Source: https://bsky.app/profile/metrolosangeles.bsky.social/post/3ma7hazcnad2h
LA Metro is offering free rides on its system to encourage more ridership and less driving on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Metro Micro is offering free rides with promo code: Merry25 on Dec 24th and Ring 26 on Dec 31st. And LA Metro Bike Share is offering free 30-minute rides from Dec 24th through Jan 1st with promo code: 010126.
While not as many transit agencies are offering free rides on Dec 24th (as compared to Dec 31st), here are the other transit agencies I found offering free rides on Dec 24th:
*LADOT: Commuter Express & DASH
*Montebello Bus Lines (Dec 24th & Dec 25th)
If anyone else finds anymore Dec 24th free ride days, let me know and I'll update the list.
Happy Holidays out there!
Why not the whole day of Christmas?
I think the aim is to reduce the deaths from drunk drivers?
It’s five o’clock somewhere 🥂
It would still be good to have free fares on Christmas Day (and New Year's Day) to avoid any confusion from riders. I hear it especially gets confusing for riders heading to the Rose Floats on New Year's Day when they say they thought it was Free on New Year's Day (but it was only Free for the day before).
Maybe they don't have the money to extend it? It's not like Metro is already known for high fare evasion on regular days, so that comes to bite back that they don't have the money to extend it to all day on Christmas and New Years. Maybe next year we'll see the results from taller fare gates and TAP to Exit bringing more extra revenue and that might help extend the free fare days over the winter holidays.
It costs about $2.7 billion a year to run Metro bus/rail operations (see below, and keep in mind we should not inclusive of running Metro Expresslanes, freeway patrol, earmarks to Metrolink and other agencies, subsidies to rideshare companies that have nothing to do with the costs of running Metro bus/rail itself), so that comes to about $7.4 million per day to run it.
If the amount of fares recovered went up from $174.6 million to $182 million, or a 4% increase in fares recovered, then that can help run an extra day in Christmas or New Years. Certainly 4% increase in fare revenue is likely doable considering several stations that have gotten the new gates and TAP to Exit have seen a 60-100% increase in fares being recovered. When we start enforcing fares on regular days, that ends up helping out with more free fare days on holidays.
https://preview.redd.it/8a4j0ngyws8g1.jpeg?width=5100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30f696794970bc3f013653a280a95c43091e6944
Always funny how the obvious fake accounts have all these charts to push an agenda as well.
I wish more actual riders actually posted on this sub to call this out.
But it was free for the entirety of the pandemic?
Can't keep running it for free forever, it's like not having any income coming in and whipping out a credit card and withdrawing from your savings to get by in an emergency situation. Sooner or later you max out your credit and you run out of built up emergency savings.
And no, LA isn't like Luxembourg or Kansas City so no need to bring that up either. And no, it's not a library either so no need to make that argument either.
Does anyone know if the incoming rainstorm might affect the Metro?
Haven't heard anything yet. But check the Metro Alerts before traveling and probably leave earlier tomorrow to make sure you reach your destination on time.
Wait...people pay?