Public Hearing
Big Blue Bus Fare Proposal
Department of Transportation
February 10, 2022
Existing Fare Structure
Ride/Pass Type Regular Senior/Disabled/
Medicare (S/D/M)
Single Ride $1.10 – TAP only
$1.25 – Cash or Mobile
$0.50
1-Day $4 $1.50
7-Day $14 -
13-Ride $14 $6
30-Day* $50 $24
Annual Pass $500 -
*Youth 30-Day Pass available for $38, temporarily $19
2 Contactless Fares* Pilot Purpose
1. Enhance customer and Motor Coach Operator
safety, especially during pandemic
2. Assess operational and customer impacts:
• Expected faster boarding and travel times
• Financial impacts (allowing for lowering fares)
• Customer adaptability to contactless fares
• Impact on vulnerable customers
• Impact on customers without smartphones
and/or data plans
3. Update fare structure and policies based on findings *”Contactless fare:” Passenger makes no contact with farebox (i.e., no cash or paper tickets used) during boarding 3 Contactless Fares Pilot Timeline
4 Feb 14, 2021 • Paper passes no longer
sold but still accepted
• New promo Single Ride
fare $1 Regular & $0.40
S/D/M for contactless
(TAP & mobile ticket)
Apr 18, 2021 • Paper passes no longer
accepted on board
July 12, 2021 • Cash & tokens no longer
accepted on board
• Only contactless fares
accepted
Contactless Fares Pilot
Customer Support
• Distributed 3,500+ free TAP 30-Day passes
• Distributed 6,000+ free mobile ticket 30-Day passes
• Conducted 2,000+ hours of 1-on-1 outreach on buses & at bus stops
• Reduced Single Ride fares to $1 Regular and $0.40 S/D/M • Enabled riders to self-declare S/D/M eligibility for mobile ticket reduced fare
• Promoted Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program, benefits only available to TAP Card users 5
Contactless Fares Pilot Customer Support
(cont.)
• Paper tickets could be exchanged for contactless fares • Created a map of TAP sales locations in BBB service area • Customer Service Agents assisted vulnerable riders with adapting to contactless fares
6 Contactless Fares Pilot Customer Support
(cont.)
• Bilingual outreach campaign communicating how to
access contactless fares
• New TAP ticket vending machines at Rimpau Transit
Center & LAX City Bus Center
• Worked with SMC to
move bus passes to
contactless fares
7 Contactless Fares Pilot Customer Fare Usage
8 Customer Impacts
• Safer, more hygienic fare payment with
cash handling eliminated
• Faster fare payment: average customer
saved 12 hours of travel time annually
• Lower fares: savings on cash collection
passed on to customers; average
customer saved $76.50 annually
• Ready access to free & discounted fares
available only on TAP (e.g., LIFE)
9 BBB Operational & Financial Impacts
Category Impact
Bus Frequency Nearly 15,000 hours saved annually allows for higher service frequency (adds 56 weekday bus trips); no added cost to BBB Faster Travel Exclusively contactless fares save an average BBB patron 12 hours per year of waiting for others to board and pay their fares Lower Fares No cash handling or farebox maintenance mean lower fares Fewer Service
Disruptions
Not collecting bills & coins means fewer delays and contactless fare collection rarely breaks down to interrupt service Equity BBB policy of offering customers complimentary rides if they don’t have contactless fares reduces barriers to service 10 Concerns Regarding Contactless Fares
• Disenfranchisement – Challenges for unbanked, underbanked, or those without smartphones & data plans
• Confusion possible for new customers, tourists, & non-regular customers about obtaining contactless fares
• Inconvenience likely due to limited TAP card reload sites • Anxiety in regular customers that contactless fares may not work (no backup cash option)
• Left Behind - Customers without contactless
fares might be denied service
11 BBB Response to Contactless Fare Concerns
• Complimentary rides for customers without contactless fare with signs on every bus that no customer is refused a ride
• TAP vendor locations in service area checked & issues addressed • LIFE applications now accepted at BBB Transit Store
• GoPass, offering free transit to K-12 students at
participating schools, adopted by BBB
• Onboard QR code for instant access to mobile
ticketing
12 BBB Response to Contactless Fare Concerns (cont.)
13 • Encourage BBB fare sales by offering commissions to TAP vendors • Free rides to ages 5 & under (currently 4 & under) to close age gap with GoPass and let more K-12 children ride free
• Keep free & discounted fare programs accessible by working with social service agencies to expand awareness and participation • Accept Metro 1-Day pass (Regular & S/D/M) to reduce
confusion in new customers, tourists, & other
non-regular customers
Goals of New Fare Structure
Lower fares to support passengers &
increase ridership
Maintain improvements to safety &
travel time resulting from contactless
fares
Simplify fare structure
Align fare products with customer
preferences
14 Proposed Fare Structure
Contactless Fares Only
(No Cash, tokens, or paper passes accepted on board)
Ride/Pass Regular S/D/M
Single Ride1 $1 $0.50
10-Ride1 $9 $4.50
30-Day** $30 $20
1 Free BBB-to-BBB Transfers within 2 hours for a one-way trip ** Youth 30-Day Pass for $38, temporarily $19
- Children 5 and under ride free
- Courtesy rides for customers who need to obtain TAP card or mobile ticket - Interagency transfer policy set at regional level, currently $0.50 Regular and $0.25 S/D/M 15 Existing vs Proposed Fare Structure
EXISTING
Cash, Paper Passes, Token, Contactless Fares
Accepted on Board
PROPOSED
Contactless Fares Only (TAP & Mobile Ticket)
No Cash, tokens, or paper passes accepted on
board
Ride/Pass Regular S/D/M Ride/Pass Regular S/D/M
Single Ride $1.10*/$1.25 $0.50 Single Ride1 $1 $0.50
1-Day $4 $1.50 10-Ride1 $9 $4.50
7-Day $14 - 30-Day** $30 $20
13-Ride $14 $6
30-Day** $50 $24
Annual $500 -
* $1.10 only on TAP, $1.25 Cash or Mobile Ticket
** Youth 30-Day Pass for $38, temporarily $19
- Children 4 and under ride free.
1 Free BBB-to-BBB Transfers within 2 hours
** Youth 30-Day Pass available for $19
- Children 5 and under ride free
- Courtesy rides for riders who need a TAP card or mobile ticket 16 Summary of Proposed Fare Structure Changes • Allow only contactless fares on board (no cash, tokens or paper passes) • End $1 Regular & $0.40 SDM Contactless Fare Pilot promotional fares • Reduce Regular Single Ride fare from $1.10/$1.25 to $1.00 • Simplify fare structure by eliminating underutilized 1-Day, 7-Day, and Annual passes • Change 13-Ride pass to new 10-Ride pass at $9.00 Regular and $4.50 S/D/M • Add free BBB-to-BBB transfers within 2 hours one-way on Single Ride and 10-Ride passes • Reduce price of Regular 30-Day ($50 to $30) and S/D/M 30-Day ($24 to $20) Passes, and make permanent the sale price of $19 for Youth 30-Day Pass • Increase age limit for free rides from “4 and under” to “5 and under” • Offer courtesy rides to customers who need to obtain a TAP card or mobile ticket • Accept Metro 1-Day Pass & Metro 1-Day S/D/M Pass • Customers will have one year to use any discontinued fare products 17 Other Proposed Fare-Related Policy Changes
• Develop a program to identify & address the fare needs of vulnerable populations
• Work with partner agencies to ensure new fare policy does not cause disenfranchisement and all riders have access to contactless fares & eligible reduced fare options
• Pay commissions to retailers selling BBB
passes on TAP, encouraging retailers to
offer BBB products and expanding
access to contactless fares for unbanked
transit customers or those without
smartphones and data plans
18 Title VI Fare Equity Analysis
• To study whether proposed changes result in disparate negative impacts on minority populations and/or disproportionate burden on low-income populations
• Analysis found many of the proposed changes will benefit minority & low-income populations due to generally reduced fare prices for all groups
• Only elimination of 13-Ride Pass results in negative disparate impact on minority populations; proposed replacement of 13-Ride Pass with new 10-Ride Pass serves as mitigation to that impact • Proposed changes do not result in a disproportionate burden on the low-income population 19
Timeline
20 February 10, 2022
Public Hearing
February 17, 2022
Close Public
Comment Period
April 12, 2022
Present Proposal
to City Council &
Request
Approval
June 22, 2022
Implement
Council
Direction
Questions/Comments
21