Date: April 15, 2025
Author(s): Madeline Brozen, tamika l. butler, Madeline Wander, Evelyn Blumenberg, Sang-O Kim
Abstract
Universal basic mobility is a growing transportation concept rooted in the belief that everyone should be able to travel to the places they need — and want — to go in ways that best suit their lives and households. Reliable transportation access is essential to quality of life, yet barriers remain, especially for low-income people of color. In 2023, Los Angeles joined a small but growing number of cities in piloting a Mobility Wallet program. LA Metro and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) now provide transportation funds to low-income travelers as part of a larger commitment to advancing universal basic mobility.
Additional transportation resources may allow participants to expand their travel options, using new travel modes, reaching more destinations and improving their quality of life. Our research examined whether and how this occurred, focusing on outcomes for participants during and after the one-year pilot program.
About the Project
Mobility wallets are a relatively new approach to addressing financial barriers to travel among transport-disadvantaged communities. Individuals are provided with funds to pay for a range of mobility options, including transit and shared modes, at their discretion. Los Angeles’s Universal Basic Mobility Pilot will include at least 5,000 participants from the social justice community of South LA and monthly stipends that range from $24 to $150 loaded onto the local transit TAP card. The transit agency (LA Metro) has recruited local electric carshare, ride-hail, bikeshare, and scootershare programs to accept the TAP card as payment.