Evaluating Phase 2 of the Los Angeles Mobility Wallet Program

Research Team: Caroline Rodier (lead), Yunwan Zhang, and Brian Harold

UC Campus(es): UC Davis

Problem Statement: The lack of affordable and reliable transportation faced by low-income households, especially people of color, makes accessing essential destinations and opportunities difficult. The use of Mobility Wallets is a relatively new approach cities and communities are experimenting with to address financial barriers some residents face related to travel. In these programs, participants provided funds on a debit card or other form of payment to pay for various mobility options and/or services, such as transit and shared mobility (e.g., scooter-share, bike-share, ride-hail).

Project Description: This project will evaluate the second phase of the Los Angeles Mobility Wallet program. Phase 1 (which was also evaluated by the research team as well) provided debit cards to 2,000 low-income residents in South Los Angeles to pay for transit, ride-hailing, carsharing, and other transportation options. In Phase 2, the program will expand to 1,000 low-income residents in Los Angeles County. For Phase 2, the project team will employ a randomized control trial research design that randomly assigns program applicants to control and treatment groups and collects surveys and observations before, during, and after program implementation. Relative to Phase 1 evaluations, this second phase will improve the generalizability of findings given the expanded geography, provide insights to the differential impacts of the program on low-income residents living in suburban and central city locations, and capture program impacts on the socioeconomic and health outcomes of participants.

Status: In Progress

Budget: $200,000