The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is scheduled to resume bus fare collection on Monday, January 10 and encourages low-income riders to enroll in the agency’s Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) discount fare program to receive deeply discounted fares for the next six months.
Riders can submit their LIFE discounted fare applications to Metro at any time in the following ways:
Submit online: Riders can apply online at metroexemplifi.wpengine.com/life or www.taptogo.net/life. Riders can click on the “Apply Now” button or link and complete a simple four-step process to complete their online applications. The application, available in English and Spanish, is optimized for mobile devices and will allow users to easily upload any needed identification documents.
Email: Riders who live in the Antelope Valley, Central Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, South Bay or Westside Cities can email their applications to lifeinfo@famecorporations.org. Riders who live in the Gateway Cities or San Gabriel Valley can email their applications to lifeinfo@iilosangeles.org.
Metro Customer Centers: Riders can also get and fill out LIFE applications at any Metro Customer Care Center in Los Angeles County. Click here for a complete list of Customer Center locations. Applications can also be handed in at the Big Blue Bus’s “Blue: The Transit Store” in Santa Monica.
Metro has simplified the LIFE application for riders to make it much easier to complete. Riders just need to provide basic information about themselves and any household members applying for the discount. A photo of an ID may be uploaded using a smartphone as part of any application, and applicants without proof of income are now able to self-certify their income during the application process.
Deeply Discounted Fares
To provide financial relief to as many of its transit customers as possible, half-price passes are on sale now to transit riders and will be available through July 2022 as a promotional fare.
With the discount, pass fares are:
- $3.50 for a Day Pass
- $12.50 for a Weekly Pass
- $50 for a 30-Day Pass
Low-Income Fare Is Easy (LIFE) Program
There will be even greater discounts for low-income riders who are eligible to enroll in the LIFE program. See metroexemplifi.wpengine.com/life for information on eligibility. Through July 2022, Metro will be offering steeply discounted passes as follows:
- $26 for a 30-day pass that normally costs $76 (a $50 savings).
- $6.50 for a 7-Day pass that normally costs $19.50 (a $13 savings).
Additionally, newly enrolled LIFE participants will get 90 days of free rides starting January 10, 2022, when fare collection restarts. Metro encourages all riders who are qualified but not yet signed up to act now and take full advantage of this program. Discounts translate to less than a dollar a day for unlimited rides on the Metro Bus and Rail System. After the 90 days of free rides expire, customers can purchase discounted LIFE fares. Riders without a TAP card can now request one on the LIFE application for themselves and each member of their household.
In March 2020, Metro relaxed its rule requiring bus riders to use the farebox or TAP validator at the front of the bus as part of its switch to rear-door boardings to help ensure COVID-19-related social distancing between riders and operators. Selected Metro Rail lines such as the B (Red) and D (Purple) Lines, among others, have consistently required fare gate payments via TAP card throughout the pandemic.
Due to recent COVID-19 surge, all in-person LIFE program enrollment events in January have been cancelled.
Metro reminds all riders that face masks are required on public transit as per federal law.
To obtain more information about all of Metro’s available discounted fare programs, please visit metroexemplifi.wpengine.com/fares.
Editor’s Note: Metro Operators are crucial to keeping LA moving. Metro is currently hiring more than 500 bus operators and is offering a $3,000 bonus for coming aboard. This is a great career opportunity. Metro offers competitive hourly rates starting at $17.75 for a 30-hour job as bus operators with benefits that include health insurance, tuition reimbursements, paid training, retirement plan options and flexible working hours. Please encourage friends, family and community members to become a part of the Metro team that provides excellence in service and support and keeps our region moving. Apply at metro.net/driveLA.
About Metro The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is currently providing lifeline service for essential trips and frontline workers. Metro continues building the most ambitious transportation infrastructure program in the United States and is working to greatly improve mobility through its Vision 2028 Plan.
Metro has proudly pledged to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Health and Safety Commitment Program to help ensure the safe return of transit riders as the U.S. recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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