Project Summary
A lack of reliable and affordable transportation exacerbates socioeconomic inequities for low-income communities, especially people of color. Mobility wallets (MW) are a relatively new approach to addressing financial barriers to travel among the transport-disadvantaged to use at their discretion. Currently, there are a limited number of implemented MW pilots in the US and even fewer which specifically recruit low-income households. These programs are all small (150-500 members), and only one has published a peer-review survey analysis. LA’s Universal Basic Mobility Wallet Pilot is a notable addition to equity-focused mobility wallets. In total, 2,000 people will receive $150 per month for shared transportation services for one year. LA Metro began distributing monthly stipends via a pre-paid debit card to 1,000 people in May 2023 (Phase I) and UCLA and UC Davis have collected baseline surveys and interviews with participants. These data serve to answer the following questions: Will the MW increase participants’ access to opportunities? Will the MW reduce participants’ travel related-greenhouse gas emissions? Will the MW improve participants’ economic and health outcomes? This proposal focuses on extending the qualitative data collection for all of the Phase I participants and collect baseline and mid-program data for Phase II participants.
