Should LA's train and bus rides be free? Karen Bass may soon decide
LOS ANGELES — Should it be free to use the public rail and bus systems in Los Angeles County? That's a question incoming Mayor Karen Bass may soon have to answer.
As one of Mayor Eric Garcetti's last acts on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, he revived a conversation about free bus and rail service. On his last day, Garcetti asked the agency to study what such a change would entail.
It's an issue that Bass — who will replace Garcetti on the board, which has 13 voting members, and will appoint three others — will be forced to deal with this summer, when the study is due to be delivered.
Ending fares will be an early test to see whether she can follow through on a campaign promise and balance some of the sticky issues involved.
Critics and even supporters say the switch could add to an influx of homeless people that has kept some commuters off buses and trains. And it would not be cheap: Early estimates by Metro place the cost of eliminating fares countywide at $1 billion
