Additional GoMonrovia Pricing Shift May Be Needed to Stabilize Program

The recent changes have helped but the program still faces a budget deficit. – Courtesy photo / Stock Catalog (CC BY 2.0)

The Monrovia City Council held a Study Session on April 16 to review the progress being made with the GoMonrovia Lyft Stabilization Plan that council authorized in December 2018. Multiple levers were included in the plan to adjust to help make the GoMonrovia program financially sustainable in the long term. These levers have included implementing new prices as of February 2019, as well as new registration requirements for Monrovia Transit for ADA riders and Lyft Concierge for call-in dispatch services in February/March 2019. Additionally, LA County opted out of participating in the on-demand Lyft portion of the GoMonrovia program, so the unincorporated LA County areas adjacent to Monrovia were removed from the service area on April 1.

These adjustments have helped but the program still faces a budget deficit. Due to this deficit, additional program adjustments will be needed to bring GoMonrovia costs in-line with available revenues. To that end, staff will proceed with the following activities:

• Continue to monitor GoMonrovia usage closely throughout the month of April.
• Conduct additional analysis and develop plans to potentially institute a price shift of $1 – $2 for shared and regular rides. If instituted, that would impact the pricing options as follows:
  • 50 cents for shared ride to or from Old Town and the Gold Line Station. Of note, the pricing for this trip would not be impacted.
  • $2 – $3 for shared ride anywhere else in the service area.
  • $4.50 – $5.50 for a classic ride anywhere in the service area.

Staff will continue to monitor the program and its usage closely, and any necessary Lyft per-ride pricing changes will be brought forward for City Council review in May/June.

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