County Bus Pass Issued
By David Servatius
Corsair Staff Writer

In an effort to make life a little easier for Los Angeles county residents who use public transportation, MTA and other local municipal transit systems on Sept. 1 implemented the Los Angeles County Regional Transit Pass, known commonly as the Regional EZ Pass. The new pass allows frequent users of multiple bus, rail and subway systems to board using a single “passport” for all travel.

The pass is honored for unlimited travel on 12 different countywide transit systems that operate a total of almost 400 different routes. Plans are in the works to include Metrolink and other transit systems in L.A. and adjacent counties at some point in the near future.

“Riders of multiple systems will no longer be forced to carry extra cash or purchase additional passes, and we believe the added simplicity will encourage thousands of other commuters to try public transit,” said MTA Board Chair Hal Bernson. “The Regional EZ Pass also will speed boardings and eliminate the need for transfers.”

According to Bernson, anyone who regularly uses two or more of the participating systems will benefit greatly. These riders will no longer have to purchase and carry two or three different passes or tokens to complete their daily commutes, making travel a faster and more seamless experience.

The Regional EZ Pass went on sale Aug. 25. The published cost is $58 per month, $29 for seniors, the disabled and Medicare recipients. Passes are available at sales outlets for any of the 12 individual systems. Existing passes for each of the individual systems will continue to be sold and honored, with no changes in cost or availability.

The individual systems participating in the Regional EZ Pass program currently offer service locally in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Santa Monica, Culver City, Long Beach, Montebello, Norwalk, Torrance, Santa Clarita, the City of Commerce, Gardena and the Foothill areas.

According to the MTA, the new program is expected to cost about $2 million over the coming year. It will be funded exclusively by local transit sales tax revenues generated from the passage of Propositions A and C by L.A. County voters in 2000.

The Bus Riders Union, a nonprofit membership organization that represents the mass transit needs of the transit-dependent, largely applauded the move by MTA and other local operators, with some reservations.

“While we do view it as a positive development for MTA to integrate transit systems and establish uniform fares countywide, the $58 cost is still prohibitive for many of the people who are most dependent on public transportation,” said Deborah Orosz, an organizer with the Union.

The Regional EZ Pass was first envisioned by MTA in 1990, and has been developed over the past decade by a multi-operator task force comprised of officials from different county transit systems. The program was initially rolled out on a small scale last December when Montebello Bus Lines began accepting MTA passes on all of its routes. Shortly afterward, the MTA system and the Foothill and Long Beach transit systems began honoring a common pass.

According to MTA CEO Roger Snoble, this month’s countywide implementation of the Regional EZ Pass completes the first phase in the development of a universal fare system throughout most of L.A. County and the surrounding areas. The universal fare system is part of a larger-scale plan to create a vast, integrated transit system employing state-of-the-art electronic “smart card” technology.

The electronic smart card concept is already being used by many major transit systems nationwide and around the world. Riders on these systems board using a plastic, wallet-sized card embedded with a computer chip containing data on cash balances for individual fare purchases, monthly pass payment status, and more. Pilot testing of the first smart cards is set to begin in L.A. County sometime next year.

According to Snoble, the ultimate goal of these programs is to increase public transportation ridership by making it a faster and more attractive option, to relieve traffic congestion, and to improve air quality. It is also estimated that full implementation of the smart card system will save the county about $158 million over the next 10 to15 years by reducing the incidence of fraud.

“If we can make the public transportation system as attractive as possible, people who currently depend on the automobile, and not only the transit-dependent, will be drawn to it,” said Snoble. “The universal fare system will mean faster boardings at bus stops and faster trips. The smart card will reduce MTA’s exposure to fare fraud and counterfeiting.”

The debut of the completed universal fare and electronic smart card systems is expected within three years.