MTA Launches Prepaid Monthly Ride Passes

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday the launch of a new prepaid pass that planners hope will usher in more efficient travel on buses and trains countywide. The MTA’s Regional EZPass will go on sale Aug. 25, available at MTA transit centers, officials at the agency said.

The monthly pass, aimed at simplifying commutes by allowing unlimited travel through most of the county’s bus and train system for a $58 base fare, is a predecessor to a computer chip-embedded card that the MTA plans to start selling in the next three years.

“If you frequently travel long distances and end up using multiple bus agencies, this pass is going to make life a lot easier,” said Ed Scannel, an MTA spokesman. “You won’t have to worry about paying extra cash for transfers or having to buy new tickets all the time.”

The foundation of the county’s transit network is made up of the MTA’s three rail lines and its fleet of about 2,200 buses. Augmenting the MTA are about a dozen transit companies, among them Long Beach Transit and Santa Monica Big Blue Bus. The multitude of agencies can make commuting cumbersome, particularly for people traveling long distances, because many of the agencies do not accept bus transfers and tokens of competitors.

The MTA and its partners in the plan, 11 of the largest Los Angeles County transit companies, provide about 500 million bus and rail trips per year, according to Scannel.

The pass is the first step in an MTA plan to develop a pass allowing riders to use the entire countywide transit network, including the Metrolink rail system and taxi service for the disabled. That pass, which the MTA is developing under an $84-million contract, will be embedded with a computer chip. Riders will pay their fare by swiping the card near a sensor as they board. Planners hope the new chip will speed boardings and allow them to improve tracking of ridership trends.