub elements could include:
▪ Bus bays for connections and layovers
▪ Seating and shade
▪ Restrooms for riders and operators
▪ Real-time arrival information
▪ Off -board payment
▪ Space for bike and shared mobility parking
▪ Vending space
▪ Wayfinding
▪ Placemaking features such as green space and public art

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FARE POLICY
The COA also included a review of MBL’s existing fare policy, a peer review of other similarly sized agency’s fare policies, and an evaluation of potential alternative fare policies for future consideration.

The results of the peer review identified sever al trends, industry best practices, and considerations applicable to MBL, including:
▪ MBL charges a full fare for internal transfers, while most peers offer transfers for free or under $0.50
▪ MBL does not offer a monthly pass outside of the relatively expens ive EZ pass ▪ Some agencies, like Big Blue Bus, are incentivizing TAP card usage by providing discounted fares or transfers when using this fare product Six different preliminary scenarios for fare structures and pricing changes were developed to evaluate potential impacts to MBL ridership and revenue.

Following a presentation of the preliminary fare scenarios and associated impacts, a preferred fare scenario was developed in coordination with MBL staff to incorporate aspects of several preliminary fare scenarios. The preferred fare scenario is intended to create a simplified, easier to understand fare structure that better aligns with peer agencies and continues to emphasize equity within the community.

The preferred fare scenario would raise the base fare from $1.10 to $1.25 and include a $0.50 transfer to align with peer agencies. K -12 students would ride fare free, thus eliminating cost barriers to transit and increasing rider patronage.

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2 SYSTEM OVERVIEW
MBL provides excellent transit in Montebello and neighboring areas .

Montebello Bus Lines consists of eight lines with varying frequencies and days of service. Lines 10, 20 and 40 provide frequent, d aily service. Lines 30, 50, 60 and 70 are less frequent with limited weekend service. Line 90 is weekday peak hour express service.

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Service Span and Frequency
Weekday Early Morning Midday Afternoon Night
Line 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 Whittier Blvd
20 San Gabriel Blvd
30 Garfield Ave
40 Beverly Blvd
50 Washington Blvd
60 Passons Blvd
70 Wilcox Ave
90 Downtown Express

Saturday Early Morning Midday Afternoon Night
Line 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 Whittier Blvd
20 San Gabriel Blvd
30 Garfield Ave
40 Beverly Blvd
50 Washington Blvd
60 Passons Blvd
70 Wilcox Ave
90 Downtown Express

Sunday Early Morning Midday Afternoon Night
Line 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 Whittier Blvd
20 San Gabriel Blvd
30 Garfield Ave
40 Beverly Blvd
50 Washington Blvd
60 Passons Blvd
70 Wilcox Ave
90 Downtown Express

Line Frequencies 15-20 minutes 21-40 minutes 41-60 minutes 61-90 minutes

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RIDERSHIP AND ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
Historical System Ridership
Montebello Bus Lines experienced a significant decline in system ridership in March 2020 when service was suspended and reintroduced at a reduced level due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accurate ridership data was not collected between April and June 2020 as riders were required to rear from the back door and fares were not enforced.

Since July 2020, system ridership has increased steadily. Weekday ridership is at approximately 50% of pre-pandemic levels and weekend ridership is at just over 60% of pre-pandemic levels.

These trends indicate that fewer employees are using MBL for weekday commute trips while weekend service remains popular for employment and shopping trips.

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Ridership Distribution
MBL ridership is highly concentrated along two corridors:
▪ Whittier Boulevard between Atlantic Boulevard and Whittwood Town Center ▪ Beverly Boulevard between downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel River Other corridor segments with high to moderate ridership include :
▪ Greenwood Avenue between Beverly Boulevard and Telegraph Road ▪ Washington Boulevard between Greenwood Avenue and Whittier Boulevard ▪ Garfield Avenue between Graves Avenue and Downtown Alhambra ▪ San Gabriel Boulevard between Valley Boulevard and the Shops at Montebello Weekday System Ridership

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Line 10 Whittier Blvd
Line 10 Whittier Blvd provides east -west service between East Los Angeles College, Montebello, Uptown Whittier, and Whittwood Town Center. The line operates along Atlantic Blvd, Whittier Blvd, Philadelphia St, and Painter Ave. Major destinations along the line include East Los Angeles College, Commerce Center, Downtown Montebello, Uptown Whittier, Whittier College, and Whittwood Town Center.

Service Parameters
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Service Span 4:30 AM – 9:45 PM 4:30 AM – 9:45 PM 4:30 AM – 9:45 PM Frequency 17 17 17
Cycle Time 170 170 170
Peak Vehicles 10 10 10
Daily Ridership 3,550 2,650 1,950

Ridership Activity

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Line 20 San Gabriel Blvd
Line 20 San Gabriel Blvd provides north -south service between San Gabriel, Rosemead, Montebello, and Rancho San Antonio. The route operates along San Gabriel Blvd, The Shops at Montebello, Montebello Blvd, Greenwood Ave, and operates a terminal loop to the south along Telegraph Rd, Gage Rd, and Union St. Major destinations served by the line include the Rancho San Antonio neighborhood, the Shops at Montebello, and the residential and commercial areas near San Gabriel Blvd & Garvey Ave.

Service Parameters Ridership Activity
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Service Span 5:30 AM – 9:30 PM 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM Frequency 45 45 45
Cycle Time 135 135 135
Peak Vehicles 3 3 3
Daily Ridership 1,100 650 600

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Line 30 Garfield Ave
Line 30 Garfield Ave provides north-south service between Alhambra, Monterey Park, Rosemead, Montebello, Commerce, Bell Gardens, and South Gate. The line operates along Huntington Dr and Garfield Ave. Major destinations served by the line include several retail areas near major intersections, most notably, Garfield Ave & Main St in Alhambra, Garfield Ave & Garvey Ave in Rosemead, Garfield Ave & Florence Ave in Bell Gardens.

Service Parameters Ridership Activity
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Service Span 5:15 AM – 8:30 PM 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM Frequency 55 55 55
Cycle Time 165 165 165
Peak Vehicles 3 3 3
Daily Ridership 600 250 200

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Line 40 Beverly Blvd
Line 40 Beverly Blvd provides east -west service between downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Montebello, and Whittier. Major destinations include retail and employment hubs in downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Montebello. The line also serves three Metro L (Gold) line stations, including Maravilla, East LA Civic Center, and Atlantic stations.

Service Parameters
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Service Span 5:00 AM – 10:00 PM 5:00 AM – 9:45 PM 5:00 AM – 9:45 PM Frequency 18-20 18-20 18-20
Cycle Time 180 180 180
Peak Vehicles 10 10 10
Daily Ridership 2,400 1,450 1,350

Ridership Activity

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Line 50 Washington Blvd
Line 50 Washington Blvd provides east -west service between downtown Los Angeles, Wyvernwood, Commerce, Rancho San Antonio, Pico Riviera, Whittier, and La Mirada. Major destinations include downtown Los Angeles, LA County Social Services, Commerce Civic Center, Downtown Montebello, Uptown Whittier, and California High School in Whittier. Line 50 does not operate on Sunday.

Service Parameters
Weekday Saturday
Service Span 4:30 AM – 8:45 PM 4:50 AM – 9:00 PM
Frequency 40-45 55-60
Cycle Time 300 300
Peak Vehicles 7 5
Daily Ridership 1,200 500

Ridership Activity

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Line 60 Passons Blvd
Line 60 Passons Blvd provides local north-south service between Northgate Market and the LA County Probation Training Center in Pico Riviera. This route was suspended during the COVID -19 pandemic and restored in 2021. The primary destination on Line 60 is El Rancho High School. Line 60 does not operate on weekends. Line 60 is the only line that does not operate within the City of Montebello.

Service Parameters Ridership Activity
Weekday
Service Span 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Frequency 70-90
Cycle Time 70-90
Peak Vehicles 1
Daily Ridership 120

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Line 70 Wilcox Ave
Line 70 Wilcox Ave provides local service within Montebello, connecting Rancho San Antonio, the Montebello/Commerce Metrolink station, Montebello High School, the Montebello Plaza shopping center, and the Shops at Montebello. This line provides local circulation between the relatively dense residential areas in Rancho San Antonio and the retail and employment opportunities throughout the City of Montebello . Line 70 does not operate on weekends.

Service Parameters Ridership Activity
Weekday
Service Span 5:30 AM – 8:30 PM
Frequency 40-45
Cycle Time 40-45
Peak Vehicles 1
Daily Ridership 115

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Line 90 Downtown Express
Line 90 Downtown Express is a commuter express route that operates along Beverly Blvd between Whittier, the Taylor Ranch park-and-ride, Montebello, and East Los Angeles before operating into downtown Los Angeles on Hwy 60, I-5, and Hwy 101. The route provides direct, limited stop service and operates nine round trips per weekday.

Service Parameters
Weekday
Morning
Service
5:30 AM – 9:00 AM
3 westbound trips
2 eastbound trips
2 vehicles
Afternoon
Service
3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
2 round trips
1 vehicle
Daily Ridership 75

Ridership Activity

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BUS STOPS
The Montebello Bus Lines system consists of more than 800 bus stops. Only 22% of bus stops are situated within Montebello city limits. Bus stops within the Montebello, Los Angeles, and unincorporated Los Angeles County account for half of bus stop total an d generate 65% of system ridership. Other jurisdictions with at least 10% of the system bus stop total include Pico Rivera and Whittier. The City of Montebello does not maintain bus stops outside of city limits.

Bus Stops and Ridership by Jurisdiction

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Bus Stops Ridership

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END-OF-LINE EVALUATION
End-of-lines are critical locations for bus operators to take scheduled breaks. Several MBL lines lack public and/or easily accessible restroom facilities.

End-of-Line Characteristics
Line End-of-Line
Off-
Street
Nearest
Restroom
Restroom
Proximity
10 Whittier Blvd East Los Angeles College ✓ ELAC Building S2 250’ Whittwood Town Center (Whittier) ✓ Target 500’
20 San Gabriel/Montebello South Pine & Live Oak (San Gabriel) Supermarket 350’ Telegraph & Gage (Commerce) Gas Station 600’
30 Garfield Ave Huntington & Stoneman (San Marino) In-N-Out 400’ Firestone & Garfield (South Gate) Wendy’s 400’
40 Beverly Blvd 5th & Beaudry (DTLA) Portable Toilet 50’ Beverly & Norwalk (Whittier) Multiple Small
Businesses
500’
50 Washington Blvd Adelfa & Ashgrove (La Mirada) Albertson’s 1,000’ 5th & Beaudry (DTLA) Portable Toilet 50’
60 Passons Blvd

Telegraph & Arrington (Pico Rivera) Supermarket 350’
70 Wilcox Ave

The Shops at Montebello Public Restrooms
Near Food Court
700’
90 Downtown Express 5th & Beaudry (DTLA) Portable Toilet 50’ Beverly & Norwalk (Whittier) Multiple Small
Businesses
500’

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FARES
Montebello Bus Lines’ fare structure includes two distinct fare types and discount categories.

The base fare of $1.10 applies to all local lines (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70), while the more expensive express fare of $1.30 only applies to Line 90. Additionally, MBL offers discounted fares to K-12 students ($0.75 per trip) and for people with disabilities and seniors ages 62 and older ($0.50 per trip). These fare discounts only apply to local lines, there are no discounts for express fares.

MBL also offers interagency transfers when passengers transfer to a route operated by another provider. These transfers require an additional $0.25 with a discounted fare of $0.10 for people with disabilities and seniors. MBL offers day passes at a rate of $3.00, discou nted to $2.00 for students and $1.50 for seniors and people with disabilities. A Monthly pass is available only for students at a cost of $30.00.

There is an opportunity to simplify MBL fares by rounding these amounts to the nearest increment of $0.25 . This makes paying cash fares easier as passengers will no longer have to worry about paying exact fares with nickels and dimes. This may potentially improve travel times by reducing the amount of time passengers spend searching for change and paying their fare.

Montebello Bus Lines Fare Structure
Adults Students (K-12)
People with
Disabilities & Seniors
(62+)
Base Fare $1.10 $0.75 $0.50
Express Fare $1.30 $1.30 $1.30
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 $2.00 $1.50
Monthly Pass None $30.00 None
Note: ID required for discount fare and passes
In addition to accepting cash, MBL offers pass products and accepts cash value payments through the Transit Access Pass (TAP) program that is commonly used throughout the Los Angeles area. MBL also accepts the regional EZ Transit Pass which provides unlimited access to participating agencies for $110 per month ($42 for seniors and people with disabilities). In addition to MBL, participating EZ Transit Pass agencies include Commerce Municipal Bus Lines, Culver CityBus, Foothill Transit, Gardena Municipal Bus Lines, Glendale Beeline, LADOT, Long Beach Transit, Metro Bus & Metro Rail, Norwalk Tran sit, Santa Clarita Transit, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, and Torrance Transit.

MBL also accepts bus tokens which are valid for a single, one -way trip (10 tokens for $10).

Tokens are no longer viewed as a best practice for transit fare media. Phasing tokens o ut of circulation may further simplify the fare collection process for MBL.

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DIAL-A-TAXI
In addition to the fixed -route system, Montebello Bus Lines offers a Dial -A-Taxi service for Montebello residents ages 62 and older and/or with a disability. Qualifying residents may apply through a paper application and a physician’s form submitted to the city. Dial-A-Taxi service provides transportation within the City of Montebello for any trip purpose and within a larger service area (bound between the I -10 Freeway, I-710 Freeway, I-605 Freeway, and Slauson Ave) for medical trips only.

Dial-A-Taxi service is available 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, including holidays. The service provides 26 riders per month with a payment of $1.00 per one -way trip.

MONTEBELLO LINK
MBL offers a contracted service known as Montebello Link that provides feeder service to Metrolink commuter rail service. Montebello Link is a semi-fixed-route service that uses a reservation-based system to provide flexible service between the Montebello Metrolink Station and employment centers in Bell, Commerce, Montebello, and Monterey Park.

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REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY
Montebello Bus Lines’ expansive service area supports regional connectivity by providing transfer opp ortunities with LA Metro, Monterey Park Spirit Bus, Bell Gardens Transit, Foothill Transit, Norwalk Transit, Rosemead Explorer, Commerce Transit, LA GO Shuttles, and Alhambra Community Transit. MBL connects to various modes including local bus, express bus, light rail, and commuter rail.

Montebello Bus Lines and Connecting Transit Providers

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3 RIDER CHARACTERISTICS
Understanding who uses the service helps MBL to best meet the unique needs of their passengers and the community.

On-Board Survey
An on-board survey was conducted between October 6 and October 10, 2021. Surveys were distributed on all eight lines. Over the course of the five -day survey period, a total of 713 surveys were received. The survey sampling method was designed to capture a representative sample of the system population. Surveys were collected during peak and off-peak times and on all directions of travel. Survey instruments were available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Trip Purpose
Overall, 60% of riders use transit to get to and from work, 15% to get to and from school, and 11% for shopping and errands. Medical, recreation, and other trip purposes make up a relatively small share of trips (6%, 3%, and 5%, respectively).

Respondents that ride transit more frequently are more likely to take transit for work, while less frequent riders are more likely to use transit to reach medical appo intments or to run errands.

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On-Board Survey Trip Purpose by Frequency of Riding

On-Board Survey Trip Purpose by Frequency of Riding

60%
14% 11%
6% 3% 5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Work School /College Shopping
/Errands
Medical /Dental Recreation
/Events
Other
46%
63% 69%
12%
21% 7%
16%
6%
12%11%
4% 5%7%
3% 2%8% 3% 6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
One to four days Five days Six or seven days
Work School/College Shopping/Errands Medical/Dental Recreation/Events Other

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Trip Origins and Destinations
When asked where respondents were traveling to and from, the most common trip orig ins included Montebello (24%) and Whittier (20%). Montebello and Whittier were also the most common destinations, 18% and 16% respectively. Additionally, downtown Los Angeles and Commerce were identified as destinations more frequently than as origins. The se locations represent potential major employment centers outside of the City of Montebello.

On-Board Survey Rider Origins and Destinations

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Other
Santa Fe Springs
Rancho San Antonio
Garvey
La Mirada
San Marino
San Gabriel
Rosemead
Alhambra
Commerce
South Gate
Bell Gardens
Monterey Park
Downtown LA
Boyle Heights
Pico Rivera
East LA
Whittier
Montebello
Residence Destination

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Fare Payment
In addition to characteristics regarding trip purpose, frequency, origin, and destination, respondents were also asked how they paid their fare. Most respondents paid with cash (77%), with 10% using a day pass, and 7% using a monthly pass. A smaller percentage of respondents paid an express fare or used an inter -agency transfer, 3% and 2%.

On-Board Surv ey Ridership by Fare Media

Cash, 77%
Day pass, 10%
Monthly Pass, 7%
Express fare , 3%
Inter-Agency
Transfer, 2%

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Employment Characteristics
Given the high percentage of trips used for traveling to work, identifying the employment status and characteristics of transit riders is crucial for ensuring MBL service continues to meet passengers’ commute needs. When asked for their employment status, 70% of respondents indicated they were employed either full time or part time .

On-Board Survey Respondent Employment Status

Employed full time,
49%
Employed part-time,
21%
Homemaker, 6%
Not currently
employed, 16%
Retired, 8%Volunteer position,
1%

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Respondents were also asked whether they work evenings or on weekends when transit service is more limited than during typical weekday commute times. About a quarter (24%) of respondents indicated that they worked evenings after 9:00 p.m. and 42% of respondents indicated that they work on weekdays. This suggests that a substantial portion of existing ridership may benefit from increased access to employment by providing later evening service or improved weekend service.

On-Board Survey Respondent Evening Employment

On-Board Survey Respondent Weekend Employment

Works after 9:00 pm, 24%
Does not w ork after 9:00 pm, 46%
Not employed, 30%
Works Saturday
and/or Sunday, 42%
Does not w ork Saturday
and/or Sunday, 27%
Not employed, 30%

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Service Satisfaction
Respondents were also asked to identify their level of satisfaction with MBL service overall and with specific aspects of service. Respondents are generally satisfied with MBL service overall, with 80% of respondents ranking MBL as good or excellent. Respondents were most satisfied with service affor dability, operator courtesy, cleanliness, and personal safety.

Aspects of service that respondents were least satisfied with include service span, weekend service, service reliability, travel times, and service frequency. Additionally, respondents were asked to identify their top two priority improvements. Buses running on schedule was the most selected improvement, with 29% of respondents selecting it as their top priority and 19% as their second priority. The next most selected priorities include operatin g later evening service, more frequent service, and more weekend service. These results represent potential areas for service improvements to improve rider satisfaction and make the service more useful for more members of the community.

On-Board Survey Res pondent Service Satisfaction

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Weekday hours
On schedule
Weekend availability
Trip duration
Weekday freq
Coverage
Personal safety
Interiors clean
Operator courtesy
Fare afforable
Excellent Good Neutral Poor Very poor

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On-Board Survey Respondent Improvement Priorities

5%
7%
7%
8%
7%
11%
11%
9%
17%
19%
4%
4%
5%
6%
8%
9%
10%
15%
12%
29%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Courtesy of bus operators
Service to all destinations you want to go to
Total time for your usual trip
Your personal safety at bus stops
Cleanliness of the bus interiors
How affordable the bus fare is
Availability of weekend service
Frequency of weekday service (Mon-Fri)
How late buses operate weekdays (Mon-Fri)
Buses running on schedule
Most important Second most important

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Rider Demographics
The on-board survey included a series of questions regarding respondent demographics , including household income, age, race and ethnicity, and language spoken at home.

Household Income
Respondents are generally lower income, with 42% reporting less than $15,000 in annual household income and an additional 22% reporting between $24,999 and $25,000. Only 10% of respondents reported earning $55,000 or more per year.

On-Board Survey Respondents’ Household Income

Less than $15,000,
42%
$15,000 to $24,999,
22%
$25,000 to $34,999,
13%
$35,000 to $54,999,
14%
$55,000 to $75,000,
6%
More than $75,000,
4%

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Age
The age of respondents was generally evenly distributed, with 23% reporting 16 to 24, 26% reporting 25 to 39, 25% reporting 40 to 54, and 27% reporting 55 or older.

On-Board Survey Respondents’ Age

16 to 24, 23%
25 to 39, 26%
40 to 54, 25%
55 or older, 27%

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Race and Ethnicity
Most respondents (80%) identified as either Hispanic or Hispanic and another racial category.

An additional 10% of respondents identified as Caucasian or White, 3% as Black or African American, 3% as Asian, and 5% as other.

On-Board Survey Respondents’ Race and Ethnicity

Hispanic only, 69%
Hispanic and other,
13%
Caucasian/ White,
10%
Asian, 3%
African
American/Black, 3%
Other, 2%

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Language
Sixty-two percent of respondents speak English at home, 38% speak Spanish, and 1% speak another language.

On-Board Survey Respondents’ Language Spoken at Home

Future Rider Surveys
Following the City of Montebello’s recent rebranding effort, there is an opportunity to begin having regular and routine survey efforts to engage with riders regarding awareness of the service, effectiveness of branding, and perceptions of MBL. Surveys regarding branding and service perceptions may be performed online but on -board surveys should also be conducted on MBL vehicles approximately every two years to obtain accurate and up to date information regarding ridership demographics, behaviors, and perceptions. The marketing and rebranding effort presents on opportunity to begin this regular surveying practice that should be continued into the future to ensure MBL services continue to meet the evolving needs of the community.

Speaks English at
home, 62%
Speaks Spanish at
home, 38%
Speaks other
language at home,
1%

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4 SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS
Meeting the evolving transit needs of the MBL service area requires a commitment to system optimization and expansion.

PHASE 1 RECOMMENDATIONS
Phase 1 increases service availability, improves regional connectivity, and addresses operational challenges.

Phase 1 service recommendations include:
▪ Extending Line 10 to Cal State LA.
▪ Extending Line 30 to the South Pasadena Gold Line Station. ▪ Splitting Line 50 into two lines (50 and 55) to improve operational efficiency. ▪ Shortening Line 55 from Santa Gertrudes Ave to Imperial Hwy in La Mirada. ▪ Discontinuing Line 60 due to low ridership and lack of service within Montebello.

Phase 1 recommendations would require a 15% increase in re venue hours and 3 additional peak vehicles.

Phase 1 Frequency and Service Span
Line Weekday Saturday Sunday
Span Frequency Span Frequency Span Frequency
10 4:30 am – 9:45 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 20 5:00 am – 9:30 pm 45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 45 5:30 am – 8:00 pm 45 30 5:00 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 5:30 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 40 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 18 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 50 5:00 am – 8:00 pm 45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 -- --
55 5:00 am – 8:00 pm 45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 -- --
70 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 -- -- -- --
90 AM and PM peak 3 AM trips
2 PM trips -- -- -- --

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Recommended Montebello Bus Lines Network

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Phase 1 Recommendations by Line
Line 10 Whittier Blvd.

Extend Line 10 north and west along Floral Dr, Eastern Ave, Ramona Blvd, and Campus Rd to provide direct service to Cal State Los Angeles. This line extension is contingent upon identifying sufficient curb space for drop -off, turnaround, and layover at the existing CSU -LA transit facility. The timeframe for implementing this recommendation may extend beyond the near-term recommendations depending on conversations with Metro and CSU-LA, the ongoing operations of existing transit services and shuttles serving the facility, and po tential improvements and expansions to the transit facility. This service expansion represents a significant opportunity to extend MBL service to a major regional destination, connect to other regional services, and provide more convenient service to CSU -LA students.

Line 20 San Gabriel/Montebello
No changes are recommended during Phase 1.

Line 30 Garfield Ave.

Realign and extend north and east along Huntington Dr, Fair Oaks Ave, El Centro St, and Fremont Ave to provide service adjacent to the South Pasadena Metro Gold Line Station. This extension received high levels of support during the second phase of public outreach and will expand access to key destinations and services in the region. The recommended end -of-line location is along the southside curb Hope Street between Mound Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue, which would require approval from the City of South Pasadena. Alternative end-of-line locations may exist; however, it is highly recommended that Line 30 has a bus stop within one- quarter mile of the Gold Line Station.

Line 40 Beverly Blvd.

No changes are recommended during Phase 1.

Line 50 Washington Blvd.

Split into two lines at the intersection of Greenwood Ave & Washington Blvd, becoming Line 50 to the west and Line 55 to the east. The existing alignment for Line 50 is long and suffers from chronic on-time performance issues. There is also a demonstrable decrease in ridership on the eastern portion of the route’s alignment. Splitting the route in two achieves several goals, including improving on-time performance by reducing overall route distance and improved scheduling flexibility by allowing the two lines to operate with different frequencies to align with demand for service.

Line 55 Montebello/La Mirada
Line 55, serving the eastern half of the existing Line 50, would terminate at the intersection of La Mirada Blvd & Imperial Hwy, approximately two miles north of its existing terminus at La Mirada Blvd & Santa Gertrudes Ave. This shortened alignment would continue to provide direct service

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to several shopping centers, Whittier Union High School and California High School. The shortened alignment would allow for more efficient operations and enable resources to be reinvested in higher demand services
Sunday service would be added to Line 55, which is not currently provided on Route 50. This directly aligns with public feedback that prioritized weekend service to help passengers reach employment opportunities outside of typical weekday commute periods.

Line 60 Passons Blvd.

Line 60 is among the lowest ridership lines in the MBL system, has been steadily declining for the past five years, losing 73% of its ridership since 2017, and is lagging behind other lines in rebounding ridership throughout the pandemic re covery. As a result of the low demand for service observed on the Passons Blvd corridor it is recommended that Line 60 be discontinued from MBL service, allowing resources to be redistributed to improve service in areas with higher demand for service.

In the near-term, prior to discontinuation, service may be reduced to provide targeted service around school start and end times, the highest productivity trips for the route. This will continue to provide access to education for Pico Rivera residents while al ternative service models may be explored.

Line 70 Wilcox Ave
No changes are recommended during Phase 1.

Line 90 Downtown Express
No changes are recommended during Phase 1.

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PHASE 2 SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS
Phase 2 creates a more robust transit network with upgraded frequencies on Lines 20 and 30, later service on high-performing routes, and daily service on all local lines.

Phase 2 service recommendations include:
▪ Upgrading Line 20 to 30 -minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 30 to 30-minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Extending late night service on Lines 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 55. ▪ Adding Sunday service on Lines 50 and 55.
▪ Adding Saturday and Sunday service on Line 70.

Phase 2 recommendations would require a 14% increase in revenue hours and 4 additional peak vehicles.

Phase 2 Frequency and Service Span
Line
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Span Frequency Span Frequency Span Frequency
10 4:30 am – 11:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 20 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 9:00 pm 45 5:30 am – 9:00 pm 45 30 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 5:30 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 40 5:00 am – 11:00 pm 18 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 50 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 4:30 am – 8:00 pm 60 55 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 5:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 70 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 7:00 am – 7:00 pm 60 8:00 am – 6:00 pm 60 90 AM and PM peak 3 AM trips
2 PM trips -- -- -- --

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Phase 2 Recommendations by Line
Line 10 Whittier Blvd.

Extend weeknight service one hour later until 11:00 pm.

Line 20 San Gabriel/Montebello
Upgrade weekday frequency to 30 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Extend weeknight service one hour later until 10:00 pm.

Line 30 Garfield Ave.

Upgrade weekday frequency to 30 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Extend weeknight service 30 minutes later until 9:00 pm.

Line 40 Beverly Blvd.

No changes are recommended during Phase 2.

Extend weeknight service one hour later until 11:00 pm.

Line 50 Washington Blvd.

Extend weeknight service one hour later until 9:00 pm.

Add Sunday service.

Line 55 Montebello/La Mirada
Extend weeknight service one hour later until 9:00 pm.

Add Sunday service.

Line 70 Wilcox Ave
Add Saturday and Sunday service.

Line 90 Downtown Express
No changes are recommended during Phase 2.

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PHASE 3 SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS
Phase 3 upgrades weekday frequencies on multiple lines to increase convenience, reduce wait times, and improve connections between lines , specifically:
▪ Upgrading Line 10 to 15 -minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 50 to 30 -minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 55 to 30 -minute frequency on weekdays.

Phase 3 improvements would require a 9% increase in revenue hours and 6 additional peak vehicles.

Phase 3 Frequency and Service Span
Line
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Span Frequency Span Frequency Span Frequency
10 4:30 am – 11:00 pm 15-18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 20 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 9:00 pm 45 5:30 am – 9:00 pm 45 30 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 5:30 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 40 5:00 am – 11:00 pm 18 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 50 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 4:30 am – 8:00 pm 60 55 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 5:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 70 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 7:00 am – 7:00 pm 60 8:00 am – 6:00 pm 60 90 AM and PM peak 3 AM trips
2 PM trips -- -- -- --

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Phase 3 Recommendations by Line
Line 10 Whittier Blvd.

Upgrade weekday frequency to 15 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Line 20 San Gabriel/Montebello
No changes are recommended during Phase 3.

Line 30 Garfield Ave.

No changes are recommended during Phase 3.

Line 40 Beverly Blvd.

No changes are recommended during Phase 3.

Line 50 Washington Blvd.

Upgrade weekday frequency to 30 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Line 55 Montebello/La Mirada
Upgrade weekday frequency to 30 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Line 70 Wilcox Ave
No changes are recommended during Phase 3.

Line 90 Downtown Express
No changes are recommended during Phase 3.

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PHASE 4 SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS
Phase 4 upgrades weekday frequencies on Lines 40 and 70, specifically:
▪ Upgrading Line 40 to 15 -minute frequency on weekdays. ▪ Upgrading Line 70 to 30 -minute freque ncy on weekdays.

Phase 4 improvements would require a 5% increase in revenue hours and 4 additional peak vehicles.

Phase 4 Frequency and Service Span
Line
Weekday Saturday Sunday
Span Frequency Span Frequency Span Frequency
10 4:30 am – 11:00 pm 15-18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 20 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 9:00 pm 45 5:30 am – 9:00 pm 45 30 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 5:30 am – 8:00 pm 45-60 40 5:00 am – 11:00 pm 15-18 5:00 am – 10:00 pm 18 4:30 am – 10:00 pm 18 50 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 4:30 am – 8:00 pm 60 55 5:00 am – 9:00 pm 30-45 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 5:00 am – 8:00 pm 60 70 6:00 am – 8:00 pm 30-60 7:00 am – 7:00 pm 60 8:00 am – 6:00 pm 60 90 AM and PM peak 3 AM trips
2 PM trips -- -- -- --

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Phase 4 Recommendations by Line
Line 10 Whittier Blvd.

Line 20 San Gabriel/Montebello
No changes are recommended during Phase 4.

Line 30 Garfield Ave.

No changes are recommended during Phase 4.

Line 40 Beverly Blvd.

Upgrade weekday frequency to 15 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Line 50 Washington Blvd.

No changes are recommended during Phase 4.

Line 55 Montebello/La Mirada
No changes are recommended during Phase 4.

Line 70 Wilcox Ave
Upgrade weekday frequency to 30 minutes between 6am and 6pm.

Line 90 Downtown Express
No changes are recommended during Phase 4.

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0 10
20 30
40 50
60 0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
Current Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Peak Vehicles
Annual Hours
Service Expansion Resources
Annual Hours Peak Vehicles

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FUTURE SERVICE CONSIDERATIONS
In addition to the near-term service recommendations, there are several opportunities for longer-term service expansions that would require additional resources, dedicated layover facilities, or inter -agency operating agreements prior to implementation. These concepts represent potential long -term opportunities for MBL to explore and study furthe r.

Extension to Rio Hondo College
Line 40 currently lacks a strong anchor destination at its easter end-of-line. Extending Line 40 further east to Rio Hondo College would improve access to higher education and employment opportunities. This service extension would also require sufficient layover space by available at the existing facility and would require additional discussions with Norwalk Transit, which currently serves to college, to ensure services remain complementary and are not overly duplicative. Another potential extension destination is Uptown Whittier. Either extension would require further study to identify the preferred alignment, coordinate with local stakeholders, and ensure funding prior to implementation.

Improved Frequency
As more resources become available, frequency on several lines may be incrementally improved to provide more convenient service. Improving early morning, late night, and weekend service from 45 to 60-minute frequencies to 30-minute frequenc ies would reduce average wait times and make schedules easy to understand. Additionally, high ridership such as Line 10 and Line 40 may have sufficient demand in the future to operate as frequently as every 10 minutes during certain times of day. These freque ncy improvements may only be feasible with an increase in available resources and may need to be re-evaluated prior to implementation.

LA Metro Eastside Transit Corridor
The planned extension of the LA Metro L (Gold) line into Commerce, Montebello, and Pic o Rivera represents an opportunity for MBL to reevaluate how service is provided along this corridor and provide improved connectivity to the regional rail system. Of particular interest is the planned station located at the intersection of Greenwood Ave & Washington Blvd within the city of Montebello. Recommended service alignments for Lines 20 San Gabriel, 50 Downtown Los Angeles/Montebello, 55 Montebello/Whittier, and 70 Wilcox Ave all intersect with this area, presenting opportunities for additional ser vice investment and improvements.

Line 50 Considerations
MBL is a unique transit provider in the region for its role as a municipal agency that provides extensive service throughout the region beyond its own city borders. This is exemplified by Line 50, which provides long distance service along the Washington Blvd corridor between downtown Los Angeles and La Mirada, only serving the periphery of the City of Montebello.

There may be a future opportunity to identify other operating partners to provide this service or join MBL as a funding partner for this service to ensure continued benefits to their communities.

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SUPPORTING RECOMMENDATIONS
End-of-Line Evaluation
A common theme from operator outreach included several comments about inadequate layover time and a lack of restroom facilities at the termini of some lines. While the constantly changing conditions of vehicle traffic and congestion present challenges for accurately scheduling layover time, there is an opportunity to explore potential schedule changes or identify new layover locations that can better accommodate operator needs by both allowing sufficient break time between trips and ensuring restroom facilities are available at all layover locations. This may require a piecemeal approach to identify sp ecific gaps and opportunities but would be a key step to improving operational efficiency of lines and improving operator retention during an ongoing national operator shortage.

Mobile App Partnerships
Similar to marketing and branding, actively seeking partnership opportunities with third party mobile applications such as the transit app may be a useful strategy for improving communication with passengers. With such a partnership in place, QR codes may be placed on each bus stop to allow passengers to get real time bus tracking information though the transit app. Additionally the app may be used to push out rider alerts for potential service changes or disruptions and may also be used to publicize survey efforts. This strategy may be used to improve the community’s perceptions of MBL and provide clearer information on a more timely basis to riders than existing platforms may allow.

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5 MONTEBELLO MOBILITY HUB
The establishment of a mobility hub within the City of Montebello would improve the rider experience and address operator challenges.

IDENTIFIED NEED
During the project outreach process, the study team collected feedback from riders and identified a desir e for more amenities at bus stops, such as seating, lighting, and real-time information displays. The study team also interviewed bus operators who expressed a need for better access to restrooms at end-of-lines.

POTENTIAL SOLUTION
Mobility hubs were identified as a potential solution to improve the MBL rider experience, provide better access to first mile/last -mile mobility options, and resolve some operator challenges. Mobility hubs are public spaces designed and maintained to bring together frequent transit service, supporting amenities, sustainable mobility options, and community-serving activities in one place. The specific elements of a mobility hub can vary based on many factors, such as size, activity, adjacent land use, etc.

Common Mobility Hub Elements
Rider and Operator Experience

Public Realm

Sustainable Mobility

▪ Seating and shade
▪ Pedestrian-scale lighting
▪ Digital trip planning
▪ Off-board fare payment
▪ Real-time arrival information
▪ Public restrooms
▪ Electric device charging
▪ Safe and highly visible crossings
▪ Vending space
▪ Community space and public art
▪ Climate resilient design features
▪ Short-term bike parking
▪ Space for shared mobility parking
▪ Dedicated curb zone uses
▪ Parcel pick-up lockers

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Potential Mobility Hub Locations
Four locations within the City of Montebello were identified as potential mobility hub locations.

Each location was evaluated in terms of transit lines served and the best-case scenario build.

Based on the evaluation and local demographics, the South Monte bello location is recommended as the highest priority for a mobility hub.

Option Location Transit Lines Served Best Case Scenario A North Montebello ▪ MBL 10, 70
▪ Metro 106, 287
▪ Foothill 269
Retrofit existing bus stop south of the Shops at
Montebello.

B Montebello Civic Center ▪ MBL 20, 40 Activate NW corner of Beverly Blvd & Montebello Blvd (Starbucks).

C Central Montebello ▪ MBL 10, 20 Activate NW corner of Whittier Blvd & Montebello Blvd (CVS).

D South Montebello ▪ MBL 20, 50, 70 Replace bus stop at Greenwood Ave & Washington Blvd with new Mobility Hub build.

A
C
B
D
50 20
30 90
A
B
C
D

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MOBILITY HUB PLANNING PROCESS

Understand
Understand mobility gaps and needs of the community through engagement, assessments, and field observations .

Plan
Plan for access, amenities, public realm, customer experience, and information needs . Secure funding, financing, and partnership options .

Launch
Launch planning for installation, building, and p ublic messaging.

Operate
Operate once installation/construction ends and amenities are ready for public use .

Evaluate
Evaluate hub performance and product fit early and often .

Iterate
Iterate on hub design, configuration, services , and programs to meet changing needs.

Understand
Plan
LaunchOperate
Evaluate
Iterate

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6 FARE POLICY OPTIONS
Simplifying the MBL fare structure would improve alignment with peer agencies and emphasize equity within the community.

PEER REVIEW
The COA also included a review of MBL’s existing fare policy, a pee r review of other similarly sized agency’s fare policies, and an evaluation of potential alternative fare policies for future consideration. While no two transit agencies operate identically; however, most agencies share some characteristics with others, and those common characteristics can form a basis for comparison. Comparing fare structures, policies, and system performance among a group of peer agencies helps identify strengths and opportunities and facilitates best practices amongst the group of peers .

This peer review compares Montebello Bus Lines with seven other transit systems serving the Los Angeles metropolitan region. The purpose of this peer review is to identify best practices and trends among similar transit systems and determine the benefits and drawbacks of different fare structures and fare technology. Peer agencies include:
▪ Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica, CA)
▪ Torrance Transit (Torrance, CA)
▪ Norwalk Transit (Norwalk, CA)
▪ Long Beach Transit (Long Beach, CA)
▪ Riverside Transit Agency (Riverside, CA)
▪ GTrans (Gardena, CA)
▪ Foothill Transit (West Covina, CA)
The results of the peer review identified several trends and best practices that are applicable for MBL, including:
▪ MBL charges a full fare for internal transfers, while most peers offer transfers for free or under $0.50.
▪ MBL does not offer a monthly pass outside of the relatively expensive EZ pass. ▪ Some agencies, like Big Blue Bus, are incentivizing TAP card usage by providing discounted fares or transfers when using this fare product.

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FARE ALTERNATIVES
Any change in the fare structure for MBL would result in changes to ridership and revenue. To better understand these impacts, a fare model was developed based on existing ridership and revenue data from 2021. This information was then used as a baseline to understand order of magnitude changes to fare revenues and ridership due to specific pricing or structural changes.

Scenario Evaluation
Six different preliminary scenarios for fare structures and pricing changes were developed to evaluate potential impacts to MBL ridership and revenue. ▪ Scenario 1: Optimize Fares to Maximize Ridership
▪ Scenario 2: Optimize Fares to Maximize Revenue
▪ Scenario 3: Eliminate Fares for K-12 Students
▪ Scenario 4: Align with Peer Agency Best Practices
▪ Scenario 5: Simplify the Fare Structure
▪ Scenario 6: Eliminate Fares for All Passengers (low and high projections) Following a presentation of the preliminary fare scenarios and associated impacts, a preferred fare scenario was developed in coordination with MBL sta ff to incorporate aspects of several preliminary fare scenarios.

Preferred Fare Scenario
The preferred fare scenario is intended to create a simplified, easier to understand fare structure that better aligns with peer agencies and continues to emphasize e quity within the community.

The preferred fare scenario would raise the base fare to $1.25 and include a $0.50 transfer to align with peer agencies. However, providing transfers would necessitate providing paper transfer slips, which would require additional costs for MBL to purchase and administe r. In conjunction with the base fare reduction, the reduced fare would remain at $0.50 and the dial-a- taxi fare would also remain at $1.00. K-12 students would now ride fare free and would no longer have specialized pass products at a discounted rate. This would serve to increase ridership amongst this group and reduce the administrative burden for MBL to administer an additional pass program.

The preferred fare scenario would result in a 3% increase in ridership (51,000 trips) and would generate $54,000 l ess in annual farebox revenue, a 4% decrease.

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Preferred Fare Scenario Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.25 Free $0.50
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 Free $1.50
Dial-A-Taxi $1.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free
Transfers $0.50

Preferred Scenario Ridership and Revenue Impacts

3%
51,000
-4%
-$54,000 (70,000)
(50,000)
(30,000)
(10,000)
10,000
30,000
50,000
70,000
Modified Fare Scenario
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Fare Scenario Impact Summary

8%
158,000
-17%
(326,000)
4%
70,000 1%
20,000
3%
61,000
40%
773,000
60%
1,163,000
3%
51,000
-25%
$(329,000)
30%
$391,000
-6%
$(79,000)
-5%
$(68,000) -9%
$(117,000)
-100%
$(1,320,000)
-100%
$(1,320,000)
-4%
$(54,000)
(1,500,000)
(1,000,000)
(500,000)
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
Scenario 1 -
Ridership
Scenario 2 -
Revenue
Scenario 3 - K-12
Fare Free
Scenario 4 -
Align w Peers
Scenario 5 -
Simplify
Scenario 6 - Fare
Free (Low)
Scenario 6 - Fare
Free (High)
Modified Fare
Scenario
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Appendix A:

Community Outreach Summary

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Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the key themes and takeaways identified during Phase I and Phase II of public outreach for the Montebello Bus Lines COA, which was branded as Montebello Moves to the community. Phase I is intended to identify aspects of the MBL system that are working well, that are not working well, and community priorities for service improvements. Phase II is intended to present preliminary service concepts to the public and seek feedback on what aspects have the most support before developing a single preferred alternative.

Phase I Outreach (Fall 2021)
Virtual Public Meeting
A virtual public meeting was held on Tuesday, October 28, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and included simultaneous Spanish interpretation on Zoom. The meeting included a presentation on the project background, key findings from the existing conditions analysis, and highlighted opportunities for engagement throughout the project.

The virtual public meeting also include d a series of interactive polling questions using the Mentimeter platform as well as a question-and-answer session.

While the virtual public meeting only had four participants, English and Spanish recordings were posted on the City of Montebello’s YouTube page and have received a combined 39 views as of early December 2021.

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Pop-Up Events
The project team attended the City of Montebello’s 101 st Anniversary Event at City Park on October 16, 2021, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The project team staffed a booth in which they distributed project fact sheets, spoke to attendees about the project and encouraged visitors to take the community survey.

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Online Community Survey
An online community survey was open between October 11, 2021, and December 3, 2021. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate ridership behavior and demographics for the community, identify satisfaction of various aspects of MLB s ervice, and determine priorities for service improvements. The survey was advertised through paper flyers posted on board vehicles, at major stops, and in public buildings, social media posts on city accounts, and through information sharing with stakeholder networks and constituencies. Additionally, a $50 target gift card was made available as a raffle price to further incentivize participation in the survey. They survey received a total of 155 unique responses.

Unlike the on-board survey, the online commu nity survey was available for all members of the community, not just transit riders actively on-board vehicles. When asked whether they had ridden MBL service in the past year, 85% of survey respondents indicated that they had, compared to 15% who indicated they had not. When asked how many days per week they use transit, nearly half of survey respondents indicated that they ride transit five or more days per week (48%). Additionally, nearly half of respondents (46%) have been riding MBL for five or more years and 33% have been riding for three to four years.

Survey respondents were also asked to identify the reasons that they ride transit, and the most common response (48%) was that the did not have access to a vehicle and the second highest response was that transit is convenient (23%). These results suggest that MBL’s ridership base are long-time, transit dependent riders.

Community Survey – Have you ridden MBL in the past year?

Yes
85%
No
15%

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Community Survey – How many days per week do you ride transit?

Community Survey – How long have you been riding MBL?

11% 10%
14%
7%
40%
5%
3%
10%
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 One Two Three Four Five Six Seven None, I'm not
a regular
transit rider
Number of Respondents
11% 10%
33%
46%
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 3 to 4 years 5+ years
Number of Respondents

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Community Survey – Why do you ride transit?

48%
23%
16% 16%
12% 11%
3%
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
80 I don't own a
vehicle
Transit is
convenient
Transit saves me
money
Avoid traffic
congestion
Parking is not
convenient
Someone else in
my household
uses the vehicle
Other (please
specify)
Number of Respondents

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Service Satisfaction
As with the on-board survey, the community survey respondents were also asked to rank their level of satisfaction for various aspects of MBL service, including reliability, service span, coverage, days of service, and service frequency. In general, survey respondents were highly satisfied with MBL service with at least 56% of respondents ranking all aspects of service as either good or excellen t and at least 88% of respondents ranking all aspects of service as acceptable, good, or excellent.

The areas with the lowest level of satisfaction include reliability of service and hours of service.

These represent the areas with the highest potential f or improvements by increasing travel times, reducing on-time performance issues, and extending service span later in the evening.

Community Survey – Satisfaction with MBL Service

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Frequency of service
Days of service
Areas served
Hours of service
Reliability of service
Excellent Good Neutral Poor Very poor

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Open-Ended Comments
Survey respondents were given the opportunity t o provide open -ended comments throughout the survey. The verbatim comments from the survey. When asked to identify any places that MBL should serve that it does not today, the most common responses included:
▪ El Monte
▪ East Los Angeles
▪ Downey
▪ Pico Riviera Plazas and Libraries
▪ Citadel Outlets
▪ South Pasadena Metro Station
When given the opportunity to provide any other open -ended comments or suggestions for improving MBL service, common themes included:
▪ Later evening service on Whittier Blvd
▪ Improve reliability and reduce wait times
▪ More frequent service on Lines 30, 50, and 70
▪ Operate Sunday service on Route 50

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Respondent Demographics
As with the on-board survey, the community survey included a series of questions regarding respondent demog raphics, including household income, age, employment status, as well as race and ethnicity.

Household Income
The household income reported by the community survey respondents was notably higher than for the on -board survey, with 42% reporting $55,000 or mo re per year. An additional 40% reported earning less than $25,000 per year.

Community Survey – Respondents’ Annual Household Income

Less than $15,000
25%
$15,000 to $24,999
15%
$25,000 to $34,999
10%
$35,000 to $54,999
8%
$55,000 to $75,000
29%
More than
$75,000
13%

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Age
When asked to report their age, 41% of respondents indicated they were between 35 and 44, while 20% were 18-24 and 15% were 45-54, and 12% were 25-34. Relatively few reported being over 54, with 8% between 55 and 64 and 4% 65 or older.

Community Survey Respondents’ Age

18-24
20%
25-34
12%
35-44
41%
45-54
15%
55-64
8%
65+
4%

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Employment Status
When asked their employment status, 58% of respondents indicated that they were employed part-time or full-time, 22% reported being unemployed, and the remaining 20% reported either being retired, a volunteer, or a homemaker. When asked whether they work on evenings or weekends, 44% of respondents indicated that they work on evenings, later than 9:00 p.m., and 60% reported working on weekends.

Community Survey Respondents’ Employment Status

Community Survey – Do you work evenings after 9:00 p.m. or weekends?

Employed full time
45%
Employed part time
13%
Homemaker
9%
Not currently
employed
22%
Retired
7%
Volunteer position
4%
44%
60%
56%
40%
0 10
20 30
40 50
60 70
80 Evenings Weekends
Number of Respondents
Yes No

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Race and Ethnicity
Most respondents (57%) reported identifying as Hispanic or Latino. When asked to identify their racial identify, 53% of respondents identified as White or Caucasian, 11% as Asian, 6% as Native American or Native Alaskan, and 2% each as Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Black or African American. Additionally, 26% of respondents selected other with the most common responses including Mexican, Hispanic, and Latino.

Community Survey – Respondents’ Race

Community Survey – Do you identify as Hispanic or Latino?

African
American/Black , 2%
Asian, 11%
Caucasian/White ,
53%
Hawaiian/Pacific
Islander , 2%
Native American
Indian or Native
Alaskan , 6%
Other (please
specify) , 26%
Yes
57%
No
43%

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Stakeholder Engagement
Two stakeholder meetings were held on October 21, 2021, and included representatives from educational institutions, community based and service organizations, major employers, school districts, and other stakeholder organizations in Montebello and neighboring cities. The list of stakeholder organizations that attended one of the two sessions include:
▪ The Shops at Montebello
▪ Montebello – Unified School District
▪ City of Montebello, Parks Department
▪ City of Montebello, Senior Programs
▪ Montebello Lions Club
▪ Beverly Hospital
▪ Los Angeles County Library
▪ YMCA Montebello – Commerce
Each session began with a presentation that included information on project background, key findings from the existing conditions analysis, and highlighted opportunities for engagement throughout the project. Following this presentation, stakeholder representatives encouraged to participate in a discussion regarding what is working well for MBL, how MBL can improve, and what aspects of service are most important. The key themes and takeaways from these discussions are summarized in the following table.
▪ A need for improved information and wayfinding
▪ A need for later evening service to meet more trip purposes ▪ There are opportunities to improve connections with other regional services

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Stakeholder Interview Discussion Themes
Theme Comments
Destinations ▪ Partnerships with other transit hubs - for example connecting to Norwalk Green Line.
▪ Connecting people to community services.
▪ Connect parks and public spaces with fixed route between schools and parks.

Reliability ▪ Buses being on time is very important to these bus riders.

Span of Service ▪ Need for later service to account for people that have late work shifts.

Real-Time Information ▪ Kiosk with bus schedules at key destinations or QR codes to get more information.
▪ Digital divide makes it harder to track information on the web or from an app.
▪ Could we have a scrolling video screen of bus times.

Rider Education/Information ▪ People are not aware of how to use the bus and how to get to the bus.

Approximately 30% of the questions received by The Shops at Montebello are regarding MBL and how to find the bus stops. Tells them they are not sure how to travel and use the buses.
▪ There is not good advertisement to where the bus goes and destinations you can reach.

Bus Stops ▪ The high number of stops is good for the community. ▪ City does not respond to repair requests for lighting or graffiti removable. ▪ Bus stop maintenance is lacking.
▪ Bus stop improvements needed to provide better protection against natural elements.

Website and Digital Outreach ▪ Website is difficult to navigate. ▪ Live tracking on the website and more real-time information at bus stops would be helpful.
▪ Consider technology limited users (Seniors) and ADA compliant on-site notifications.
▪ Utilize social media to raise awareness of bus lines. ▪ Include more graphics when sharing resources.

Image ▪ Clean exterior of buses.

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Phase II Outreach (Spring 2022)
Virtual Public Meeting
Two virtual public meetings were held during Phase II of public outreach, the first was aimed at the entire Montebello Bus Lines system and the larger community and the second was targeted toward service changes proposed in the City of Pico Rivera specifically.

The first meeting was held on Thursday, March 17, 2022 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm. The meeting included simultaneous Spanish interpretation on Zoom. A total of 17 people participated in the meeting. The meeting began with a presentation on t he study, existing conditions, proposed changes and was followed by a question-and-answer session. A recording of this meeting was uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel in both English and Spanish and has received over 115 views. Questions focused on prop osed route changes and impacts to existing bus stops.

The second meeting was held on June 6, 2022 at 6:00 pm and was specifically advertised to the Pico Rivera community and El Rancho Unified School District. The meeting was advertised through direct invit ations to stakeholders, social media posts, updates to the project website, and flyers posted onboard vehicles and at bus stops. Attendance varied throughout the course of the meeting with approximately 12 -16 attendees present at any given time.

The virtual public meeting included a presentation from the project team detailing the project background and timeline, key findings from the existing conditions evaluation related to Line 60, updates to the proposed service change, and an open discussion between the project team and community meeting participants. The project team received comments from 11 different attendees, including:
▪ Six members of the community
▪ One board member from El Rancho Unified School District ▪ Four representatives from the City of Pico Rivera
Common themes from these questions and discussions included:
▪ Concerns about access to El Rancho High School following state mandate for later start times in Fall 2023
▪ Questions on implementation timeline and potential for a Title VI Equity Anal ysis associated with the service change
▪ Concerns regarding a lack of alternative transportation options in the City of Pico Rivera ▪ Questions regarding alternative funding mechanisms to continue providing this service Following the Pico Rivera Public Meetin g, representatives from the City of Pico Rivera requested additional details regarding the decision -making process, Title VI requirements, community survey data, project timeline refinements, and detailed historical operating characteristics. This technical memorandum provides responses to several of these requests, however additional follow up and analysis may be required to directly respond to all supplemental requests made by the City of Pico Rivera.

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Pop-Up Events
The project team hosted two pop up events, East Los Angeles College from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Shops at Montebello from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on March 15, 2022. The project team spoke to approximately 25-30 attendees per event about the project and encouraged visitors to the booth to take the community survey as well as take part in an interactive exercise. The interactive exercise asked attendees to provide feedback on the proposed service changes in addition to how Montebello Bus lines should invest in
better bus service in th e future. Listed are topics
selected by attendees:
▪ More frequent service during peak hours
▪ More frequent service during midday
▪ Earlier service
▪ Later service
▪ Weekend service on all lines
▪ Service to new areas
▪ More express / limited stop service
▪ Faster service / busses running on time
Online Community Survey
A second set of online community surveys were available from February 28, 2022 until April 8, 2022 and received 512 responses, split between five surveys, from 147 unique respondents.

These surveys were advertised using MBL and City of Montebello social media channels, direct messaging to stakeholder groups, and through physical flyers posted at key bus stop locations and onboard vehicles. This surveying effort involved five unique surveys that we re divided by sub-area within the MBL service area, including:
▪ Montebello / Pico Rivera
▪ Whittier / La Mirada
▪ West San Gabriel Valley
▪ Downtown Los Angeles
▪ General Comments
Survey respondents were asked to identify how strongly they supported or opposed service changes in each of the four sub -areas, along with several other questions regarding service usage and improvement priorities. Respondents were also given several opportunities to provide open -ended comments on specific service changes or ot her aspects of the project.

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Service Change Support
When asked how strongly respondents supported or opposed certain service changes, each sub-area received varying levels of support.

Montebello / Pico Rivera
The Montebello / Pico Rivera sub-area received a mixture of support and opposition, with 45% indicating support and 44% indicating opposition. Common concerns identified in the open - ended comments included additional transfers and longer travel times related to splitting the Line 50 into two lines and a desire for a better transfer location between Line 70, Line 50, and Line 55.

Montebello / Pico Rivera Preliminary Service Change Support

Strongly
Oppose
32%
Somew hat
Oppose
12%
Undecided
11%
Somew hat
Support
14%
Strongly
Support
31%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

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Whittier / La Mirada
The Whittier / La Mirada sub-area received a much lower level support than the other sub - areas, including 32% supporting the changes and 63% opposing them. Common concerns included additional travel time and burdens associated with shortening Line 10 and replacing with the new Line 55, as well as concerns about removing service to La Mirada, pa rticularly at Whittier Union High School, Cal High School, and Biola University.

Whittier / La Mirada Preliminary Service Change Support

Strongly
Oppose
49%
Somew hat
Oppose
14%
Undecided,
6%
Somew hat
Support
13%
Strongly
Support
19%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

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West San Gabriel Valley
The West San Gabriel Valley included high levels of support, with 79% of respondents indicated support for the service changes and 18% indicating opposition. This included strong support for the proposed extensions of Line 10 to Cal State Los Angeles and Line 30 to the South Pasadena Gold Line Station. Other comments requested higher frequency s ervice on Line 30 and to consider extending Line 20 to reach the Sierra Madre Gold Line Station.

West San Gabriel Valley Preliminary Service Change Support

Strongly
Oppose
16%
Somew hat
Oppose
2%
Undecided
2%
Somew hat
Support
17%
Strongly
Support
62%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

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Downtown Los Angeles
The Downtown Los Angeles sub -area received a mixed level of support with 4 5% indicating support for the changes and 41% indicating opposition. The primary concern associated with this sub-area is the shortening of Line 50 to LA Trade Technical College which would require a transfer to reach the core of Downtown Los Angeles.

Downtown Los Angeles Preliminary Service Change Support

Strongly
Oppose
27%
Somew hat Oppose
14%
Undecided
14%
Somew hat Support
15%
Strongly
Support
30%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%

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Stakeholder Engagement
One small group stakeholder meeting was held on March 10, 2022, and included representatives from cities, transportation agencies, community based and service organizations, major employers, school districts and other stakeholder organizations that serve and represent populations in Montebello and the surrounding area , including:
▪ City of Whittier
▪ Norwalk Transit
▪ LA Metro
▪ YMCA
▪ Rio Hondo College
The main theme of the stakeholder meeting was that the route changes being implemented to the bus lines will have a significant impact on the community. The stakeholders agreed that it is crucial to perform meaningful community outreach to the riders of the Montebello bus l ines so that their voices are heard regarding the new changes. Below is a summary of comments made by participants in the meeting.

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Destinations
▪ Creating a partnership with Cal State University of Los Angeles could provide the opportunity to create a b us hub station.
▪ Partnerships with other transit hubs – for example connecting with the Whittier Depot.

Digital and Public Outreach
▪ Opportunity to reach new stakeholders in low -income communities to gather insight on their transit needs.
▪ Utilize flyers to raise awareness of bus route changes affecting school districts – for example informing the Montebello School District of the proposed changes on Line 70. ▪ Will be asking the community what they think of new route changes, and where they want there to be more service.
▪ It is important to reach out to ELAC students and students / underserved populations for input.
▪ It is important to utilize social media platforms popular amongst young people to reach out to the younger population.

Bus Stops
▪ Display bus numbers for transit riders.

Reliability
▪ Buses being on time is especially important for commuter bus riders.

Span of Service
▪ Provide late-night services.
▪ Service should run more frequently in the early morning and mid-afternoon for stu dents (peak school drop off and pick up times).

Connectivity
▪ It is difficult to make a connection to a bus going to Downtown Los Angeles from LA Trade Tech.
▪ Creation of the proposed Line 55 would be beneficial due to its near connection to Line

50. ▪ Connecting Line 30 to the Gold Line is a convenient and great connection. ▪ Splitting up Line 50 takes away a one-seat connection to LA for people at Whittier Whittwood Town Center, which is currently being redeveloped to include 1400+ new units.

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Phase I Online Survey
New Places to Serve
Are there any places that MBL should go that it does not go today? Anahiem
At the moment I can't think of any places.

Cal State LA and Rio Hondo College. These are both commuter colleges that should have dedicated bus lines to get there.

Citadel Outlets
Direct to Union station or direct to gold line stop.

Downey
El horario se tarda mucho en pasar
El Monte
El Monte Station should be ideal.

From 4th street Montebello to Superior Grocers
Front of metro
further into east la, it would prevent me having a 15 minute walk before going to school I really would wish it could make its way up the hilly area on maple Avenue—it’s the heights area. If I desired to go downtown I would have to go down a steep decline and to come home I practically need to HIKE up the hill from Beverly
i’m not sure if it takes you to the citadel but i would say the citadel In my opinion they go to all the places I usually go to.

It covers most of the areas.

La Habra
La puente
Lakewood Boulevard or the North Lakewood Park and Ride in Downey, South Whittier Las tunas
Legg Lake
Montebello buses to go to El Monte station
Monterey park Market place
More Bus Stops in Pico Rivera
More Pico Rivera and Library stops
more stops in Pico Rivera Plazas & Libraries
No. Keep the existing lines.

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Are there any places that MBL should go that it does not go today? none that are necessary, most work in a convenient way
On Wadhington Blvd on Sundays. Public can not get to Church or hospital or events on Sunday.

Pasadena, Metro green line
Perhaps surveying the needs in our most underserved neighborhoods to learn if expanded service there may be helpful.

Pick up to DTLA near the 60
Route 30 should be extended 1 mile north to the South Pasadena Metro Station instead of ending on Huntington. This would greatly improve regional connectivity. (Metro 176 used to provide service between Alhambra and Gold Line but was canceled this year.) Santa Monica Long Beach Brea El Monte Pomona
Stop infront of shops
To big Fast Food Plazas
To east los Angeles where I reside
To expand for service improvements plan in the future proposed changes.

Unincorporated West Whittier-Los Nietos, Downey, El Monte Station, Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, Rio Hondo College
Whittier Depot
Yellowstone national park

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Other Comments or Suggestions
Do you have any other comments or suggestions for improving MBL service? Add more buses
Add more routes
Add other routes
Adjust the time frequency of busses around school.

At this time the service is bad. No buses show i the mornings. Sometime y passes ever hour and full. The administteccion and managers are the worts in this year. Terrible services Be more clean! And make it to the stops on the schedule Better frequency on some existing routes
Better than Metro busses
Bus are always pretty clean. Appreciate the bus receive updates pretty often.

Buses need to be on time & some drivers need to have a better attitude!!! Can't metro provide late night service on whither blvd
Change of station environment
Customer service
Digital display inside the bus of the route the it is traveling Do away with the lesser times for the 70 bus and the 30 bus. All bus stops should have the same frequency as any other bus during the week and the weekends.

Don’t put a train on Washington.

Drivers should park as close the crib as possible for the elderly and the disabled.

Electric buses
Expand bus routes
Extended route
Fix the bike holder it gets stuck
have better timing
Hire more drivers
I get out of work at 5pm Monday-Friday and I wait for the 90 on Spring & 1st St. in Downtown Los Angeles. There needs to be a bus that comes between 5-5:30pm. Having to wait until 5:50 is very inconvenient. Before the schedule change a few months back, there was a 5:17 bus, which was very convenient for me and the other riders. Most people get out of work at 5pm, so this almost hour wait makes absolutely no sense. Please change back.

I love taking the MBL it is 100 times better then the regular metro! I personally wish all the buses would pass more frequently because many students have to take the transit and if we miss a bus it can take 20-40 for the next to pass. :(

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Do you have any other comments or suggestions for improving MBL service? I would like to improve with the new service expansion of the destination to Pasadena which is the last stop service of Lake Ave Station & I-210 Fwy on MBL Local 30 instead of Huntington Dr & Story Place last stop services. Please expand MBL 30 (South Gate - Pasadena) on the proposed service change plan. I would like to see other new service expansion of the Cal State LA Transit Center as well.

I would like to see more frequency with the 70 bus. Often times I spend more time waiting for the 70 bus than my actual time riding it. Its so frustrating when I have to wait up to 50 minutes for the bus when Im 2 miles away from home and there is no other route or bus to choose from.

I would say sometimes the buses can be dirty, so I would recommend taking time to clean up a bit. I recently went on the bus and it smelled like urine. Overall I think my expierences on the bus has been good.

It speaks highly of MBL that community needs assessments are being undertaken to learn how to better serve.

Keep the station clean
Last time i went to downtown LA there was no montebello bus line sign for my stop on 5th/Grand so i almost missed the bus because i had to ask around if the bus still stoped there hopefully thats fixed already and also if you cant have paper maps again on the bus can there be just one map on the bus that shows that specific buses stops and times it may be helpful for people Last week I tried to use the bus to go to church but I didn’t know that line 50 does not work on Sundays.

Maybe if you guys could work it a few hours on Sundays that would be appreciated. I’ve seen people walking from the Walmart to greenwood because the line doesn’t run that day.

Light at bus stops. Last night several stops were black. This is a major safety issue. Not sure if this is the city's responsibility.

Line 70 Serves about 4 schools, please make more frequent service to this line.

Maintenance of station environment
Make it more possible for buses to arrive on scheduled time. The wait is sometimes 45 minutes before the next bus comes where the wait should be no more than 10 minutes.

Make Transportation free for students and elderly citizens More advertising
More bus timetable
More buses
More buses that service route 30 and 50, those run almost every hour More freeway express service in Pico Rivera & Whittier, more limited-stop service like the Thursday 10, peak hour bus Montebello - Whittier, 3 space bike racks, No, the service is exceptional.

No...They do a great job!
on-time buses would help improve reliability

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Do you have any other comments or suggestions for improving MBL service? Please add more protected stops. The one on Beverly and 19th has no cover for transit riders from the elements. More of that is needed
Please consider extending the short line Route 20 trips from San Gabriel/ Garvey 1 mile north to San Gabriel & Valley. This would allow for easier transfers to the Metro 76 and provide an amazing north- south connection between north and south Rosemead. The 10 freeway divides the community and Route 20 is the only bus that crosses the 10 freeway for 3 miles (between Garfield & Rosemead Bl). Valley Bl also has a lot more businesses and shopping destinations.

Providing hand sanitizer, extra masks for passengers
Que tengas paradas del autobús con asientos y sombra, y que los drivers se acerquen más a la acera la Salida trasera para los adultos cuando salgan con más seguridad.

Run all lines seven days a week please
Safety is important we need to have extra personnel on board Seatbelts and comfy chairs
Should me more empathetic and wait for those who are obviously running to catch the bus instead of shutting the door once they arrive and taking off, especially for elders.

The Draivers exelente
The ticket price should be lower
They need more bus Operators, security or police officers on the bus for safety, announcements on the bus enforcing the federal mask mandate.

To make it free especially for students and have increased ventilation. I do love the Mask Mandate to make public transit free for everyone especially the young and carless.

To make Transportation Free especially for students and the elderly.

Todos bien,solo el horario se tarda mucho en pasar
Try getting busses out a bit faster but over all that's all.

Wifi on board. Coach seats. Online tracking of vehicles.

Wouldn't it be great to have a real-time message board on each stop or an app that provides up-to-the- minute details on bus status for each station?
Zero emission bus fleet and more limited stop service

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Phase II Online Survey
New Places to Serve
Are there any specific new places that should be served? No
Better access into DTLA
I highly recommend extending an existing or proposed new line to connect with OCTA down in the La Habra area. I know Montebello will never go further into OC however extending service from Whittwood Town Center to La Habra by a couple of miles would definitely help.

Pasadena, California
How about union station, regional connector, Pasadena (downtown) , Arcadia I don’t know
So for not at this time, but if I have any potential idea for new places that should be served, where can I contact you about it?
None
Commerce casino and the citadel, also dodger stadium during game season Santa Fe Springs
Norwalk and train station
Buena Park Metrolink Station, LA Live/Crypto com Arena, La Mirada kn the morning.

Expand to Orange County via Lambert Rd, terminating in La Habra Extend line 30 (southbound) to Norwalk C (Green) Line Station. Have at least one line head to El Monte Bus Station for better connecting service.

So far I like the overall improvements other than the reduction on the 10 line.

More service to Whittier!
Commerce Metrolink
union station in downtown la
Extend Line 30 south to Lakewood Bl C Line Station via Imperial and Garfield or extend Line 30 to Norwalk C Line Station via Garfield, Stewart & Gray, Woodruff, & Imperial. There isn't a bus service in Stewart & Gray, so adding service in the corridor will benefit riders within the area. Extend Line 50 south to Buena Park Metrolink Station providing connections with Metrolink, Metro Line 460, and OCTA services. Extend select Line 40 trips to Rio Hondo College via Workman Mill providing better connections with the College.

A service to Rio Hondo college - highlight how you make higher education accessible. This can be a campaign.

CalState LA and Downey

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Are there any specific new places that should be served? Pomona Wilshire Western Station
Please don't take away the Woodford St bus stops. There could be a separate rosemead line that goes to the Montebello mall
I would like to get to Rio Hondo College for school without having to transfer Union Station Dodgers Stadium Staples Center Santa Anita Mall Connection to Gold Line Station
Dale and Malvern transit station and Amerige Heights Mall in Fullerton.

USC Medical Center should be served by Montebello Bus Lines. not for me
Little Tokyo by the JANM/MOCA in Little Tokyo and Union Station Service Despite the Gold Line(L) being Crippled due to Extension to the Blue(A) and Expo(E) to the old Gold Line(L) east side portion Downey and Bell
Maybe 20 go back to Pasadena maybe end 20 at Pcc for help student go to Pcc and Make 40 to Rio Hondo College help student take and go to Rio hondo easy and is okay make 70 evert half hours and sent any bus for peak hours for student go to MHS and any high school student make student go to school and go home easy not long time Iike 60 and 70 go same place but make it more better for student and any people take 60 and 70 and 40 and 20 and 10 and 50 too and 30 I like Idea 30 go to south Pasadena but let make 30 go every 20 minutes or half hours on weekdays and 30 minutes for weekend rest line keep as is

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Other Service Improvements
Are there any other service improvements that are needed? The all bus lines run more often.

Drivers need to be less rude
Frequency improvements on both the 20 and 30. Background data indicates incredible productivity for both lines - despite the terrible frequencys / service currently provided. Push those frequencys way up and the ridership will come. The data shows this and it's a no brainer. File the paperwork to get the funding from LA Metro, its a clearcut winner.

We need this bus line
Bus drivers are rude. Bus should not be taking breaks in the early start of the morning shift.

Express lines should be set for better times, not less.

More frequent North South Service in the SGV. Pre-Covid, half of the 20 trips ended at Garvey. It should end at Valley Blvd instead. The 10 freeway is a major barrier bisecting Monterey park, Alhambra, Rosemead and San Gabriel and there needs to be frequent service connecting the frequent east-west Metro buses along Valley and Garvey.

Overall, Montebello Bus Lines does a well done job on transit services however I would like to see new extensions to connect with OCBus in La Habra for better connections.

Better reliable service is needed, and safety on buses.

Express busses, bus only Lanes, better shade and seating, and real time bus service updates I think service was cut some years ago, will there be an effort to restore it? I think most lines were more frequent back then, but one good thing more recently was that it looks like line 20 now goes all the way on weekends too. I didn't understand the question above about Express/Limited stop service. I don't think Express service is very useful (thus the reason for the score I gave), but I do believe that if Metro Rapid type service is being considered, that would be very good, even though Metro has all but eliminated theirs now. The key is to make them fast, frequent, and consistent, and only where necessary. Metro expanded theirs too fast on low ridership routes. I think Montebello Line 10 is ready for a rapid. I don't know how useful it was to have it on Thursdays only with a hard to access schedule, so it should be more consistent and better publicized, unlike before.

Lloestoy muy agradesida conustedes pues measen llegar a mitrabajo amis hijos ala es cuela N/A
consider adding service in the evening/nighttime until 12am possibly on lines 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. line 70 should possibly end service at 11pm. For line 20 when pandemic ends, end service at San Gabriel/Garvey at all times and add selected trips to San Gabriel/Las Tunas on weekends/holidays so that there can be more direct routing between Las Tunas and Garvey during weekends as well as connections to Metro line 76 on Valley. another option for line 20 on weekends is that end service at San Gabriel/Las Tunas at all trips/times if selected trips doesn't work out.

Sunday service on line 50
Make sure that people with symptoms of covid don't ride Later service on lines 10, & 20 Later service on line 40(Westbound)

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Are there any other service improvements that are needed? Later service on 10
Increased Frequency on Lines 20, 30, and 50
Please don't let the Montebello 50 discountinue
If possible, WiFi
Have an articulated bus service for line 10.

None that I am aware of.

Service line 10 till 11pm on all of route
increase frequency on line 90,30 and 70
Add a Sunday service and operate most Line 50 trips from end to end as well as later evening service and restoration of Sunday Services for the first time since 1998.

Shade structures or even better tress at bus stops for shade.

Improve the frequency on Line 50. Would it be possible for the Line to run every 30 minutes during peak hours/
No
Keep line 60 up/down passons
Line 10 ELAC/Whittwood stops their service too early. Can you add at least 2 more buses after 9pm.

Please make sure all the TAP machines are working correctly. I've had the experience of buying a Day Pass and the machine still took money out of my card. In other instances the machine indicates I have no money on the card on one trip but the next trip the TAP Card will work just fine.

Additional times for the 90 and add more weekend morning and evening. Begin from current Whittier City stop (Beverly and workman mill rd) Also, more areas where bus lines meet/connect to be able to easily transfer from one line to another line to get to destination.

The school, supermarkets, or malls are high demand for bus service and please consider those locations when planning the routes. Thank you!
Better air conditioning
Long beach transit requires passengers using personal devices use accessories so noise doesn't disturb other passengers or the driver. It's a safety hazard. Also, why is the 40 ALWAYS late leaving from city hall montebello to dtla? Even at 11:01am weekday. There's no traffic. Consistently and extremely late departures.

There should be rapid bus route along 40 for faster service. better communication with riders when there are service interruptions.

Consistency Buses do not show up due to there not being enough drivers Frequency during off peak Hours
The Montebello bus tracker online has issues with the user interface. The bus tracker is not very mobile friendly, which one would expect it to be since people are usually checking the bus tracker while on their phones. The line 20 wait times have also been long.

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Are there any other service improvements that are needed? I like the service the way it currently is. However, I am not 100% dependent on the bus and understand certain lines may not generate revenue to continue as is. Line 20 is most important to me and appears to not be affected by the proposed changes.

Make 20 go to every 20 minute and make line 10 and 40 and 50 go every 10 minutes and and make 50 go half hours on Saturday and same go with 40 and 20 too on weekend and 20 go to 20 minute on weekend and make 30 go half hours too and 60 and 70 take weekends off Keep as Monday to Friday Better bus stop sign with the route number and the destination on it like that old bus stop signs helps a lot especially in downtown la

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Proposed Changes in Montebello – Pico Rivera
Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the Montebello / Pico Rivera area?
Terminate Line 50 at the Metrolink Station with new Line 55 Splitting the 50 makes sense but I question cutting off the leg to La Mirada.

Don’t do it please
We need the 10 bus to stay the same thank you
There is nothing wrong with existing route.

No changes should be made as the 50 line already is a complex line. Leave as is!!!!!! I need that change to go to my job place, thank you
No
I strongly oppose splitting 50 into 2 routes. This forces a needless transfer in an already long commute. If the route must be split, it should be split at the future gold line station at citadel outlets when it opens in 2030. The Metrolink station is a terrible place to force people to transfer. Please don’t torture your riders like that. I do however agree with combining 60 and 70 and linking the Montebello mall with Rosemead Bl
Greenwood and Washington is not a nice place to transfer. This proposal will force me to take transfer twice, from 2 buses, 55 to 50, then to another metro train. I don't understand the need to split a perfectly good line.

I live in uptown Whittier and use Line 50 to visit a friend in South Whittier. Now, with this proposal, I won't be able to use Line 50 to go south on Painter Ave, then left onto Mulberry Dr (East), stopping at Gunn Ave. Practically all of South Whittier, off of Mulberry Dr, will be inaccessible! Which main Line will use that route now? NONE!!?? "IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT!!!" Would line 30, or any line, run more frequently
Split the 50 and make the 55 serve La Mirada
Will bus pass more regularly?
Line 50 helps a lot of citizens get from Downtown LA to La Mirada, you are completely leaving no transportation choices out. Having to go from taking 1 bus to 3-4 buses? Not great for anyone.

Line 10- Keep existing route. Line 20- Extend South end trips to provide service to Slauson in Pico Rivera. Line 30- Extend North trip to Gold line. Line 40- Extend to Uptown Whittier. Line 50- Keep existing route to La Mirada, but remove Grande Vista/Olympic/Soto turns & finish route at LA Trade Tech.

Line 60/70- Combine the two routes, & have this route end at Cal State LA. If possible provide service to Olympic in Montebello.
n
How long would it take for the 60/70 bus take to make the rounds and how many buses would be on the line. Students depend on the bus lines to and from school I feel like it’s going to mess up everyone work schedule who take the bus everyday since the don’t drive or kicking back on gas. This new route it’s gonna mess everything up.

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the Montebello / Pico Rivera area?
How about combining 50 and 55 services to make a larger line ? If not how would transfers work ? Hola tengo dies años grasias a ustedes y estas rutas llegando a mitrabajo uso 10 30 50 el canbio ami si me perjudica
So, there will be no more service to La Mirada?
I don’t like any proposed changes
Line 90 should keep the same including serving the L line (gold) station and Beverly Bl. If 60/70 merged together, line 70 should keep the loop on Mines, Montebello, Washington, and maple via vail and also retain Rosemead(between Beverly Rd and Whittier), Dufree(N/B segment between Gallatin&Beverly Rd), Woodford-San Gabriel River Pkwy(S/B segment only between Gallatin and Beverly Rd/Dufree). I'm really not sure that line 50 and 55 be split together in Montebello.

I find it very crucial for line 50 to be removed from La Mirada. As a young adult it was not so long ago when my mother and I used this line to transport us to La Mirada for educational, medical, and social reasons. Currently I know family and friends who use this route for the same reason. I think they will be negatively affected.

The lines 50 is that one that take me to work and it’s take a lot of student to uptown Whittier. From student from cal high to Whittier adult school. The proposed line 55 would make students and myself included to walk more and it’s a danger zone where there accidents. Including when crossing the street to east whittier.

The 55 should go to Washington and make a right on telegraph and have a stop at the com.ercer casino and the citadel then right onto Atlantic Ave. Right on Goodrich right on Olympic right on Garfield left on to flotilla to the metro link station and up towards the city of whittier. The 70 should go towards the Walmart in Monterey park. The 50 would bring more customers if it went down washington right on Atlantic left on Olympic and left on Soto towards LA trade tech.

Line 50 shouldn't be cut in half and service could end near Downtown whitter or near the Quad at whitter Line 60: should extend to Rio Hondo college Line 70: keep connection with line 50 at Washington Line 90: discontinue line and have line 40 select trips serve Taylor ranch Keep the same routing for Line 50 to LA Mirada
Line 40 and 90 run well. Please do not change what works well. don’t change the bus routes, a lot of people need the 10.

It will be good for people who live over and catch the bus Extension of existing line 50 to Buena Park Metrolink Station (Connects to OCTA and Metro Line 460 to Disneyland, which can increase ridership), keep line 10 as is, no splitting of line 50, and no extension of Line 10 to CSULA. (City of Commerce Transit already has a bus that runs to CSULA and connects to Line 10 at Commerce Center.)
The new proposed routes would mess up my work commute because currently, I only walk a short distance to the stop and then take one bus. If the new routes get approved, I would have to walk a longer distance and take more buses.

Please don't take off Montebello 50 I take the 50 Montebello to DTLA civic center and return home to Whittier off of Colima rd

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the Montebello / Pico Rivera area?
Make line 55 have the same routing as line 50 and keep line 10 head to Whittwood Mall. you can connect the line 50 & 55 at the Metrolink Station. Keep that location as a starting point and connecting point with MTA lines, MBL line 70, The MetroLink and both MBL liones 50 & 55 Some night service needed line 10
This would deprive Whittier of a direct bus connection to DTLA. Also, Whittier should be included as a stakeholder.

I'd prefer for the 50 to connect at the Metrolink station and not head towards the 20. Line 90 changes are an improvement.

The bus stop at Woodford and Sandoval in Pico Rivera is mostly empty. Seems not too necessary.

Changing routes will be an inconvenience to people in the community who have already been accustomed to the routes especially elderly people also it may impact the people who have jobs to get to and already have their arranged times because they consider the bus times and the distance of the bus stop
is it possible to run lines 50, 55, and 70 on saturday and sunday?

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Proposed Changes in West San Gabriel Valley
Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the West San Gabriel Valley?
That the 30 line runs every 20 minutes.
*Line 30 desperately needs the connection to the Gold Line - preferably at South Pasadena. The data presented indicates the productivity of this line is great, but the service hours allocated are terrible. The demographic data along this line indicates there is a ton of untapped demand - we should have no less than 30 minute frequencys during the day and 15 minutes during rush hours. Use this review to get the funding from LA Metro. *Line 10 going to CSULA is a no brainer. This is a commuter campus that is well known for being a great spot for first generation college students - the students of a demographic that would commute in from Montebello and East LA.

Don’t do it please
We need the 10 bus to stay the same thank you
There is nothing wrong with existing route.

No
I strongly support extending Line 30 to South Pasadena Station but line 30 NEEDS to run more frequently, at least every 30 min instead of 60-75 min. I support this change because metro 176 was recently discontinued as part of NextGen which provided a crucial link from gold line to downtown Alhambra. Garfield Ave in Alhambra also has many clinics and doctors offices that are frequented by seniors that would benefit from the increase in frequency. I was also consider extending Line 20 one mile east to Las Tunas / Rosemead to connect with 266 and to many businesses and shopping centers in that area.

Line 30 would be a duplicate of Metro’s Line 258 to S. Pasadena L Line Station. So I don’t feel the extension is necessary. Line 10 to CSULA sounds great. I’m totally for the extension.

Great for students.

Line 60/70- Combine the two routes, & have this route end at Cal State LA. If possible provide service to Olympic in Montebello.
nnnnnnnnnn
Long route
That's such a good idea! Thanks!
No I don’t have no questions
I strongly support the line 10 proposal to CSULA via Floral and Eastern with the bus stop inside ELAC Transit Center eastbound only and Floral/Atlantic bus stop westbound only. For Line 30 possibly consider modifying the route to run on Mission/Garfield between Fair Oaks and Huntington in order to replace the former Metro Line 176. If not, maintain service on Huntington/Fair Oaks.

None

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the West San Gabriel Valley?
I believe that expanding the line 10 could be a great advantage to student wanting to go to cal state la Keep service as is on line 10 because service to CSU-LA is served by commerce Transit 200, El sol ElAC/City Terrace route, and Monterey Park spirt 5 line 30: should extend to Sierra Madre villa L station instead to have more service into pasadena
Extend line 20 Northbound to Sierra Madre Villa L Line (Gold) Station So one question. Is it really going to stop just short of the gold line on the north end? More busses covering this route.

Line 30 Extension is needed, as well as improved frequency. Line 10 should not be extended, since City of Commerce Transit already serves CSULA, and connects to Pine 10 Strongly support Line 30 extension to So Pasa Stati6
No me parece perfecto
Have line 20 head to Sierra Madre Villa L Line (Gold) Station Will the 10 connect with the J-Silver Line/Silver Streak/Metrolink station at CSULA? I currently attend Cal State LA so this would be a great help for me and a more affordable option.

The bus terminal at Cal State LA is too small for all the buses that already head over to Cal State LA. will need to check there is enough space for all buses that pass through or Lay Over at this location This part makes sense
Good rail connection that should be enhanced by frequent north-south service by Montebello on Garfield. how frequent will new line 10 run on saturdays and sundays? Long overdue on Line 30 extension to South Pasadena.

No
Please don’t do it thank you
The only changes I would make would be to lines 20 and 30, with 30 extending service to Rosecrans Avenue with service on Rosecrans Paramount and Alondra for service to Long Beach Transit 21 and 23, for 20 it will run on Telegraph Paramount and Gallatin School House for service on Downey Avenue up to Gardendale Street and then serves Gardendale Lakewood and Imperial for service to Long Beach Transit 22, for line 20 Northbound service it would extend to Westfield Santa Anita for service to Foothill Transit 187
Yes that connection is necessary
i live in Whittier I'm a frequent rider of Line 10.I strongly believe that Line 10 ELAC/Whittwood Mall must remain the same at all costs because at night the bus service is very limited and to have to transfer over to the proposed line 55 to continue to get home would leave people Confused, Stranded, and Susceptible to becoming Victims of Crime. Uptown Whittier and Whittwood Mall are 4 to 4.5 miles apart and it doesn't make any sense to change how Line 10 runs ever
Can 30 also add the stop for ELAC and Atlantic stations? It won’t takes more than 10 minutes but help a lot of student/ workers who can’t drive. Thank you!

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the West San Gabriel Valley?
I think this change would be helpful because students who live in Montebello can get to Cal State LA more easily without having to transfer buses. This would also benefit South Pasadena Residents as well because it will go the the Gold Line Station.

The 10 will help me straight to Union Station without Local Stops on the 106 and the Crippled Gold Line (L) to Little Tokyo and Union Station I can Easily go CSULA to take the Silver Line (J) to Union Station without relying on the Unreliable Slow Gold Line Shuttle that takes 40 Minutes wait times since they run 1 bus per side not frequently so the gold line takes longer since the dwell time is slower than the Gold Line (L) old service so i can use the 10 and transfer to the rapid Silver Line(J) to Union Station fast For line 20 (Northbound), please extend it to Sierra Madre Villa L Line (Gold) Station For line 30 (Southbound), please extend it to Norwalk C line (Green) Station.

Have Montebello 30 reroute through Garfield and mission like former la metro 176 routing I support the extension to CSU-LA, but would this also include addition buses added to the Line 10 to keep the same wait time?

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Proposed Changes in Whittier – La Mirada
Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the Whittier / La Mirada area?
Keep service going all the way to La Mirada on Line 55. Keep Line 10 service to Whittwood Town Center Okay proposal. Feels like the Whittier / La Mirada connection would be more useful if the frequencys were better. With it gone, that straight forward connection from a trip generators (Uptown Whittier + PIH Hospital) is severed. It's disappointing that line 40 still will end 10 minutes short of Uptown Whittier. It seems crazy that such a heavy line would stop short of trip generators (Uptown Whitter + PIH Hospital).

Don’t do it please we have work and school
We need the 10 bus to stay the same thank you
There is nothing wrong with existing route.

No
Line 40 should go to Uptown Whittier.

I think the existing Line 10 or proposed Line 55 should be routed to Beach & La Habra to connect with OCTA services. Better connections would definitely bring more riders on aboard and increase efficiency.

I am not all for this new proposal if their are no new connections to other transit systems in the works.

Whittier needs more transit. These changes reduce service and extend travel times by requiring transfers on frequently used routes.

Please keep direct service from Whittier to La Mirada. Especially service to Biola University. Please!! Why would I want to take 3 buses to get to center of downtown? Please leave line 50 how it is. Please! Line 10- Keep existing route. Line 20- Extend South end trips to provide service to Slauson in Pico Rivera. Line 30- Extend North trip to Gold line. Line 40- Extend to Uptown Whittier. Line 50- Keep existing route to La Mirada, but remove Grande Vista/Olympic/Soto turns & finish route at LA Trade Tech.

Line 60/70- Combine the two routes, & have this route end at Cal State LA. If possible provide service to Olympic in Montebello.

No
I am okay with bus 10 and bus 55 , but I would like for continued service to La Mirada, at least to Biola or La Mirada Park. Maybe make bus 10 replace la mirada service.

Las rutas que mensionas noson res ponsables puede que pase puede qunopase y llegaria tarde a mitrabajo
No
Line 10 should keep ending at Whitwood town Center daily instead of transferring buses. Also, please keep line 55 service to La Mirada because there is no direct routing between Whittier and La Mirada via Painter, Mulberry, La Mirada in order for people to travel between these two cities.

How are people to get to Rosecrans& Lamirada Blvd. They will have to pay more money using Norwalk Transit, Line 50 nice going to Rosecrans

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the Whittier / La Mirada area?
I believe the la Miranda should be cut off yet from cal high shouldn’t be cut off. I take the line 50 on mulberry and gunn. The line 55 would make me walk and students that take the bus would have to walk even more and it’s in dangerous street that I have witness accidents when walking to take the 10 in east whittier middle school.

I think it's really about time and a great idea.

Changes to the route 50 would in the La Mirada and South Whittier area would negatively impact low- income minority individuals who reside in these communities. Low Income individuals often depend on public transportation for travel to work, school, commerce and more. Cutting service could lead to less dollar spent on local economies as the alternative Sunshine and Norwalk routes would not fill the needs of transportation in this community. As such lots of students of the California High School in Whittier use the Montebello bus route 50 and would negatively harm their education.

Ask Norwalk Transit to replace line 50 segment and don't create new line 55 Line 10: keep line to whittwood mall because of connection to foothill transit 285 Keep the same routing that you have now. As for line 10, extend it to Brea Mall Why replace Line 50 with Line 55?
Please no
I do not support either of the Route Changes in the Whitter / La Mirada area. Keep lines as is and Extend Line 50 to Buena Park Metrolink Station
Please do not change the 50 line
Please don't change the 50 line off of Whittier and Mulberry along with colima Please do not discontinue Line 50’s service in La Mirada. I use it to get from my house to LA as a reliable and affordable method to get to where I need to go. Line 50 has stops closer to the place I need to go to compared with the alternate bus routes so please do not discontinue it!!! I use line 50 from Whittier to La Mirada every day for work. I know also Cal Ho Students and Granada middle school students take this bus.

Expand the proposed 55 route down to La Mirada and have it connect with the 10 line at an earlier point in Uptown
Keep the existing route for the new ones
I currently live near the Whittier/Ocean View stop and use the bus here daily and so do many of my friends. This would take away the ability me and my neighbors have to get to school and work nearby in uptown. Please reconsider the bus 10 line reduction.

Curtains service to Whittier and deprives Whittier of an connection to DTLA. Absolute non-starter.

Would prefer to see another city like Norwalk assume the lost service on the east/south so that La Mirada and surrounding destinations are still available, or for Metro to provide a route, at the same time these cutbacks occur.
should we keep line 10 as is and have line 55 end in uptown whittier or continue to la mirada?

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in the Whittier / La Mirada area?
Strongly oppose the truncation of Lines 10 & 50. For Line 10, I support the CSULA extension, but please retain service from Uptown to Whittwood as Whittier Bl is a major intersection and transit service in Whittier Bl is historical. If Line 10 gets truncated to Uptown Whittier, then history of transit in Whittier Bl will be ruined. I suggest retaining the existing segments of Lines 10 & 50 as well as extending Line 50 to Buena Park Station.

I need the bus from Whittier to La Mirada, or for some other bus system to take over the line such as Metro.

Will there be a bus waiting or will we need to wait more than 10 minutes for bus 50 to get us to downtown LA?
Please don’t do it thank you
What will fill the transit gap in the La Mirada area
Line 55 should be renumbered to line 80 for service between Patsaouras Bus Plaza and Brea Mall via Telegraph Road so that line 10 can keep it's service to Whittwood Mall and line 50 can keep it's service to La Mirada Theater Center
No line 55 in Whittier, Please!! Like i stated before I strongly believe that Line 10 ELAC/Whittwood remain the same at all costs because of the limited bus service at night. It would leave people Confused, Stranded, Susceptible to becoming Victims of Crime and how late people are gonna be waiting for the bus. Uptown Whittier is 4-4.5 miles away from Whittwood Mall, therefore it make absolutely no sense to change how line 10 runs
I would like greater frequency and extension on both lines. I would like the 10 line to go beyond Whitwood Mall on Whittier Blvd. and line 50 to Amerige Heights in Fullerton.

So if someone wants to use MBL to travel to Whitwood, that requires two busses?? Nonsensical. Please don't turn a great montebello bus line into a version of Norwalk' piecemeal disjointed transit system.

I have no questions at all.

This will make it complicated and to leave the 10 alone its fine having the Southern Terminus intact dont change it or make me transfer just leave it where it is and just extend its northern terminus to CSULA but dont cut the southern terminus as i frequent go there
Please keep the same routing that you currently have
Good route changes
Line 10 should continue as is.

I live off of Whittier in Montebello and often ride the 10 to the Whittier Quad or Whittwood. I would now be taking two buses instead of one, meaning more travel time.

I don't like it for line 10 I would keep that it is right now to Whitwood Town Center in Whittier and line 55 I would extended past La Mirada and near Buena Park to help the people of OCTA as well keeping helping the Norwalk Transit lines 4 and 5

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Proposed Changes in Downtown Los Angeles
Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in Downtown Los Angeles?
Keep Line 50 service all the way into Downtown LA
Solid. Make sure the connection to light rail at LATTC is a straightforward one.

There is nothing wrong with existing route.

No
Making the 50 into septette lines risked to reduce frequency of travel and lengthens the time to travel from Whittier to Downtown LA
Have the 90 end at Union Station
No please do not take my ride away from center of downtown.

Line 60/70- Combine the two routes, & have this route end at Cal State LA. If possible provide service to Olympic in Montebello.

Should NOT be changed
Customers go to the redline station. They would have to catch another train to reach their destination I think if the line 50 is to be useful as a line that takes riders to Downtown LA, it should at least go north of the 10 freeway. It's quite daunting to cross under the freeway on foot, but if it goes north, even if you cut it to the LA Convention Center, it would be a more pleasant walk to most places downtown, even without a transfer to the Blue LIne, and allow for more connections, to the Silver Line for example. Keeping it as it is today would be fine too, but I'm not sure if this is a cost issue.

Line 50 should keep the existing route in Downtown LA in order to make connections to Lines 40 and 90 as well
Line should end at Hill & Olympic instead of LATTC
Make route 90 head to El Monte Station then use the El Monte Busway (10 freeway express lanes) to Downtown LA. Keep the routing for line 50 heading to Beaudry & 5th for connecting passengers from line 40 and other transit agencies
That’s the only bus that leaves me close to my house
Line 50 should be rerouted to Serve Crypto com Arena and LA Live, instead of terminating at LATTC I’m a resident of La Mirada who frequently uses Line 50 in order to get to LA. I understand that the reason for this proposal is because there aren’t many people from my city who use Line 50 but please understand that there is a minority of us here that rely on it for an affordable method to get to LA and back!
How are people taking the 50 line supposed to get to Downtown LA if the line is shortened to LATTC? Have line 50 head to Union Station Patsaourus Bus Plaza. we need to find a good Lay over location in the area with restroom access.

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Do you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes in Downtown Los Angeles?
i prefer line 50 going all the way to 5th and beaudry as it does today.

Line 50 should still serve into DTLA as ridership in the endangered segment is fairly packed. If you don't want Line 50 continue to 5th/Beaudry. Please at least retain service to Pershing Square or modify to serve 7th/Metro Station via Figueroa from LATTC.

We need line 50 to go to at least Hill and 5th Street so that we can connect to other METRO lines.

Line 50 should extend it's line on Washington Boulevard with service westbound on Alvarado Sunset Cesar Chavez Hill 5th and Beaudry and eastbound service on 4th Flower 6th Hill Cesar Chavez Sunset and Alvarado
Yes if the frequency on the blue line can support frequent connections.

I think the bus should continue to serve both for convenience.

Bus should continue straight down Washington eastbound to avoid traffic delays on grande vista. Bus is usually delayed 30-25 minutes there
The frequency and reliability of certain lines in this area, specifically the 50 bus, can be greatly improved.

For line 50, please extend it to Union Station
The Line 50 should still go to Downtown LA to provide access for the South Montebello community.

Line 50 should continue as is and not be shortened.

I want line 50 extended to Downtown LA Union Station and end the route there and NOT LATTC

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Appendix B:

Fare Study

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Introduction
This fare analysis, conducted in conjunction with the Montebello Moves comprehensive operational analysis, includes a review of the current fare structure and policies for Montebello Bus Lines (MBL). This fare analysis includes a revi ew of:
▪ Existing fare policies
▪ A peer review and relevant fare -related best practices ▪ Implications of a fare free transit system for MBL
▪ Potential impacts to ridership and revenue of modeled fare scenarios ▪ Fare and policy recommendations
Fare recommendations incorporate results from reviewing national best practices, an evaluation of fare scenarios, and refining concepts with City of Montebello staff.

Fare Analysis Goals
Specific goals and objectives for the fare study include:
▪ Increase Ridership. Like many agencies across the country, the Covid -19 Pandemic had a substantial impact on MBL’s ridership. Fare structures and policies represent a tool that agencies can use to increase ridership. This evaluation includes several fare scenarios that seek to increase ridership while balancing farebox revenue.
▪ Evaluate Fare Free Tradeoffs. To best inform decision makers of the pros and cons associated with fare free transit service, this analysis will evaluate the ongoing operating and capital costs associated with both fare free and paid fare operations.
▪ Make Transit an Affordable Option. Considering the needs of low -income, disadvantaged populations, and transit dependent riders will be key for advancing equity goals and ensuring MBL service is affordable for all, particularly in context of neighboring services within the region .

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Existing Conditions
This chapter inventories and evaluates the existing fare policies, structures, prices, and technologies used by Montebello Bus Lines and summarizes revenue trends, fare media usage, and rider demographics to determine opportunities for modifications to fare policies and structure.

Key Findings
▪ There may be an opportunity to improve MBL’s transfer policy to make service more competitive with other agen cies. MBL charges a full fare to make transfers between lines, but only $0.25 to transfer to another agency. This may make completing a trip on MBL service more expensive relatively to other alternatives.
▪ MBL’s base fare may be simplified. The base fare fo r a single trip is currently set at $1.10, which requires nickels or dimes to pay with exact change in cash. It is considered an industry best practice to align base fares with $0.25 increments to make fare payment simpler for passengers and fare reconcili ation more streamlined for agencies.
▪ MBL does not offer a standard or reduced fare monthly pass. MBL currently only offers a monthly pass for K -12 students. Providing a monthly pass to standard and reduced fare categories may encourage additional ridership for regular transit users.
▪ Farebox recovery has been declining. Since 2013, operating costs have been increasing while farebox revenue has been decreasing, resulting in a decrease in farebox recovery from 25.7% in 2013 to 9.7% in 2020.
▪ Pass products are g enerally underutilized. In 2019, only 17% of trips were paid for using a day or monthly pass. In 2021, 10% of trips were paid for using a day or monthly pass. Providing more flexible pass options, like a standard and reduced fare monthly pass may improve pass utilization for MBL. ▪ Reduced fare ridership is more prevalent following the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Reduced fare single trip ridership increased from 27% of trips in 2019 to 38% of trips in 2021. There may be an opportunity to explore additional pass products or policies to encourage additional standard fare ridership. ▪ Dial-A-Taxi fares may be underpriced. The FTA requires that ADA paratransit services, like MBL’s Dial-A-Taxi program, be priced no more than double the fixed-route base fare. MBL’s Dial-A-Taxi program is currently priced lower than the fixed -route fare with a monthly trip limit. There may be an opportunity to increase fares and remove the monthly limit to modernize this policy and align with industry best practices.

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Fare Structure
Overview
Like most transit agencies, MBL provides a range of services and fare categories within their established fare structure. MBL provides Dial -A-Taxi service to Montebello residents ages 62 or older and to residents of any age with a qualifying disability.

Service is offered anywhere within the City of Montebello or for medical trips within the Dial-A-Taxi zone, bounded by the I -10 Freeway, I-710 Freeway, I-605 Freeway, and Slauson Avenue. Dial-A-Taxi riders may take up to 26 one-way trips per month.

MBL Fixed -Route Fare Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.10 $0.75 $0.50
Express Trip $1.30 $1.30 $1.30
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 $2.00 $1.50
Monthly Pass -- $30.00 --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free
MBL Dial-A-Taxi Fare Structure
Fare Type One-Way Fare
Single Ride $1.00
Pass Products
In addition to cash fares, MBL offers several pass products that offer unlimited rides over a set period of time for fixed -route service. These pass products include:
▪ Day Pass – Smart cards that become valid the first time they are used remain valid for the rest of the day. These passes provide unlimited rides during the one- day period. Day passes are available for the base fare and at discounted rates for K-12 Students and Seniors/People with disabilities. ▪ K-12 Students Monthly Pass – Smart cards that become valid the first time they are used in the farebox and are valid for the remainder of the month. These passes provide unlimited rides during the monthly period. These passes are only valid for K-12 students.

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Pass Multipliers
Pass multipliers are the number of single trips that a rider must complete to “break even” on the cost of a given pass product. For example, a day pass with a 2x multiplier means that a passenger would need to ride transit twice in a day to break even. Pass multipliers can be adjusted to make passes more attractive fare options for riders or to raise additional revenue.

MBL offers day passes and K -12 monthly passes which are priced with consistent multipliers between 2.7x and 3x for day passes and 40x for monthly passes. Passengers would need to ride three times to break even on a day pass and 40 times to break even on a K-12 monthly pass.

StarTran Pass Multipliers
Base Fare Day Pass Monthly Pass
Pass Product Fare Fare Multiplier Fare Multiplier
Single Trip $1.10 $3.00 2.7x -- --
K-12 Student $0.75 $2.00 2.7x $30.00 40x
Seniors/Disabled $0.50 $1.50 3x -- --
Discount Policies
Discount policies are used to charge lower fares for certain population groups.

Children
StarTran offers free rides for children under the age of four. There are no single ride discounts for older youth or primary education students. However, student passes are available for most area middle and high schools.

Seniors
StarTran offers a 55% discount for seniors ages 62 and older. This discount allows qualifying passengers to pay a single trip fare of $0.50 instead of the base fare of $1.10.

People with Disabilities
People with qualifying disabilities and Medicare cardholders qualify for a 55% discount.

This discount allows qualifying passengers to pay a single trip fare of $0.50 instead of the base fare of $1.10.

K-12 Students
K-12 students are eligible for a 32% discount, allowing passengers to pay a single trip fare of $0.75 instead of the base fare of $1.10. MBL is currently planning to launch a Go Pass initiative that would provide fare free service to K -12 students.

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Transfers
While not a discount policy, transfers are another aspect of fare policy that may require passengers to pay higher or lower fa res to complete their trip. MBL participates in the regional Interagency Transfer program that allows transfers between different agencies for $0.25. However, transfers between lines requires passengers to pay the full fare for each trip.

Available Fare Di scounts
Discount Category Discount
Children Under 4 Free
Seniors (Age 62 and older 55%
Disabilities, Medicare recipients 55%
K-12 Students 32%
Pass Distribution
The existing pass distribution network varies by pass type. All pass products are available at the StarTran facility but pass product availability at other distribution locations varies between pass products. Student passes for UNL students, as well as middle school and high school students, are only available at the respective school locations. Low-Income pass products are available at a larger number of non-profit and social services organizations than other pass products. Additionally, the availability of specific passes at retail locations varies between passes. No passes are available for purchase onboard vehicles.

There is an opportunity to develop a consistent pass distribution network which offers the same passes at all distribution locations. Such a distribution network would enhance the customer experience by allowing passengers to purchase all pass types in more locations, rather than identifying the specific locations that sell each pass product.

Existing Pass Distribution Network
Pass Type Onboard
Transit/
Government/ Non-
Profit Building1
Retail
Locations2
Day Pass ✓ ✓
K-12
Monthly
Pass
✓ ✓

1 Locations include the Montebello Transit Office, Uptown Whittier Senior Center 2 Locations include the Customer Service Desk at the Shops of Montebello

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Fare Media and Technology
Fare media refers to the type of fare payment accepted (i.e., cash, token, paper ticket, or advanced payment media) and equipment used to collect fares. In the U.S., there are eight commonly used options for fare payment – token, cash or coins, swipe card, contactless cards, ID-as-pass, mobile flashpass, mobile validation, and mobile contactless.

MBL fare media are currently a combination of tokens, cash, swipe cards, and contactless/RFID smartcards. Passengers interact with the farebox in a variety of ways:
▪ Passengers can pay with cash or coins at the farebox for a single ride. ▪ Passengers can pay with tokens that are typically purchased by Montebello Unified School District and distributed to students.
▪ Passengers using a swipe card day pass.
▪ Passengers paying with a stored value, day pass, or K-12 monthly pass pay with a contactless/RFID smartcard that is integrated with the regional TAP system.

MBL Tap Card Fare Media

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Revenue Trends
Operating Costs
MBL’s operating expenses have generally fluctuated over time but have been increasing since 2017, reaching a high of $27.8 million in 2020. This growth in operating costs represents a 22% increase over the eight year period.

MBL Annual Operating Expense, 2013-2020

Source: NTD 2013 -2020

$22,734,728
$25,792,699
$24,487,011
$23,924,064 $23,869,845
$25,518,819
$27,476,544 $27,841,505
$0
$5,000,000
$10,000,000
$15,000,000
$20,000,000
$25,000,000
$30,000,000
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

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Farebox Recovery
Farebox recovery is a ratio of farebox revenues to operating expenses and is used to estimate the proportion of a transit agency’s operations funded by passenger fares.

Between 2013 and 2020, farebox recovery has been generally declining, beginning with a high of 25.7% in 2013 and ending with a low of 9.7% in 2020. Farebox recovery may be lower in 2020 due to Covid -19 Pandemic related decreases in ridership. However, this trend of declining farebox recov ery was observed prior to the Covid -19 Pandemic.

Because operating expenses were generally rising over this same time period, this decrease in farebox recovery may be due to increasing operating costs, decreasing ridership, or a combination of both.

MBL Fa rebox Recovery Ratio, 2013 -2020

Source: NTD 2013 -2020

25.7%

21.8% 22.6%

21.2%

19.4%

16.5%

14.1%

9.7%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

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Operating Cost per Trip
Operating cost by passenger trip is a common measure of a transit system’s cost of providing service. Operating cost per trip has been generally increasing since 2013 but has increased fastest between 2016 and 2020. This increase appears in line with MBL’s operating costs increasing at a faster rate than ridership over this five -year period.

Between 2013 and 2020, operating cost per passenger trip has more than doubled from $2.83 per trip to $7.29 per trip.

MBL Operating Cost per Trip, 2013 -2020

Source: NTD 2013 -2020

$2.83
$3.32 $3.27 $3.44
$3.92
$4.53
$5.29
$7.29
$0.00
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
$4.00
$5.00
$6.00
$7.00
$8.00
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

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Average Fare
Due to discount policies, pass products, and fare evasion, the full base fare for service is not always paid for every trip – instead, the average fare paid is often lower. The average fare paid has been generally consistent across this eight -year period, ranging from a low of $0.70 in 2020 to a high of $0.76 in 2016 .

MBL Average Fare Paid per Trip, 2013 -2020

Source: NTD 2013 -2020

$0.73 $0.73 $0.74 $0.73 $0.76 $0.75 $0.74
$0.70
$0.00
$0.10
$0.20
$0.30
$0.40
$0.50
$0.60
$0.70
$0.80
$0.90
$1.00
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

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Subsidy per Trip
The subsidy per trip measures the operating cost per trip paid for by the transit agency (operating cost per trip minus average fare). The subsidy per trip follows a similar pattern as the operating cost per trip over this eight -year period between 2013 and 2020, generally increasing between 2013 and 2016 before increasing more sharply between 2016 and 2020. The average subsidy per trip reached a high of $6.59 in 2020, over three times the average subsidy in 2013.

MBL Average Subsidy per Tri p, 2013-2020

Source: NTD 2013 -2020

$2.10
$2.59 $2.53 $2.71
$3.16
$3.78
$4.55
$6.59
$0.00
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
$4.00
$5.00
$6.00
$7.00
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

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Fare Media Use
A breakdown of ridership and revenue by fare media type for MBL in 2019 and 2021 provides insight into how riders pay for their transit trips and how much revenue each pass product is generating for the agency both pre-pandemic and in current conditions.

In 2019, the majority of passengers took single trips on MBL lines, with 42% of all trips paid as a full fare single trip fare, 13% paid as a K -12 student single trip, and 27% as a reduced fare single t rip. Day passes and monthly passes accounted for only 17% of MBL boardings. From a revenue perspective, 62% of all farebox revenue was generated by full fare single trips, followed by 16% from reduced fare single trips, and 12% from K- 12 student single tri ps. Day passes accounted for 5% of farebox revenue, while K -12 student and reduced fare day passes accounted for another 5% of revenue.

In 2021, there is a notable shift away from student ridership, which decreased from 13% of all boardings to 6% of boardings. The share of full fare single trips and reduced fare single trips both increased from 42% to 46% and from 27% to 38% respectively. This shift suggests that post pandemic ridership may be more likely to be transit dependent riders, given the 11% increa se in reduced fare single trips.

Pass products generally appear to be underutilized on MBL service, with only 17% of trips using passes in 2019 and 10% in 2021. There may be an opportunity to improve pass utilization by providing additional pass types, like a full fare monthly pass, that provides more flexibility for regular transit riders. Additionally, MBL is planning to remove the K-12 student daily and monthly fare categories and provide fare free service to K-12 students.

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MBL Ridership and Revenue by Fare Media Type (2019)

Source: Montebello Bus Lines, 2019
42%
62%
13%
12%
27%
16%
8%
5%
3%
2%
6%
3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Ridership
Revenue
Single Trip Student Fare Single Trip Reduced Fare Single Trip Day Pass Student Day Pass Reduced Day Pass Student Monthly Pass

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MBL Ridership and Revenue by Fare Media Type (2021)

Source: Montebello Bus Lines, 2021
46%
66%
6%
5%
38%
20%
7%
4%
1%
1%
2%
3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Ridership
Revenue
Single Trip Student Fare Single Trip Reduced Fare Single Trip Day Pass Student Day Pass Reduced Day Pass Student Monthly Pass

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Peer Review
No two transit agencies operate identically; however, most agencies share some characteristics with others, and those common characteristics can form a basis for comparison. Comparing fare structures, policies, and system performance among a group of peer ag encies helps identify strengths and opportunities and facilitates best practices amongst the group of peers.

Key Findings
▪ TAP and EZ Pass programs bring uniformity and ease of use to transit.

Most agencies within the peer review have relocated their pass products to the TAP mobile app and no longer offer paper or magnetic strip passes. This transition can improve customer experience by allowing for a rider’s passes to be in one place and compatible with other regional transit agencies. ▪ Montebello has higher multipliers on monthly passes by relying on EZ Pass. Five peers in the comparison offer intra-agency monthly passes that have significantly lower multipliers (40 -55x) than EZ Pass (85-110x). This option provides value for passengers that ride their local agencies often and do not transfer out of network.
▪ Big Blue Bus is leading innovations amongst peer agencies. MODE on- demand service and TAP card fare incentives.
▪ Montebello is the only agenc y in peer review to offer tokens as form of payment

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Peer Agencies
Peer agencies were identified based on several operating characteristics, including location, size, population, fare structure , and other characteristics. This list of peer agencies was developed through coordination with MBL staff and was adjusted based on local knowledge and experience with other agencies. Peer agencies represent a range of sizes, geographic coverage, and fare structures.

Peer agencies include:
▪ Big Blue Bus; Santa Monica, CA . Big Blue Bus (BBB) is located in Santa Monica, CA and is a leader in fare collection technology, exemplifying several innovations for other agencies. Big Blue Bus piloted a cashless collection system in 2019 that eliminated cash fare collections onboard buses. In 2021, cash collections were reinstated though a $0.15 discount and free transfers are now given to passengers paying with a TAP contactless card. ▪ Torrance Transit; Torrance, CA . Torrance Transit is a municipal provider operating in Torrance, CA. Torrance Transit provided approximately 3.6 million boardings in 2019 compared to 5.2 million in Montebello and represents a similarly sized agency in the region.
▪ Norwalk Transit; Norwalk, CA . Norwalk Transit is a municipal transit agency located to the south of Montebello. Norwalk and Montebello share similar service area population, service productivity, both operate in the Gateway Cities region, and operate service in adjacent and overlapping areas.
▪ Long Beach Transit; Long Beach, CA . Long Beach Transit (LBT) is a notably larger transit agency than Montebello and can be used as an aspirational peer for Montebello Bus Lines. Similar to MBL, Long Beach Transit is a municipal operator that provides service through several different cities within the region. ▪ Riverside Transit Agency; Riverside, CA . Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) provides a similar number of annual trips as Montebello. RTA is the only agency in the peer review located outside of Los Angeles County, and thus, does not participate in the TAP program and is outside of the Access LA paratransit area.

RTA does offer its own proprietary mobile payment system for contactless boarding.
▪ GTrans; Gardena, CA . GTrans is another example of a municipal provider located near Montebello. It represents a smaller peer agency than MBL, but provides context for other local operating practices.
▪ Foothill Transit; West Covina, CA. Foothill Transit is the largest peer agency serving 12 million boardings per year. This peer is included to inform the fare practices of one of the largest regional agencies in the area.

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TAP and Regional Fare Participation
All agencies except for Riverside Transit Agency have integrated the Los Angeles Metro (Metro) TAP program for contactless fare collection onboard buses, trains, and shared mobility devices like bikes and scooters. TAP cards are physical smartcards that the passenger taps on the fare box and are also available on their mobile wallet via smartphone.

Within the TAP application, passengers can purchase passes (if available) for their home transit agency and purchase a regional EZ Pass which allows for transfers between agencies for a reduced price but with a higher upfront cost. Some agencies only offer EZ Pass for their monthly passes which are generally more expensive than agency specific monthly passes.

Another program that is available at all agencies except Riverside Transit is the Low- Income Fares are Easy (LIFE) program, a transit subsidy program that provides direct payments for transit fares at varying levels depending on income. Because passengers could be receiving various levels of assistance within the LIFE program, these discounts were not discussed in detail in the peer comparison.

Paratransit Services
Access LA is the paratransit service operated by Metro with bo undaries within ¾ mile from any bus or rail stop. Most peer agencies in this comparison also operate their own demand response service, except for Foothill Transit which relies on Access LA fully for paratransit. Riverside Transit operates outside of Los A ngeles County and is the only peer agency that does overlap with Access LA service.

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Peer Review Agencies
System
Name City Passenger
Trips
(Fixed Route 2019)
Service Area
Population
Service Area
(Square Miles )
Population
Density
(Persons per
Square Mile)
Annual
Revenue
Hours
(Fixed Route 2019)
Passengers
per Revenue
Hour
(Fixed Route 2019)
Passengers
per Revenue
Mile
(Fixed Route 2019)
Montebello
Bus Lines
Montebello,
CA 5,258,035 315,074 2,087 151 235,654 22.3 2.2
Big Blue Bus Santa
Monica, CA 12,536,069 855,918 14,507 59 557,473 22.5 2.5 Torrance
Transit Torrance, CA 3,595,705 606,847 5,892 103 167,395 21.5 1.7 Norwalk
Transit Norwalk, CA 1,427,804 637,365 17,226 37 95,026 15.0 1.4 Long Beach
Transit
Long Beach,
CA 23,210,032 848,449 8,484 100 725,349 32.0 3.3
Riverside
Transit
Agency
Riverside,
CA 7,893,572 2,018,724 741 2,725 618,429 12.8 0.9
GTrans Gardena, CA 2,920,856 463,968 11,599 40 136,619 21.4 1.7 Foothill
Transit
West Covina,
CA 12,053,307 1,515,836 4,636 327 858,500 14.0 1.0
Source: NTD 2019

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Peer Agency Fare Structures
Fare Type MBL Big Blue
Bus
Torrance
Transit
Norwalk
Transit
Long Beach
Transit RTA GTrans Foothill
Transit
Single Ride
Adult $1.10/$1.30
(Express)
$1.25/ $1.10
(Cashless)
$1.00/$2.00
(LA Express) $1.25 $1.25 $1.75/$3.50
(CommuterLink)
$1.00/$4.00
(Rt 7) $1.75
Student $0.75 None $0.50/$1.00
(LA Express) $1.00 Free/GoPass
Eligible
$1.75/$3.50
(CommuterLink)
$0.70/Free
with GoPass $1.00
Reduced
Senior/Disabled $0.50 $0.50 $0.25/$0.75
(LA Express) $0.60 $0.60 $0.75/$2.75
(CommuterLink) $0.35 $0.75
Passes
Daily Pass
Day Pass $3.00 $4.00 None None $4.00 $5.00/$10
(CommuterLink) None $6.00
Multiplier 2.7x 3.2x - - 3.2x 2.9x/2.9x - 3.4x
Reduced Day Pass $1.50 $1.50 None None $3.50 $2.50/$7
(CommuterLink) None $3.00
Multiplier 3x 3x - - 5.8x 3.3x/2.5x - 4x
Weekly Pass
7-Day Pass None $14 None None None $20 None None
Multiplier - 11x - - - 11.4x - -
5-Day Pass None None None None $18 None None None
Multiplier - - - - 14.4x - - -
Monthly

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Fare Type MBL Big Blue
Bus
Torrance
Transit
Norwalk
Transit
Long Beach
Transit RTA GTrans Foothill
Transit
Agency Specific
Monthly Pass None $50 $35/$65
(Express) None $65 $60 None $60
Multiplier - 40x 35x/32.5x - 52x 34x - 34x
Agency Monthly
Pass Reduced None $24 None None $24 $30 None $30
Multiplier - 48x - - 40x 40x - 40x
Other Pass
10 Rides & Short
Duration Passes $10-Tokens $9.00 None None $18 (5-day
Pass)
$20 (Week
Pass) None $14 (10-Trip)
Reduced 10 Ride
Pass $10 $4.50 None None $9 (5-day
Pass)
$20 (7-day
Pass) None $6.00
Transfers
System Only $1.10 Free via TAP $0.40 $0.50 $1.25 $1.75 $0.40 Free via TAP Interagency $0.25 $0.50 $0.40 $0.50 $0.50 Varies by
Agency
$0.50 (Bus)/
$1.75 (Rail) $0.50

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Regional EZ Pass Participants and Fares
Monthly EZ Pass
Participants MBL Big Blue Bus Torrance
Transit
Norwalk
Transit
Long Beach
Transit RTA GTrans Foothill
Transit
Monthly Cost
$110 $110 $110/$132
(Express) $110 $110 None $110 (EZ
Pass)
$110/$220
(Commuter
Express)
Monthly Multiplier 100x 88x 110x/66x 88x 88x - 110x 62x/40x Reduced Monthly
Cost $42 $42 $42/$51.50
(Express) $42 $42 None $42 $42
Reduced Multiplier 84x 84x 168x/68x 70x 70x - 120x 56x

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Peer Paratransit Fares and Policies
Service
Information MBL BBB
Torrance
Transit
Norwalk
Transit
Long Beach
Transit RTA GTrans
Foothill
Transit
Service Name Dial-A-Taxi
MODE (Mob.

On Demand
Every Day)
Dial-A-
Taxi/Taxi
Subsidy
Dial-A-Ride Dial-A-Lift Dial-A-
Ride Special Transit
Utilizes LA
County
Access
Services LA
County
Single Fare $1.00 $1.50 $1.00 $1.00 $2.00 $3.50 $0.75 $3.50 Reduced Fare None $0.75 None None None None None None
Pass None None $13 Taxi Fare None None None None None
Service & Fare
Limits
26 Rides/Month
30 One-Way
Trips/Month
12 Credits/Month None No Sunday
Service
3/4 Mile of
Fixed
Route
Stop
Gardena,
Hawthorne,
Alondra Park,
Del Aire
3/4 Mile of
Fixed Route
Stop
Reservation Type Phone
Via Lyft App
or Cash to
BBB
Phone Phone Phone Phone Phone Phone

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Discount Fare Structures
Fare Type MBL BBB
Torrance
Transit
Norwalk
Transit
Long Beach
Transit RTA GTrans
Foothill
Transit
Children Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free
Eligibility <4 yrs <5 yrs <5 yrs <5 yrs 0-4 yrs <46” Tall <5 yrs <5 yrs Youth 32% 62% on 30-
Day Pass
50% 20% Free with
GoPass
None 30% or Free
with GoPass
43%
Eligibility K-12 K-12 K-12 K-12 K-12 <18 yrs K-12 K-12 + Community
College
Seniors (Cash
Fare)
54% 60% 75% 52% 52% 57% 65% 57%
Eligibility >62 yrs >62 yrs >65 yrs >62 yrs >62 yrs >60 yrs >62 yrs >62 yrs Low-income None None None None None None None None
Eligibility LIFE Pass LIFE Pass LIFE Pass LIFE Pass LIFE Pass LIFE Pass LIFE Pass Veterans None None None None None Free None None
Disabilities 54% 60% 75% 52% 52% 57% 65% 57%
*Percentages indicate the discount from base fare the group receives

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Big Blue Bus
Big Blue Bus is the City of Santa Monica’s local transit agency, operating bus service on the west side of Los Angeles County. BBB, while serving a larger population base, shares similar characteristics to MBL in both passengers per revenue hour and passengers per mile.

In June of 2022, after pausing fare collection during the pandemic, BBB resumed collecting case fares on board. In an effort to encourage TAP card usage and reduce cash payments, BBB now provides a $0.15 discount for using TAP. Additionally, the agency provides free transfers with TAP payments but charges $0.50 to transfer with cash payments.

Big Blue Bus’s paratransit service, Mobility On Demand Every Day (MODE), operates as a partnership with Lyft to provide on -demand service for seniors and individuals with disabilities living in the City of Santa Monica. The service allows travel anywhere within Santa Monica, as well as trips to UCLA Medical Center, Kaiser Medical Centers in West Los Angeles and Culver City/Marina del Rey, V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center, and select shopping destinations on Lincoln Blvd in Venice. MODE rides can be scheduled via phone or the Lyft app after qualifying for the service. MODE passengers may take a total of 30 one-way trips per month, close to Montebello’s current Dial-A-Taxi limit of 26.

Partnering with a Transportation Network Company (TNC) like Lyft is a unique solution for scheduling p aratransit rides among the peer agencies. This approach removes internal dispatching responsibilities from the agency and may represent a faster, more convenient alternative for passengers, but does present potential challenges related to ensuring wheelchair accessibility on vehicles.

Big Blue Bus also partners with Metro’s LA Access program to provide rides outside of Santa Monica and bordering municipalities.

Fare Policies
Big Blue Bus provides free or discounted fares to several groups, with discount ra tes differing across fare types:
▪ Seniors (age 62 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 60% single ride discount
− 52% 30-day intra-agency pass
− 61% EZ Regional Pass discount
− $0.75 Paratransit Fare
▪ Youth grades K-12
− 62% decrease on a monthly intra-agency pass
▪ Children under five years old and personal care assistants ride free

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▪ Students enrolled at colleges part of the U-Pass program ride free if paying with U-Pass
▪ Low-income Santa Monica residents may qualify for subsidized transit rides with LA Metro’s Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program
▪ Until June 2022, transfers within the Big Blue Bus network cost $0.50. They are now free if using a TAP card. Transfers to LA Metro rail or bus are $0.50 for adult riders and $0.25 for senior /disabled/Medicare holders.

Fare Structure
Big Blue Bus’ fare structure consists of single day, 7-day, monthly, and EZ pass options which provide flexibility to passengers depending on how often and how far they ride.

Big Blue Bus is the only agency in the peer comparison that offers a discount on one - way fare for using a TAP card instead of paying cash.

Big Blue Bus Fare Structure
Fare Type Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Cash Fare $1.25/$1.10
(Cashless) - $0.50 -
Day Pass $4.00 3.2x $1.50 3x
7-Day Pass $14 11.2x - -
30-Day Pass $50 40x $24 48x
30-Day EZ Pass $110 88x $42 84x
Paratransit
(MODE) $1.50 - $0.75 -

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Torrance Transit
Torrance Transit is the municipal transit agency for the City of Torrance in the south bay region of Los Angeles County with extended service to downtown Los Angeles and LAX airport. Torrance Transit operates 11 fixed routes and a paratransit service. Torrance Transit’s paratransit service is named Torrance Community Transit Program, which enables participants to purchase credits for taxi rides at a discount. Paratransit riders are limited to 12 credits per month. Torrance Transit’s service area has a similar population size and density as Montebello, making it a close peer comparison in the region.

Fare Policies
Torrance Transit provides discounted fares to several different groups, with discount rates differing across fare types:
▪ Seniors (age 65 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 75% single ride discount
− 62% LA Express Route Discount
− Household Income determined discount on paratransit services ▪ Youth in grades K-12
− 50% single ride discount on local and express bus services − 14% monthly pass discount
▪ Children pre-school aged and younger, and personal care attendants ride free ▪ Low-income Torrance residents may qualify for LA Metro’s Low -Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program which subsidizes transit rides on the passenger’s TAP card.

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Fare Structure
Torrance Transit divides its fare structure among local bus service and LA Express routes. LA Express routes always cost more than local. Transfers between all Torrance Transit buses cost $0.40, and transfer costs to another system like LA Metro are $0.40.

Torrance Fare Structure
Fare Type Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Cash Fare $1.00/$2.00
(Express) - $0.25/$0.75
(Express) -
30-Day Pass $35/$65 (Express) 35x/32.5x $42/$51.50 (EZ
Pass) 168x/68x
Senior Taxi
(Paratransit) $5.00 - $3.00/$1.00
(Income Based)
Dial-A-Taxi
(Disabled
Residents)
$1.00 - - -
Torrance Transit does not offer a 1 -day or 7-day pass but does offer a monthly pass priced at $35 and $30 for K -12 students. The only reduced fare monthly pass for Torrance Transit is available through the EZ Pass program.

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Norwalk Transit
The Norwalk Transit system is the City of Norwalk’s local agency and operates 6 fixed routes and paratransit services primarily within municipal boundaries. Norwalk does not operate any express service to Downtown Los Angeles like other peer agencies, though does provide connections to Metro Rail Green Line Norwalk Station and participates in TAP contactless and EZ Pass fare systems. Norwalk’s Dial-A-Ride paratransit service operates within municipal boundaries seven days per week.

Fare Policies
Norwalk Transit provides free or discounted fares to several groups, with discount rates differing across fare types:
▪ Seniors (age 62 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 52% single ride discount
− 61% EZ Regional Pass discount
▪ Youth grades K-12
− 20% discount on a single ride
▪ Children under five years old and personal care assistants ride free ▪ Low-income Norwalk residents may qualify for subsidized transit rides with LA Metro’s Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program
Fare Structure
Norwalk Transit does not have a pass system for unlimited rides during a specified timespan like a daily or weekly pass. Instead, Norwalk offers the regional EZ Pass.

Transfers between Norwalk buses and between other agencies are both $0.50.

Norwalk Fare Struct ure
Fare Type Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Cash Fare $1.25 - $0.60 -
Monthly Pass (EZ
Pass) $110 88x $42 70x
Dial-A-Ride
(Paratransit) $1.00 - None

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Long Beach Transit
Long Beach Transit (LBT) is among the largest municipal operators in Los Angeles County, currently operating 36 fixed -routes, Dial-A-Lift (paratransit), a water taxi, and commuter express service to UCLA’s campus. LBT’s paratransit service, Dial-A-Lift, operates within Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, and Paramount. After pausing fare collection due to the pandemic, Long Beach Transit reinstated fares in September 2021.

Fare Policies
Long Beach Transit provides free or discounted fares to several groups, with discount rates varying across fare types:
▪ Seniors (age 62 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 52% single ride discount
− 50% 5-day pass discount
− 64% 30-day intra-agency pass
− 62% discount on a EZ regional pass
▪ Youth grades K-12
− 13% discount on a single ride
− 23% decrease on a monthly intra-agency pass
− Long Beach Transit is a member of the GoPass System, a fare card for the K-12 community and community college attendees. This system allows for school subsidy of a transit p ass for its students
▪ Children younger than five years of age and personal care assistants ride free ▪ Low-income Long Beach residents may qualify for Metro’s Low -Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program which subsidizes transit rides on the passenger’s TAP card Transfers between LBT buses are $1.25 and interagency transfers are $0.50.

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Fare Structure
LBT offer s passes at different durations to provide value for passengers who ride the bus occasionally or every day.

Long Beach Fare Structure
Fare Type Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Cash Fare $1.25 - $0.60 -
Day Pass $4.00 3.2x $2.50 4.1x
5-Day Pass $18 14x $9.00 15x
30-Day Pass $65 52x $24 40x
30-Day EZ Pass $110 88x $42 70x
Dial-A-Ride
(Paratransit) $2.00 - None -

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Riverside Transit Agency
Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) operates in Western Riverside County in the cities of Riverside, Corona, Beaumont, and Banning. RTA operates three different services:
fixed-route, CommuterLink express routes, and Dial -A-Ride paratransit service. Dial-A- Ride services operate within a ¾ mile radius of RTA fixed -route stops and in 18 RTA bordering municipalities and unincorporated regions where transit service is limited.

Fare Policies
RTA provides free or discounted fares to different groups, with discount rates varying across fare types. Fares vary between services, with higher fares for CommuterLink services which provide service to San Bernardino, La Sierra Metrolink station, Temecula, Corona and others.

On local fixed-route services:
▪ Seniors (age 60 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 57% single ride discount
− 50% day-pass discount
▪ Children pay fare of $0.50
▪ Personal care assistants and military, fire, police, and EMT members in uniform ride free
On CommuterLink Services:
▪ Seniors (age 60 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 21% single ride discount
− 30% day-pass discount
RTA passengers can transfer to five different agencies including LA metro for a variable fee, depending on the agency. Transfers within the RTA network are $1.75 (full fare).

For Dial-A-Ride services, the base fare is $3.50 but can cost as much as $10.50 per one-way trip depending on the number of fare zones crossed.

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Fare Structure
RTA charges different prices depending on passes purchased for local or CommuterLink services. Weekly passes are only available for local routes and are not discounted for seniors or passengers with disabilities.

RTA Fare Structure
Fare Type Regular Regular Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Local Cash Fare $1.75 - $0.75 -
CommuterLink
Cash Fare $3.50 - $2.75 -
Local Day Pass $5.00 2.8x $2.50 3.3x
Local Weekly Pass $20 11x $20 26x
CommuterLink Day
Pass $10 2.8x $7.00 2.5x
30 Day
CommuterLink $95 27.1x $70 25.4x
Dial-A-Ride
(Paratransit) $3.50 - None -
Note: RTA is currently piloting reduced fares of $0.25 for youth (ages 18 and under), seniors, people with disabilities, Medicare card holders, veterans, and children. This pilot is set to run through June 2023, but dates are subject to change.

The difference in fare costs in this structure are because CommuterLink service routes tend to be longer in distance and duration. Riverside Transit Agency is the only peer agency that does not participate in the TAP, EZ Pass, or LIFE program because they are outside of Los Angeles County. RTA does have their own mobile application and cashless payment system, though is proprietary to RTA.

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GTrans
GTrans is the municipal transit agency for the cities of Gardena and Hawthorne located about 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. GTrans operates six fixed -routes and Special Transit (paratransit), with one express route to downtown Los Angeles.

Fare Policies
GTrans provides free or discounted fares to several groups, with discount rates differing across fare types:
▪ Seniors (age 62 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 60% single ride discount
− 62% discount on EZ regional pass
▪ Youth grades K-12
− 30% discount on a single ride
− GTrans is a member of the GoPass System, a fare card for the K -12 community and community college attendees. This system allows for school subsidy of a transit pass for its students. On GTrans, K -12 students who present a GoPass ride free.
▪ Children younger than 5 and personal care assistants ride free ▪ Low-income GTrans riders may qualify for LA Metro’s Low -Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program which subsidizes transit rides on the passenger’s TAP card.

Transfers between GTrans buses are $0.40. Transfers to LA Metro bus are $0.50 and full fare ($1.75) is required to transfer to LA Metro rail services.

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Fare Structure
GTrans does not offer a fixed duration pass except for a regional monthly EZ pass. The only large variance from their traditional fare structure is for Line 7X, which requires a $4.00 payment and provides round-trip service to SoFi Stadium, a service designed for event attendees that is outside of the traditional GTrans service area. GTrans charges $0.75 for a one -way Special Transit (paratransit) fare and operates within four municipalities: Gardena, Hawthorne, Alondra Park, and Del Aire.

GTrans Fare Structure
Fare Type Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Cash Fare
$1.00/$4 (Line 7X) -
$0.35
(Senior/Disabled)
K-12 Free with
GoPass
-
Monthly Pass (EZ
Pass) $110 110x $42 120x
Special Transit
(Paratransit) $0.75 - None -

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Foothill Transit
Foothill transit is one of the largest peer agencies included in this peer review, serving a population of 1.5 million people over numerous municipalities to the east of Los Angeles.

Foothill operates local, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Los Angeles express routes. Local routes and BRT (Silver Streak) share the same fares, whi le six express routes charge higher fares. Foothill transit does not operate its own paratransit service and instead relies on Access LA for paratransit service.

Fare Policies
Foothill Transit provides free or discounted fares to several groups, with disco unt rates differing across fare types:
▪ Seniors (age 62 and older), persons with disabilities, and Medicare card holders:
− 57% single ride discount
− 50% day pass discount
− 57% 10 trip discount
− 50% 30-day intra-agency pass discount
− 61% EZ Regional Pass discount
▪ Youth grades K-12
− 43% discount on a single ride
− 33% day pass discount
− 43% 10 trip discount
− 33% decrease on a monthly intra-agency pass
▪ Children under five years old and personal care assistants ride free ▪ Low-income Santa Monica residents may qualify for subsidized transit rides with LA Metro’s Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program

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Fare Structure
Foothill Transit offers a significant n umber of passes and discounts for eligible populations. Paratransit service fares are capped at $3.50, with base fare being variable depending on the distance travelled.

Foothill Fare Structure
Fare Type Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier Reduced Fare
Reduced
Multiplier
Cash Fare $1.75 - $0.75 -
Day Pass $6.00 3.4x $3.00 4x
10-Trip Pass $14 8x $6.00 8x
31-Day Pass $60 34x $30 40x
30-Day EZ Pass $110 63x $42 56x
Access Services
(Paratransit)
$3.50 Maximum
(Distance
Traveled)
- None -
Note: Foothill Transit is currently charging half price for all Day Passes, 10 -Trip Passes, and 31 -Day Passes through September 30, 2022.

Foothill Commuter Express Fare Structure
Commuter
Express Fares Adult Fares
Regular
Multiplier
Cash Fare $5.50 -
10-Trip $44 8x
31 Day Pass $180 32.7x
30-Day EZ Pass $220 40x

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Fare Technology
All peer agencies accept cash and the Los Angeles region’s TAP contactless card except for Riverside Transit. Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus is the only agency that incentivizes cashless payment, with a $0.15 discount for using a TAP card. Most agencies have moved away from a paper or magnetic strip pass to store transfer, fixed duration and fixed use pass information and instead using the TAP platform. The TAP mobile app allows passengers to see a full array of pass options for their local agency as well as regional offerings. Agencies that accept TAP also accept mobile ticketing.

Peer Fare Technology Comparison
System Name Cash Tokens Paper Tickets/
Magnetic Swipe Cards TAP Mobile
Ticketing
Montebello Bus Lines X X X X
Big Blue Bus X X
Torrance Transit X X
Norwalk Transit X X X
Long Beach Transit X X
Riverside Transit X X X
GTrans X X X
Foothill Transit X X
Fare Performance
In addition to comparing the fare structure and policies for each of the peer agencies, an assessment of annual fare revenue, average fare paid per passenger, and farebox recovery can be indicative of how well these policies are performing for each agency.

This fare performance assessments includes fixed -route transit only.

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Fare Revenue
Annual fare revenue is a measure of how much total revenue is directly generated by fares. This comparison provides a sense of scale for how much fare revenue is generated for each agency. Foothill Transit, Long Beach Transit, and Big Blue Bus are leaders in this metric due to their high ridership and large service area compared to other peers. It is expected for MBL to generate less fare revenue than these other large agencies.

Fixed Route Fare Revenue

$0
$2,000,000
$4,000,000
$6,000,000
$8,000,000
$10,000,000
$12,000,000
$14,000,000
$16,000,000
$18,000,000

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Average Fare per Passenger
While some passengers pay the full base fare for a single ride, the availability of multi - ride pass products, discount policies, and contracts with schools and universities allow some passengers to ride for less than the base fare. The average fare paid pe r passenger trip provides insight into how much fare revenue is actually collected per passenger trip.

Like all other peer agencies, Montebello collects a lower average fare than its base fare.

These differences are functions of multiple variables like ba se fare, pass products, discounts, and passenger volumes. Montebello is similarly positioned compared to peer agencies for average fare per passenger as it is for base fares. However, MBL is below the peer agency average, indicating there is an opportunity to increase fares to align more closely with peer agencies.

Average Fare Collected per Passenger

$0.00
$0.20
$0.40
$0.60
$0.80
$1.00
$1.20
$1.40
$1.60

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Farebox Recovery
Farebox recovery is a measure of the percentage of operating costs that are paid for with fare revenues. Farebox recovery is a commonly used performance metric for many transit agencies. While performance standards vary from agency to agency, typical farebox recoveries are generally in the range of 10% to 20%, which is mostly true of the peer agencies. Montebello is one of the leading age ncies in the region for farebox recovery along with some of the largest peer agencies like Foothill Transit and Long Beach Transit. This metric serves as a good initial comparison between peer agencies, and suggests that MBL’s fare revenue, relative to service costs, is competitive with other peer agencies.

Farebox Recovery Percentage

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

16.0%

18.0%

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Fare Free Analysis
Charging a fare – or not charging a fare – encompasses a wide range of costs and benefits. Some of the key benefits associated with collecting a fare include generating revenue, reducing reliance on federal and state funding, and supporting the perception that the public helps pay for public transportation services.

At the same time, there are costs associated with charging a fare. Operating fare free is less complex because it simplifies accounting systems and reduces the need for secure storage of cash; additionally, management and distribution of fare media are not required. Additional benefits include the potential for increased ridership and enhance d operating efficiency.

Key Findings
▪ Operating fare free service for MBL’s fixed -route service is anticipated to:
− Increase ridership between 40% (766,000 trips) and 60% (1,149,000 trips) − Not require any additional service, vehicles, or annual operating cos ts − Provide additional flexibility within schedules for low on -time performance routes due to reduced dwell time at stops
▪ Eliminating on-board fares for MBL’s Dial -A-Taxi service is anticipated to:
− Increase paratransit trips between 20% (6,800 trips) and 40% (13,600 trips) − Increase annual operating costs between $50,000 and $101,000 − Potentially increase vehicle and staffing requirements for contracted taxi providers
▪ At a systemwide level, providing fare free service would:
− Add between 773,000 and 1,163,00 0 total additional passenger trips − Increase net annual additional operating costs between $1,342,000 and $1,393,000, including foregone farebox revenue and additional service requirements
▪ Best practices for addressing funding gaps associated with fare free service include reallocated local funding, local funding partnerships with universities and major employers, and voter approved local sales tax initiatives

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Existing Fare Costs and Revenue
Transitioning to fare free service typically results in a decreas e in revenue for the agency; collecting fares directly generates revenue but has ongoing operating and administrative costs, including farebox equipment maintenance, accounting, and other services. Identifying tradeoffs between fare revenue and collection costs is the first step in determining the financial impacts of providing fare free service.

MBL earned approximately $1.3 million in total fare revenue in 2021. MBL also estimates the annual cost of staff time associated with fare collection at approximately $27,000 per year. A transition to fare free service would include both foregoing this $1.3 million in farebox revenue and a cost savings of $27,000 by no longer collecting, counting, and reconciling fare revenue.

MBL Fare Revenue by Source (2021)
Fare Type Revenue Percent of Total
Cash $1,193,000 90%
Passes $103,000 8%
Paratransit $23,000 2%
Total $1,319,000 100%
Source: MBL, 2021
Farebox recovery is the ratio of fare revenue compared to total operating expenses. This metric is widely used in the transit industry to identify the percentage of operating costs that are paid for directly by passenger fares. MBL fare revenues account for 5% of total annual operating expenses. This represents the revenue that would need to be replaced by an alternative funding mechanism should MBL implement fare free service.

MBL Fixed -Route Farebox Recovery (2021)
Fixed-Route Dial-A-Taxi Total
Passenger Fare Revenue $1,296,000 $23,000 $1,319,000
Total Operating Expenses $26,606,000 $252,000 $26,858,000 Farebox Recovery Ratio 5% 9% 5%
Source: MBL, 2021

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Equity Considerations
Transitioning to fare free service has the potential to eliminate barriers for low -income passengers and improve equity in the service area. Understanding the income levels of existing ridership is a key factor for determining how fare free service will af fect the community. MBL riders are disproportionately lower -income earners. Over half of MBL riders have an annual household income below $25,000 and over 40% have an income below $15,000.

MBL Ridership by Income Level

Source: 2021 MBL On -Board Survey

42%
22%
13% 14%
6%
4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Less than
$15,000
$15,000 to
$24,999
$25,000 to
$34,999
$35,000 to
$54,999
$55,000 to
$75,000
More than
$75,000

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Fixed-Route Ridership and Cost Implications
Ridership
Increasing ridership is often a high priority for transit agencies, particularly in the wake of declining ridership following the Covid-19 Pandemic, and providing fare free service has been shown to consistently and quickly accomplish this goal. Transit ridership is elastic relative to fares – the more fares are reduced, the higher ridership will increase. Based on industry experience reported from several agencies that have done so successfully, transitioning to fare free service can increase transit ridership between 40% and 60%.

This represents a range of increased fixed -route ridership between 766,000 and 1,149,000 additional passengers per year. As transit ridership increases following a transition to fare free service, there are several implications including the potential for improved travel times, increased operating costs, and increased capital costs.

MBL Projected Fixed -Route Ridership Increase

Source: MBL, 2021

-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
Existing (2021) Low Growth High Growth
+766,000
+1,149,000

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Travel Time Savings
Fare free service may reduce dwell time spent at bus stops associated with waiting for passengers to board and pay their fare. Research has shown that it takes passengers on average 4.5 seconds to pay their fare with cash, 2.8 seconds to pay their fare with a smart card, and 1.8 seconds to board without paying a fare. 3 Ridership by fare media indicates that the majority of MBL passengers pay their fare with cash products.

MBL Ridership by Fare Media

Source: MBL, 2021
Based on recent experience from Intercity Transit (Olympia, WA), significant travel time savings can be anticipated after implementing fare free service, including relief for routes with on-time performance issues. Applying the estimated dwell time savings to the existing ridership and projected increase in ridership yields the average daily travel time savings for each route. Travel time savings at existing ridership levels amount to nearly two hours per day. Line 10, the route with the most significant travel time savings, is expected to save nearly 30 minutes of travel time per day initially. On a per trip basis, this results in roughly 5 -30 seconds of additional travel time per one -way trip. MBL should be prepared to monitor and adjust scheduled runtimes to account for these potential travel times savings.

Initial travel time savings are also likely to degrade over time as more people start riding the bus in response to fare free service. As ridership increases, travel time savings are

3 Transit Cooperative Research Program, Report 165: Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual –3rd Edition, 2017
Cash
83%
Pass
17%

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anticipated to become more modest, reducing to about an hour and twenty minutes per day with a 40% ridership increase and one hour per day with a 60% ridership increase.

MBL Projected Daily Time Savings

Source: MBL, 2020

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Line 10
Line 20
Line 30
Line 40
Line 50
Line 70
Line 90
Travel Time Savings (minutes)
Projected Daily Time Savings @ 60% Ridership Increase
Projected Daily Time Savings @ 40% Ridership Increase
Projected Daily Time Savings @ Existing Ridership

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Operating Cost Implications
As ridership increases, vehicles on specific trips or routes may exceed capacity, requiring the agency to provide additional trips. The existing maximum on -board passenger loads for every trip of each route were used to project the theoretical maximum loads based on a 40% and 60% increase in ridership. It is assumed that projected maximum on-board loads exceeding 60 passengers would require an additional trip. The results of this analysis show that the average maximum on-board load for all trips under both growth scenarios would remain under the 60 -passenger maximum and no additional trips would be required.

Because there are no additional operating costs projected from fare free service, there are also no additional capital costs or staffing requirements associated with fare free fixed-route service.

Dial-A-Taxi Ridership and Cost Implications
Similar to fixed-route service, reducing or eliminating paratransit or dial -a-taxi fares is expected to increase demand for the service. Other agencies, like Mountain Line (Missoula, MT) and Chapel Hill Transit (Chapel Hill, NC), experienced an approximately 30% increase in revenue hours and passenger trips during the first three years of fare free service. The ADA requires paratransit service with comparable travel times as fixed- route service. As ridership increases additional veh icles must be dispatched to serve maintain comparable travel times. Using a similar estimated ridership increase between 20% and 40% would result in a range of cost implications. Annual revenue hours would be expected to increase between 470 and 950 hours, resulting in an increased annual operating cost between $50,000 and $101,000 .

Dial-A-Taxi Operating Cost Implications
20% Ridership Increase 40% Ridership Increase
Additional Ridership Increase 6,800 13,600
Additional Annual Revenue Hours Needed 470 950
Annual Dial-A-Taxi Operating Cost Increase $50,000 $101,000 Total Annual Dial-A-Taxi Operating Cost $302,000 $353,000 Because MBL’s Dial-A-Taxi service is contracted out to local taxi companies, there would be no additional vehicle or staffing requirements for the city. However, additional capital or staffing needs may be required for the taxi companies to continue providing a consistent level of service as demand and ridership increase.

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Fare Free Tradeoffs Summary
Operating fare free service includes a range of costs, benefits, and tradeoffs that are important to consider when deciding whether to charge a fare or not, with the primary benefits including increased ridership and reduced dwell times and the largest costs including forego ne farebox revenue and increased operating costs.

By operating fare free service, ridership is estimated to grow between 766,000 and 1,149,000 for fixed-route service and between 6,800 and 13,600 for Dial-A-Taxi service.

Due to increased ridership and for egone farebox revenue, systemwide net operating cost increases are estimated between approximately $1,342,000 and $1,393,000 annually. This would represent a substantial operating cost increase for MBL and may not be sustainable in the long-term without significant changes to funding mechanisms.

Fare Free Estimated Ridership and Cost Impacts
Low-Cost Estimate High-Cost Estimate
Fixed-Route
Projected Ridership Increase 766,000 1,149,000
Additional Annual Operating Costs $0
Foregone Farebox Revenue (2021) $1,296,000
Paratransit
Projected Ridership Increase 6,800 13,600
Additional Annual Operating Costs $50,000 $101,000
Foregone Farebox Revenue (2021) $23,000
Systemwide
Cost of Fare Collection ($27,000)
Total Estimated Annual Cost $1,342,000 $1,393,000

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Fare Free Case Studies
Fare free public transit service has been explored across the country as an option for increasing ridership and ensuring affordability. Since the onset of the COVID -19 pandemic, fare free service has gained even more traction, with numerous agencies beginning to operate fare free on a trial basis. As the long-term impacts to ridership and revenue of remaining fare free are evaluated, it is important to review case studies of other agencies that have implemented fare free service to determine effective best practices for generating additional revenue to mitigate impacts associated with foregone fare revenue and increased operating costs. The three case studies discussed in this section include:
▪ Missoula, MT (Mountain Line)
▪ Kansas City, MO (KCATA)
▪ Olympia, WA (Intercity Transit)
Missoula, MT
Mountain Line, the transit system operating in the
City of Missoula, MT, introduced a three year
zero-fare demonstration project in January 2015
in conjunction with several other service
improvements which led to a 40% increase in
ridership over the first 12 months of the program.

Prior to implementing zero-fare service, Mountain Line collected approximately $335,000 in annual farebox revenue that needed to be replaced by another funding source. To bridge this funding gap, a new partnership called Sustainable Missoula was developed between Mountain Line, the City of Missoula, the University of Montana, the Missoula Downtown Association, local non-profit organizations, and major employers in the region to provide funding in support of the zero -fare program.

Sustainable Missoula started with 11 member organizations and has since grown to 24 members. The program has been successful for leveraging partnerships with the University of Montana and local employers to provide sufficient revenue for the agency, advertise Mountain Line service, and foster economic development and access to employment opportunities in Missoula. From a revenue perspective, Mountain Line has been able to generate more revenue from their funding partnership (approximately $500,000 per year) than they had previously generated through farebox revenue, while reducing administrative costs associated with fare collection. Additionally, the increased ridership on the system qualified the agency for new grant funding opportunities, including approximately $3 million in federal 5339c Low or No Emissions and 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities grants.

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Kansas City, MO
In December 2019, Kansas City passed a
resolution enabling free fares for veterans,
students, and clients of social service
organizations. Following the onset of the COVID -
19 Pandemic, this fare free service was expanded
systemwide in an effort to eliminate touch points with cash and card payments. KCATA staff have indicated that fare free service is largely responsible for mitigating ridership loss experienced by other transit agencies during the pandemic, suggesting that ridership may have dropped as much as 40% lower than it did if they had not implemented fare free service. Providing fare free service has since been extended through 2022 and will be reevaluated for a potential extension through 2023.

Fare free service is expected to result in approximately $8 million in annual foregone farebox revenue for KCATA. The city is exploring a two-pronged approach to address this funding gap. First, city council allocated $4.8 million in the 2020 -2021 budget to bridge the majority of the funding gap. Second, the city began discussions with major employers to form a funding partnership to bridge the remaining $3.2 million. While the results of any potential partnerships are not yet known, KCATA represents a hybrid approach of reappropriating municipal budget and exploring funding agreements with stakeholder groups.

Olympia, WA
In November 2018, Intercity Transit, the public
transit agency operating in Olympia, WA, passed
a voter approved ballot measure (Intercity Transit
Proposition 1) that established a 0.4% sales tax
to maintain, improve, and expand public transit
services. Without the passage of Proposition 1, Intercity Transit was facing a 15% service reduction. However, the additional sales tax revenue allowed the agency to not only preserve existing services but to also expand routes into new areas, increase service frequency, and extend operating hours. In addition to these service improvements, Proposition 1 also included funding for a five -year “zero-fare” demonstration, which went into effect on January 1, 2020. Initial results showed a substantial increase in ridership, with weekday ridership increasing 15.1% and weekend ridership increasing 49.4% (a 20% increase overall) between the months of January 2019 and January 2020.

Between all service modes, Intercity Transit generated approximately $4.1 million in farebox revenue, about 10% of annual operating expenses. This foregone farebox revenue has been replaced by the new sales tax revenue generated due to Proposition

1. Additionally, the decision to implement a zero-fare pilot saved the agency at least $1 million in farebox replacement costs and the increase in ridership is expected to qualify the agency for additional federal funding.

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Fare Scenarios
While the peer review performed in Chapter 3 of this report was used to identify best practices in fare struct ure and policies for similar agencies, any change in the fare structure for MBL would result in changes to ridership and revenue. To better understand these impacts, a fare model was developed based on existing ridership and revenue data from 2021. This in formation was then used as a baseline to understand order of magnitude changes to fare revenues and ridership as a result of specific pricing or structural changes.

Consumption of transit, like other goods and services, reacts to cost. Significant research over time has examined the sensitivity of transit ridership to fare increases. As such, elasticity factors are common in fare modeling, as they define the price sensitivity of riders to fare changes. An elastic factor suggests a larger change in ridership relative to a fare change. An inelastic factor suggests a relatively small change in ridership relative to a fare change. Informed by industry research, 4 the model accounts for elasticity factors that are consistent with industry stan dards for regular fares and instituting new fares to a system.

Using these elasticity factors, ridership changes (on a fare product basis) are determined from the proposed fare structure. A new average fare for each fare product is also calculated from the percentage change in the fare product price. Finally, multiplying the new ridership estimate by the new average fare produces a revenue estimate for that fare product.

It should be cautioned that any estimation model is an approximation based on a set of assumptions and is dependent on accurate data inputs to ensure quality outputs. The fare model bases ridership and revenue changes strictly on price variation. Qualitative factors such as customer simplicity, pandemic related shifts in transit demand, or o ther factors, like additional administrative burden, are not considered here but are certainly factors that influence ridership and revenue levels.

4 Source: TCRP Report 95, Chapter 12, Transit Pricing and Fares.

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Preliminary Fare Scenarios
Six different preliminary scenarios for fare structures and pricing changes we re developed to evaluate potential impacts to MBL ridership and revenue. These fare scenarios are described below:
▪ Scenario 1: Optimize Fares to Maximize Ridership
▪ Scenario 2: Optimize Fares to Maximize Revenue
▪ Scenario 3: Eliminate Fares for K-12 Students
▪ Scenario 4: Align with Peer Agency Best Practices
▪ Scenario 5: Simplify the Fare Structure
▪ Scenario 6: Eliminate Fares for All Passengers (low and high projections) These Scenarios represent multiple variations on the current fare structure .

MBL Existing F are Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.10 $0.75 $0.50
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 $2.00 $1.50
Monthly Pass -- $30.00 --
Dial-A-Taxi $1.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free

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Scenario 1: Optimize Fares to Maximize Ridership
Scenario 1 takes an iterative approach to adjusting fares and pass multipliers, instead looking to maximize ridership while still maintaining the collection of fares and staying consistent with peer agencies. Scenario 1 represents the maximum potential for ridership based solely on changes to the fare structure without f ully eliminating fares.

The fare structure developed to maximize ridership includes a base fare of $0.75, a reduced fare of $0.50, free transfers, a 2x multiplier for all day -pass products, and a lowered K-12 student monthly pass cost of $15.00.

This scenario attempts to maximize ridership through fare structure changes and would result in an 8% increase in ridership (158,000 additional trips). This fare structure would also generate approximately $329,000 less in annual farebox revenue, an 25% decrease.

Scenario 1 Fare Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $0.75 $0.75 $0.25
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $1.50 $1.50 $0.50
Monthly Pass -- $15.00 --
Dial-A-Taxi $1.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free
Transfers Free

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Scenario 1 Ridership and Revenue Impacts

8%
158,000
-25%
$(329,000) (400,000)
(300,000)
(200,000)
(100,000)
-
100,000
200,000
Scenario 1 - Ridership
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Scenario 2: Optimize Fares to Maximize Revenue
This scenario takes an iterative approach to adjusting fares and pass multipliers until prices are such that revenue is maximized and no longer increases with subsequent increases in fare price. Scenario 2 represents the maximum potential for farebox revenue based solely on changes to the fare structure. The fare structure developed to maximize revenue includes a base fare of $2.00, reduced fare of $1.00, removes the K- 12 student fare discount, increases day passes to a 2.25x multiplier, and $5.00 for dial - a-taxi trips. This structure generates an additional $391,000 in farebox revenue, an increase of approximately 25% over 2019 levels.

Scenario 2 represents a substantial fare increase from the baseline, especially for passengers paying for single trips, an d is expected to result in notable ridership loss, with an estimated 326,000 fewer trips (8%).

Scenario 2 Fare Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $2.00 $2.00 $1.00
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $4.50 $4.50 $2.25
Monthly Pass -- $30.00 --
Dial-A-Taxi $4.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free

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Scenario 2 Ridership and Revenue Impacts

-17%
(326,000)
30%
$391,000
(400,000)
(300,000)
(200,000)
(100,000)
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
Scenario 2 - Revenue
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Scenario 3: Eliminate Fares for K-12 Students
A common approach for transit agencies to begin exploring the potential for fare free service is through targeted programs, like providing fare free service to youth and/or K - 12 Students. The allows the agency to monitor impacts on a smaller segment of the population, and in this case, encourage continued transit use in a growing population group. The fare structure developed in Scenario 3 maintains the existing fare structure but removes the existing K-12 student fare category and instead allows them to ride fare free.

This scenario would result in a 4% increase in ridership (70,000 additional trips ). This fare structure would also generate approximately $79,000 less in annual farebox revenue, an 6% decrease.

Scenario 3 Fare Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.10 Free $0.50
Interagency Transfer $0.25 Free $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 Free $1.50
Monthly Pass -- Free --
Dial-A-Taxi $1.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free

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Scenario 3 Ridership and Revenue Impacts

4%
70,000
-6%
$(79,000) (90,000)
(70,000)
(50,000)
(30,000)
(10,000)
10,000
30,000
50,000
70,000
90,000
Scenario 3 - K-12 Fare Free
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Scenario 4: Align with Peer Agency Best Practices
Building upon the peer agency review performed in Chapter 3, this scenario uses the identified best practices in fare structure for similarly sized agencies to establish a potential fare structure. This fare structure increases the base fares to $1.25, would charge $0.50 per transfer to align with peer agency practices, would charge 3x for a day pass, adds a new monthly pass priced at 30x the base fare, and increases dial-a-taxi fares to 2x the base fare ($2.50).

The impacts to revenue and ridership of Scenario 4 include a modest 1% increase in ridership (20,000 trips) along with a $68,000 reduction in farebox revenue, a 5 % decrease over 2021 revenue.

Scenario 4 Fare Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.25 $0.75 $0.50
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.75 $2.00 $1.50
Monthly Pass $37.50 $30.00 --
Dial-A-Taxi $2.50 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free
Transfers $0.50

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Scenario 4 Ridership and Revenue Impacts

1%
20,000
-5%
$(68,000) (80,000)
(70,000)
(60,000)
(50,000)
(40,000)
(30,000)
(20,000)
(10,000)
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
Scenario 4 - Align w Peers
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Scenario 5: Simplify the Fare Structure
Scenario 5 recognizes that many other transit agencies are operating within the same geographic area as MBL that all have different fare structures, which can often create confusion for passengers. To simplify and improve the passenger experience, this far e structure seeks to create a simplified, streamlined fare structure that is easier to understand for passengers and easier to administer for MBL.

This simplified fare structure would include lowering the base fare to $1.00, removing the K-12 student discount fare, and maintaining day pass multipliers at 3x the base fare.

This scenario would still result in a 3% ridership increase (61,000 additional trips) and would generate approximately $117,000 less in annual farebox revenue, a 9% decrease.

Scenario 5 Fare Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.00 $1.00 $0.50
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 $3.00 $1.50
Monthly Pass -- -- --
Dial-A-Taxi $1.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free
Transfers Free

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Scenario 5 Ridership and Revenue Impacts

3%
61,000
-9%
$(117,000) (140,000)
(120,000)
(100,000)
(80,000)
(60,000)
(40,000)
(20,000)
-
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
Scenario 5 - Simplify
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Scenario 6: Eliminate Fares for All Passengers
This scenario represents fare free service on MBL, systemwide. The changes to ridership and revenue for this scenario are explored in detail in Chapter 4 of this report and include both a low growth and high growth scenario.

Based on elasticity factors, Scenario 6 represents the maximum ridership potential by operating systemwide fare free service, including a range between 40% and 60% overall ridership growth between both paratransit and fixed -route service. As a result of no longer charging a fare, 100% of farebox revenue would be foregone. There are additional anticipated operating cost increases associated with fare free service, explored in Chapter 4, that would result in net annual operating costs increasing between $1,342,000 and $1,393,000 due to increased operating costs associated with higher demand for paratransit service and foregone farebox revenue.

Scenario 6 Ridership and Revenue Impacts

40%
773,000
60%
1,163,000
-100%
$(1,320,000)
-100%
$(1,320,000) (1,500,000)
(1,000,000)
(500,000)
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
Scenario 6 - Fare Free (Low) Scenario 6 - Fare Free (High) Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Preferred Fare Scenario
Following a presentation of the preliminary fare scena rios and associated impacts, a preferred fare scenario was developed in coordination with MBL staff to incorporate aspects of several preliminary fare scenarios. The preferred fare scenario is intended to create a simplified, easier to understand fare stru cture that better aligns with peer agencies and continues to emphasize equity within the community.

The preferred fare scenario would raise the base fare to $1.25 and include a $0.50 transfer to align with peer agencies. However, providing transfers would necessitate providing paper transfer slips, which would require additional costs for MBL to purchase and administer. In conjunction with the base fare reduction, the reduced fare would remain at $0.50 and the dial-a-taxi fare would also remain at $1.00. K-12 students would now ride fare free and would no longer have specialized pass products at a discounted rate. This would serve to increase ridership amongst this group and reduce the administrative burden for MBL to administer an additional pass program.

The preferred fare scenario would result in an 3% increase in ridership (51,000 trips) and would generate $54,000 less in annual farebox revenue, a 4% decrease.

Preferred Fare Scenario Structure
Fare Type
Base
Fare Student Fare (K-12)
Reduced Fare
(Seniors, Disabilities)
Single Trip $1.25 Free $0.50
Interagency Transfer $0.25 $0.25 $0.10
Day Pass $3.00 Free $1.50
Dial-A-Taxi $1.00 -- --
Other Discount Policies
Children (under 4 years old) Free
Transfers $0.50

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Preferred Scenario Ridership and Revenue Impacts

3%
51,000
-4%
-$54,000 (70,000)
(50,000)
(30,000)
(10,000)
10,000
30,000
50,000
70,000
Modified Fare Scenario
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Fare Scenario Impact Summary
8%
158,000
-17%
(326,000)
4%
70,000 1%
20,000
3%
61,000
40%
773,000
60%
1,163,000
3%
51,000
-25%
$(329,000)
30%
$391,000
-6%
$(79,000)
-5%
$(68,000) -9%
$(117,000)
-100%
$(1,320,000)
-100%
$(1,320,000)
-4%
$(54,000)
(1,500,000)
(1,000,000)
(500,000)
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
Scenario 1 -
Ridership
Scenario 2 -
Revenue
Scenario 3 - K-12
Fare Free
Scenario 4 -
Align w Peers
Scenario 5 -
Simplify
Scenario 6 - Fare
Free (Low)
Scenario 6 - Fare
Free (High)
Modified Fare
Scenario
Change in Ridership Change in Farebox Revenue

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Appendix C:

Existing Conditions Report

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Montebello Bus Lines
Existing Conditions Report
December 2021

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Table of Contents
Page
1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................1-1 Montebello Moves ................................................................................................................................. 1-1 Key Findings ............................................................................................................................................ 1-2 2 MBL System Evaluation ...................................................................................................2-1 System Overview ................................................................................................................................... 2-1 System Resources ................................................................................................................................... 2-3 Ridership .................................................................................................................................................. 2-5 On-Time Performance ......................................................................................................................... 2-11 Bus Stops ................................................................................................................................................ 2-12 Line 10 Whittier Blvd ......................................................................................................................... 2-13 Line 20 San Gabriel Blvd ................................................................................................................. 2-17 Line 30 Garfield Ave ........................................................................................................................ 2-20 Line 40 Beverly Blvd .......................................................................................................................... 2-23 Line 50 Washington Blvd .................................................................................................................. 2-27 Line 60 Passons Blvd .......................................................................................................................... 2-31 Line 70 Wilcox Ave ........................................................................................................................... 2-34 Line 90 Downtown Express ............................................................................................................... 2-37 Fares ....................................................................................................................................................... 2-41 Dial-A-Taxi ............................................................................................................................................ 2-42 Montebello Link .................................................................................................................................... 2-42 3 Market Analysis ...............................................................................................................3-1 Demographic and Socio-Economic Factors ....................................................................................... 3-1 Employment ........................................................................................................................................... 3-10 4 Regional Connectivity ......................................................................................................4-1 Connecting Transit Providers ............................................................................................................... 4-1 LA Metro Bus ........................................................................................................................................... 4-4 LA Metro Rail .......................................................................................................................................... 4-8 Monterey Park Spirit Bus .................................................................................................................... 4-10 Bell Gardens Transit ............................................................................................................................ 4-12 Foothill Transit ....................................................................................................................................... 4-13 Norwalk Transit .................................................................................................................................... 4-15 Commerce Transit ................................................................................................................................ 4-17 Rosemead Explorer ............................................................................................................................. 4-19 LA GO Shuttles ..................................................................................................................................... 4-21 Alhambra Community Transit ............................................................................................................. 4-23 5 Community Feedback ......................................................................................................5-1 Virtual Public Meeting........................................................................................................................... 5-1 Pop-Up Events ........................................................................................................................................ 5-2 Stakeholder Engagement ..................................................................................................................... 5-3 On-Board Survey ................................................................................................................................... 5-5 Online Community Survey .................................................................................................................. 5-16

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1 INTRODUCTION
The City of Montebello is moving forward with public transit.

The City of Montebello has operated Montebello Bus Lines (MBL) since 1922. MBL is the third largest municipal bus system in Los Angeles County. MBL provides transit services in Montebello as well as the neighboring communities of Alhambra, Bell Gardens, Boyle Heights, Commerce, Downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, La Mirada, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead, South Gate, and Whittier.

MONTEBELLO MOVES
Study Overview
In July 2021, the City of Montebello initiated Montebello Moves, a comprehensive study that will identify ways to create a more convenient, reliable, equitable, and sustainable MBL transit system.

The initial phase of the study is a comprehensive review of the existing MBL system and connecting transit services. This phase also examines evolving market conditions in the area with an emphasis on demographics, socio-economic characteristics, and employment hubs.

Robust and meaningful community engagement is a vital component of the Montebello Moves study. Outreach efforts include an on-board rider survey, online community survey, project website, social media, virtual public meetings, and stakeholder discussions. These activities will help the City of Montebello identify transit needs and understand community priorities.

The final phase of Montebello Moves is the development of a strategic plan to guide service improvements and expansion over the next several years.

Existing Conditions Report
As the first deliverable of the Montebello Moves study, this report synthesizes service evaluation, market analysis, and initial community feedback. The report also highlights challenges and opportunities related to the design and delivery of transit service.

The report will serve as the foundation for the development of initial service alternatives, which will be presented to the community in early 2022.

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KEY FINDINGS
Extensive Route Network
Montebello Bus Lines consists of seven local routes and one express route that serve many important regional destinations such as Downtown Los Angeles, East Los Angeles College, The Shops at Montebello, and Uptown Whittier.

Unlike many small municipal transit providers in the region, Montebello Bus Lines primarily operates on major arterial streets, which enables fast and direct service.

However, the extensive coverage provided by Montebello Bus Lines also results in limited service for the City of Montebello. Less than one-quarter of MBL bus stops are situated within city limits and less than one-third of passenger boardings take place within city limits. Line 50 is excessively long, negatively impacting schedule reliability.

Figure 1-1 Montebello Bus Lines Network and Key Destinations

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Evolving Ridership Patterns
Montebello Bus Lines, along with all transit providers across the country, experienced severe ridership declines between March and July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MBL implemented significant service suspensions and reductions during this timeframe.

Since July 2020, ridership has increased steadily on most MBL routes. Weekend ridership has returned at a greater rate than weekday service, indicating the need for additional weekend service to connect riders with employment and shopping.

Strong Core Routes
Line 10 Whittier Boulevard and Line 40 Beverly Boulevard account for approximately 70% of MBL’s total system ridership. Both lines offer riders frequent service, early morning availability, and daily operation.

Insufficient Service
In contrast to Lines 10 and 40, most other MBL lines are infrequent with limited hours of service. Several MBL lines do not operate on weekends thereby forcing riders to travel longer distances to reach active MBL bus stops or find alternative transportation. Service investments such as longer hours and expanded weekend service increase access to jobs and services, particularly for riders with the greatest transit needs.

Inadequate Route Endpoints
While some MBL routes end at major destinations, several routes terminate at locations that lack a significant ridership generator and/or ideal layover space. Ridership data and the regional transit network, including the planned Gold Line extension, are key factors for evaluating the benefits and impacts of extending or truncating existing lines.

Potential Destinations
Montebello Bus Lines operates within two miles of two major higher education institutions: California State University Los Angeles and Rio Hondo College. Extending service to these campuses and/or improving schedule coordination with transit providers currently serving these campuses will be explored.

Regional Coordination
As one of many transit providers in the Los Angeles region, Montebello Bus Lines plays an important role in connecting people with places. Opportunities to improve connectivity with other transit providers and/or partner with neighboring cities will be evaluated with regards to local and regional benefits.

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2 MBL SYSTEM EVALUATION

SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Montebello Bus Lines consists of eight lines with varying frequencies and days of service (Figure 2-2). Lines 10, 20 and 40 provide frequent, daily service. Lines 30, 50, 60 and 70 are less frequent with limited weekend service. Line 90 is weekday peak hour express service.

Figure 2-1 Montebello Bus Lines Network

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Service Span and Frequency
Figure 2-2 Service Span and Frequency by Line
Weekday Early Morning Midday Afternoon Night
Line 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 Whittier Blvd
20 San Gabriel Blvd
30 Garfield Ave
40 Beverly Blvd
50 Washington Blvd
60 Passons Blvd
70 Wilcox Ave
90 Downtown Express

Line Frequencies 15-20 minutes 21-40 minutes 41-60 minutes 61-90 minutes

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SYSTEM RESOURCES
Revenue Hours
While span, frequency and coverage are the primary measures of service availability for riders, transit providers quantify system resources in terms of revenue hours and peak vehicles.

Revenue hours are defined as the time in which a bus is in service. As a system, Montebello Bus Lines provides more than 600 revenue hours on weekdays. Revenue hours drop by approximately 19% from weekdays to Saturday. Sunday service has approximately 33% less revenue hours than weekdays.

Figure 2-3 Revenue Hours by Route, September 2021

0 20
40 60
80 100
120
140
160
180
200Daily Revenue Hours
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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Peak Vehicles
Peak vehicles represent the maximum number of buses in operation for each service level (weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday). Peak vehicle counts range from 42 on weekdays to 33 on Saturdays and 28 on Sundays.

Figure 2-4 Peak Vehicles by Route, September 2021

0 2
4 6
8 10
12 14Peak Vehicles
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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RIDERSHIP
Historical System Ridership
Montebello Bus Lines experienced a significant decline in system ridership in March 2020 when service was suspended and reintroduced at a reduced level due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accurate ridership data was not collected between April and June 2020 as riders were required to rear from the back door and fares were not enforced.

Ridership has been slowly recovering since July 2020. Weekday ridership is approximately 40% less than pre-pandemic level and weekend ridership is approximately 50% lower than pre- pandemic levels.

Figure 2-5 Historical System Ridership

0 50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
500,000Average Monthly Boardings
Suspended
and
Reduced
Service

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System Ridership by Service Level
As of June 2021, Montebello Bus Lines averages 7,500 daily boardings on weekdays, 5,650 boardings on Saturdays, and 4,250 boardings on Sundays.

Figure 2-6 Ridership by Service Level

0 1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000Average Daily Boardings
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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System Productivity by Service Level
Although MBL operates fewer revenue hours on weekends, boardings per revenue is nearly identical across service levels, indicating
Figure 2-7 Ridership Productivity by Service Level

0 2
4 6
8 10
12 14Average Boardings per Revenue Hour
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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Ridership Distribution
Montebello Bus Lines ridership is highly concentrated along two corridors:
▪ Whittier Boulevard between Atlantic Boulevard and Whittwood Town Center ▪ Beverly Boulevard between downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel River Other corridor segments with high to moderate ridership include:
▪ Greenwood Avenue between Beverly Boulevard and Telegraph Road ▪ Washington Boulevard between Greenwood Avenue and Whittier Boulevard ▪ Garfield Avenue between Graves Avenue and Downtown Alhambra ▪ San Gabriel Boulevard between Valley Boulevard and the Shops at Montebello ▪ Olympic Boulevard between Hill Street and Alameda Street Figure 2-8 Weekday System Ridership

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Line Ridership
Line 10 has the highest ridership over 3,000 weekday boardings. Combined, Lines 10 and 40 constitute 70% of the total system ridership. Lines 20, 30 and 50 have moderate ridership. Lines 70 and 90 have very low ridership. Line 60 was reinstated in September 2021.

Figure 2-9 Ridership by Line, June 2021

0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500Average Daily Boardings
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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Line Productivity
Although Lines 10 and 40 generate much higher ridership than other MBL lines, ridership productivity, measured by boardings per revenue, is relatively similar for Lines 20, 30 and 50.

Lines 70 and 90 are well below industry standards for fixed-route service.

Figure 2-10 Productivity by Line, June 2021

-
2 4
6 8
10 12
14 16
18Boardings per Revenue Hours
Weekday Saturday Sunday

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ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
On-time performance is measured at scheduled timepoints. Trip segments are considered on- time if the bus departs within one minute before and 5 minutes after the scheduled time. On- time performance for Montebello Bus Lines is higher than most transit systems in the region.

Lines with on-time performance below the system average of 77% include Lines 50, 60, and 90.

Figure 2-11 On-Time Performance by Line, October 2020

68%
82%
66%
73%
77%
80%
87%
85%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
90 Downtown Express
70 Wilcox Ave
60 Passons Blvd
50 Washington Blvd
40 Beverly Blvd
30 Garfield Ave
20 San Gabriel Blvd
10 Whittier Blvd
Early On-Time Late

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BUS STOPS
The Montebello Bus Lines systems consists of more than 800 bus stops. Only 22% of bus stops are situated within Montebello city limits. Bus stops within the Montebello, Los Angeles, and unincorporated Los Angeles County account for half of bus stop total and generate 65% of system ridership. Other jurisdictions with at least 10% of the system bus stop total include Pico Rivera and Whittier. The City of Montebello does not maintain bus stops outside of Montebello city limits.

Figure 2-12 Bus Stops and Ridership by Jurisdiction

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Bus Stops Ridership

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LINE 10

WHITTIER BLVD
Line Overview

WEEKDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
Headway (minutes) 15 15 15
Cycle time (minutes) 160 160 160
Service span 4:30 AM – 9:45 PM 4:30 AM – 9:45 PM 4:30 AM – 9:45 PM On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)

Description of route: Line 10 – Whittier Blvd provides
east-west service between East Los Angeles College,
Montebello, Uptown Whittier, and Whittwood Town
Center. The route operates along Atlantic Blvd,
Whittier Blvd, Philadelphia St, and Painter Ave.

Major destinations along the line include East Los
Angeles College, Commerce Center, Downtown
Montebello, Uptown Whittier, Whittier College, and
Whittwood Town Center.

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Strengths
▪ Line 10 is the highest ridership line in the MBL system and has high on-time performance. ▪ Ridership is high along the length of the line, with the highest ridership areas including ELAC, Commerce Center, downtown Montebello, Rosemead Blvd, Uptown Whittier, and Whittwood Town Center.

Opportunities
▪ Line 10 is the strongest line in the MBL system and there are few opportunities for improvement. The route already operates with high service frequency, carries the most passengers, and has strong on- time performance.

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Line 10 Eastbound Ridership

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Line 10 Westbound Ridership

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LINE 20

SAN GABRIEL BLVD

Line Overview

WEEKDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
Headway (minutes) 30 30 30
Cycle time (minutes) 120 120 120
Service span 5:30 AM – 9:30 PM 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)
Description of route: Line 20 – San Gabriel Blvd
provides north-south service between San Gabriel,
Rosemead, Montebello, and Rancho San Antonio.

The route operates along San Gabriel Blvd, The
Shops at Montebello, Montebello Blvd, Greenwood
Ave, and operates a terminal loop to the south along
Telegraph Rd, Gage Rd, and Union St.

Major destinations served by the line include the
Rancho San Antonio neighborhood, the Shops at
Montebello, and the residential and commercial areas
near San Gabriel Blvd & Garvey Ave.

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Strengths
▪ Line 20 is an average ridership route with high on-time performance. ▪ Ridership is highest in downtown Montebello, Rancho San Antonio, near the Shops at Montebello, and in Rosemead.

Opportunities
▪ Ridership is generally low at the northern and southern termini of the line. There is an opportunity to extend or realign Line 20 to serve a stronger anchor destination at the northern and southern termini of the route.

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Line 20 Northbound Ridership Line 20 Southbound Ridership

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LINE 30

GARFIELD AVE

Line Overview

WEEKDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
Headway (minutes) 60 60 60
Cycle time (minutes) 120 120 120
Service span 5:50 AM – 9:15 PM 5:50 AM – 9:15 PM 5:50 AM – 9:15 PM On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)
Description of route: Line 30 – Garfield Ave provides
north-south service between Alhambra, Monterey
Park, Rosemead, Montebello, Commerce, Bell
Gardens, and South Gate. The line operates along
Huntington Dr and Garfield Ave.

Major destinations served by the line include several
retail areas near major intersections, most notably,
Garfield Ave & Main St in Alhambra, Garfield Ave &
Garvey Ave in Rosemead, Garfield Ave & Florence
Ave in Bell Gardens.

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Strengths
▪ Line 30 is a low ridership line with average on-time performance. ▪ Ridership is highest near downtown Montebello, Rosemead, and Bell Gardens.

Opportunities
▪ Ridership is generally low at the northern and terminus of the line. There is an opportunity to extend or realign Line 30 to serve a stronger anchor destination at the northern terminus of the route.

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Line 30 Northbound Ridership Line 30 Southbound Ridership

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LINE 40

BEVERLY BLVD

Line Overview

WEEKDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
Headway (minutes) 15 20 20
Cycle time (minutes) 150 150 150
Service span 5:00 AM – 10:00 PM 5:00 AM – 9:45 PM 5:00 AM – 9:45 PM On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)

Description of route: Line 40 – Beverly Blvd provides
east-west service between downtown Los Angeles,
Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Montebello, and
Whittier.

Major destinations include retail and employment hubs
in downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Montebello.

The line also serves three Metro L (Gold) line stations, including Maravilla, East LA Civic Center, and Atlantic stations.

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Strengths
▪ Line 40 is the second highest ridership line in the MBL system and has average on-time performance. ▪ Ridership is generally high along the length of the alignment. The line also connects to three different Metro L (Gold) Line stations, providing additional regional connectivity.

Opportunities
▪ Given the high ridership on Line 40, there may be an opportunity to improve service frequency and operate the line with 15-minute service all day, consistent with service provided by Line 10. ▪ There is an opportunity to extend or realign Line 40 to serve a stronger anchor destination at the eastern terminus, like Rio Hondo college or the Pico Bus Terminal to provide additional transfer opportunities.
▪ On-time performance may be improved by truncating service to end before downtown Los Angeles.

This would remove service from the most congested segments of the line and reduce delays.

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Line 40 Eastbound Ridership

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Line 40 Westbound Ridership

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LINE 50

WASHINGTON BLVD

Line Overview

WEEKDAY SATURDAY
Headway (minutes) 40 55
Cycle time (minutes) 210 240
Service span 4:15 AM – 8:30 PM 4:30 AM – 9:00 PM
On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)

Description of route: Line 50 – Washington Blvd
provides east-west service between downtown Los
Angeles, Wyvernwood, Commerce, Rancho San
Antonio, Pico Riviera, Whittier, and La Mirada.

Major destinations include downtown Los Angeles, LA
County Social Services, Commerce Civic Center,
Downtown Montebello, Uptown Whittier, and
California High School in Whittier.

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Strengths
▪ Line 50 is an average ridership line with below average on-time performance. ▪ Ridership is highest through downtown Montebello, Pico Riviera, and near the LA County Social Services facility.

Opportunities
▪ There may be an opportunity to shorten or remove service from low ridership areas of Line 50, including near La Mirada and the industrial areas along Washington Blvd east of downtown Los Angeles.

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Line 50 Eastbound Ridership

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Line 50 Westbound Ridership

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LINE 60

PASSONS BLVD

Line Overview

WEEKDAY
Headway (minutes) 80
Cycle time (minutes) 68
Service span 6:15 AM – 6:30 PM
On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2019)
Description of route: Line 60 – Passons Blvd
provides local north-south service between Northgate
Market and the LA County Probation Training Center
in Pico Riviera. This route was suspended during the
COVID-19 Pandemic and restored in 2021.

Major destinations include the LA County Probation
Training Center, retail destinations along Rosemead
Blvd between Beverly Blvd and Whittier Blvd and near
the intersection of Passons Blvd and Washington
Blvd.

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Strengths
▪ Line 60 is a low on-time performance line and provides local north-south connections along Passons Blvd, including to the LA County Probation Training Center. ▪ Ridership on line 60 is peak oriented, with the highest ridership at 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Opportunities
▪ There is an opportunity to extend Route 60 to provide direct, bi-directional service to Rio Hondo college, which would be a stronger destination than the LA County Probation Training Center. ▪ Ridership on the line may be improved by operating on clockface headways, at least every 60 minutes, rather than every 80 minutes as it does currently.

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Line 60 Northbound Ridership Line 60 Southbound Ridership

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LINE 70

WILCOX AVE

Line Overview

WEEKDAY
Headway (minutes) 50
Cycle time (minutes) 90
Service span 5:15 AM – 8:00 PM

On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)
Description of route: Line 70 – Wilcox Ave provides
local service within Montebello, connecting Rancho
San Antonio, the Montebello/Commerce Metrolink
station, Montebello High School, the Montebello Plaza
shopping center, and the Shops at Montebello.

This line provides local circulation between the
relatively dense residential areas in Rancho San
Antonio and the retail and employment opportunities
throughout the City of Montebello.

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Strengths
▪ Line 70 is an average on-time performance line providing north-south connections between the Rancho San Antonio neighborhood and several retail and employment destinations in the City of Montebello. ▪ Ridership is highest in the midday period, which suggests this line may be used predominately to access services.

Opportunities
▪ The line currently operates off clockface headways every 50 minutes with a 90-minute cycle time.

There may be an opportunity to improve service frequency and interline this with another line to operate more efficiently.

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Line 70 Northbound Ridership Line 70 Southbound Ridership

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LINE 90

DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

Line Overview

WEEKDAY
Headway 9 round trips per day
Cycle time (minutes) Varies
Service span 5:30 AM – 10:00 AM
3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
On-Time Performance Ridership by Time of Day

Source: City of Montebello APC Data (Oct 2020)

Description of route: Line 90 – Downtown Express is
a commuter express route that operates along Beverly
Blvd between Whittier, the Taylor Ranch park-and-
ride, Montebello, and East Los Angeles before
operating into downtown Los Angeles on Hwy 60, I-5,
and Hwy 101.

The route provides direct, limited stop service and
operates nine round trips per weekday.

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Montebello City CouncilJuly 20, 2023

Montebello City Council
July 20, 2023