We’re Going Mobile!

Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash

“I can stop in any street, And talk with people that we meet, Goin’ mobile” — The Who

Yesterday it was announced that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is entering into a contract to mobilize TAP fare card payments. The TAP card is Metro’s preferred fare system, used to access all Metro bus and rail lines in the greater Los Angeles region, as well as ride 24 other local municipal public transportation systems within the region. (Yes, the LA region is really complex, and part of the complexity of public transportation is the fact that there are multiple agencies operating multiple public transportation systems in overlapping areas.)

The new mobile TAP fare card system will use an API to interface with the back-end system, and according to the press release will allow for some excellent new features:

“[the mobile TAP fare card system] will allow third-party devices to securely interact with TAP cards for authentication, top-up or debiting card and account balances. This will include the ability to use TAP account balances for third-party services such as ride or bike sharing, parking and fare subsidy programs.”

This is big news folks! One of the biggest hurdles to accessing public transportation is linking the payments for various modes — like, if a person wanted to drive to a park-and-ride lot, take a train, then take a public bike share to their destination. The new mobile payment system will theoretically link all of this together, which means no more fumbling for different fare cards or payment methods for different legs of your trip. This will definitely help in addressing Metro’s declining ridership numbers. Here are a few suggestions that I hope Metro will consider once the new mobile TAP system is up and running:

• Link bus, rail, and Metro public bike share — Currently it costs $1.75 to ride a bus or rail line. Transfers are free within a certain time limit, as long as you are going in a consistent direction (e.g., you can’t just ride a bus in a circle). The public bike share system also offers an annual program, where for $40 a year you can ride a bike share bike anytime, for 30-minutes or less, for $1.75. The bike share system currently links to the TAP card system for access only — your TAP card is used to access the bikes and monitor your usage; it is not used for payment of the bike share costs. This could all change with the new mobile TAP system, and I hope that it means soon we will get a free transfer between bus, rail, AND public bike share, as long as people are members of bike share. To really increase accessibility and mobility, the new mobile TAP system could merge with the public bike share system and simply develop a blanket fare of $1.75 for a 30-minute ride, allowing everyone to transfer between bus, rail, and bike.
• Develop dynamic parking pricing related to transit use — Currently the park-and-ride lots at terminus stations of Metro rail lines are in heavy demand. People drive to parking lots at stations along the Gold (Azusa) and Red (North Hollywood, Universal) lines, and then take the rail into Downtown LA. Metro owns or controls about 40,000 parking spaces in the County, and outside of those few stations, many of the park-and-ride lots have little parking demand. With the new mobile TAP system, Metro could initiate a demand-based pricing system to spread parking demand along other lines, so that people could park farther away at a lower cost, or closer to the terminus station for a higher cost. For example, there are a number of park-and-ride lots along the Metro Orange Line BRT corridor, which runs east-to-west between the North Hollywood Red line station and Canoga Park/Warner Center. These lots generally sit at about 25% capacity, and people drive by them on the nearby 101 freeway as they rush to get a parking space at the North Hollywood or Universal station parking lots. Some of these cars could be enticed off the freeway earlier if the drivers knew they could park at an Orange Line park-and-ride lot for a lower cost than what they would pay at North Hollywood or Universal, and still ride the Orange Line BRT to the Red line to their ultimate destination. Of course the key will be setting the right price; and as Professor Donald Shoup has taught us, there is a right price that works to manage parking demand. (Full disclosure — I’ve been part of the team working on Metro’s Supportive Transit Parking Program Master Plan)
• Mobile ticketing integrated with trip planning apps — Let’s say your a visitor to LA and you want to get around using public transportation (yeah, you’re probably visiting from Asia or Europe). When you land at LAX you notice a billboard or kiosk advertising the Go Metro mobile trip planner app. You download the app, enter your destination, and then buy your fare. No need to stop at a ticket booth to print a ticket or get a TAP card — your phone is your TAP card. You walk outside and start your journey. The app gives you real-time updates on bus or train arrivals, so you’re not wondering how long you need to wait. This is public transportation for the 21st century, and this is possible with mobile TAP!
• Business/resident/entertainment partners — What is part of your company’s benefit package was providing a monthly transit pass? What if you move into a new apartment near a Metro station and your monthly rent includes a monthly transit pass? What if your ticket to a Lakers game or Hollywood Bowl concert was also your one-day transit pass? This is now more possible with the mobile TAP system. Using the same barcodes, or using the same online platforms, it is now easier than ever to give people access to public transportation. Even better, the mobile TAP system will allow for better tracking of usage, so that if people aren’t using what they’re getting for free, Metro won’t eat the cost!

For a lot of us in the transportation profession, the concept of mobile ticketing in LA has been a long time coming. With yesterday’s announcement, I’m very excited to see that we are closer than ever. The possibilities are exciting, and will definitely improve access to public transportation and ultimately address the drop in ridership.