Funding

Propostion A

Prop A Answered Mobility Challenges In LA

Key funding source was the first to generate revenues that were used to build the Metro Rail system and a host of other rail and bus projects.

Proposition A was the first of its kind to bolster the County's ability to respond to gridlock and mobility challenges in LA. Approved by voters in November 1980, Prop A is a half-cent sales tax dedicated to transportation funding.
Prop A funded municipal transportation projects, improved bus service and initiated plans for a light rail system underway. Between July 1, 1982 and June 30, 1985, bus fares were subsidized at 50-cents thanks to Prop A.

Prop A also subsidized an unlimited use transfer charge of 10 cents; a basic monthly transit pass of $20; a monthly transit pass of $4 for the elderly, handicapped and students; and, commensurate reductions in express fares.

One-fourth of the funds go to Local Return Programs. These are local jurisdictions, including the 88 cities in the county as well as the unincorporated portion of the county. The monies help these entities develop and improve local public transit, paratransit and related transportation infrastructure. The funds distributed on a formula basis by population. Local Return funds can't be used for rail service or highways.

Prop A has funded many critical transportation improvements and projects:

• Downtown L.A. to Long Beach. Completed (22 miles). The Metro Blue Line to Long Beach opened as initially conceived.
• Downtown L.A. to North Hollywood. Completed (16 miles). The Metro Red Line subway was opened to North Hollywood in 2000. The first section from Union Station to Alvarado St. opened in January 1993. The second section from Alvarado to Western opened in July 1996, while the portion from Vermont to Hollywood/Vine opened in June 1999. The Hollywood/Highland segment was ready in 2000.
• Century Freeway Corridor. Completed (20 miles). The Metro Green Line opened in August 1995.
• Pasadena Corridor. Completed (13.7 miles). The Metro Gold Line opened in 2003.
• San Fernando Valley (east-west) Corridor. Completed (14.5 miles of busway). Metro approved a busway on the SP Burbank Branch purchased by the agency in 1990. The Metro Orange Line opened in 2005.
• Santa Ana Corridor. Partial Progress. To handle the passenger demand estimated for this corridor, the rail project was to have been an eastward extension of the Metro Red Line through East Los Angeles turning south at Atlantic Boulevard, then continuing to at least Norwalk. In the mid-1990s, however, East Los Angeles opted for a light rail alternative connected directly to the Metro Gold Line. The line is expected to open this year. Metrolink's Orange County Line was started in 1994 and does help serve long-distance commuters within the Santa Ana Corridor.
• West Los Angeles (east-west) Corridor. Small Segment completed (one mile as part of the Metro Red Line). The Western Ave. "stub" can be thought of as the initial segment of a rail line serving this corridor. In 2005, Metro approved building the light rail Exposition Line to Culver City and a current Draft Environmental Impact Report is available for public comment to extend the line to Santa Monica.
• West Los Angeles (north-south) Corridor. Small segment completed (1.5 miles as part of the Metro Green Line). The extension of the Metro Green Line into the El Segundo employment area was the initial rail segment within this corridor. The plan was to expand incrementally north and south from the Metro Green Line; the three-way connection is in place to support this expansion.
• The El Monte Corridor. Substantially Completed (11 miles). The San Bernardino Metrolink commuter line to Claremont was inaugurated in 1992 and was extended to San Bernardino six months later.
• The Glendale Corridor. Partially Completed (via Metrolink service).

Proposition C

Prop C provides funding to critical transportation projects and programs, including services to help stranded motorists on freeways, bus and rail improvements and carpool lanes.

Proposition C funds are allocated to a variety of capital and operating projects and programs that improve transit service and operations, reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and efficiently operate and improve the condition of streets and freeways utilized by transit.

Prop C was approved by Los Angeles County voters in November 1990 with revenues generated by a half-cent sales tax. By ordinance, revenues from Proposition C are allocated into categories including Rail & Bus Security; Commuter Rail, Transit Centers, and Park and Ride Lots; Local Return; and Transit Related Improvements to Streets and Highways.

Thanks to Prop C, many new services were available to commuters. Here are some of the Prop C programs and projects:

Metro Freeway Service Patrol

The Metro Freeway Service Patrol (MFSP). Formed in 1991, this service provides free assistance to motorists stranded for whatever reason on the County’s 450 miles of highways. The MFSP currently assists an average of 25,000 motorists each month, approximately 300,000 a year. Statistics show that on more than 70% of the assists made, the wait time for tow truck service is less than five minutes. The MFSP operates 152 tow trucks jointly managed by Metro, the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).

Carpool Lanes

Maintenance of the 296 “lane miles” of carpool – or HOV, High-Occupancy Vehicle – lanes currently accessible on the region’s highway grid. The most significant of these is the 7.8-mile carpool lane on the southbound I-405 (San Diego) Freeway, which connects the I-101 (Ventura) and West Los Angeles through the Sepulveda Pass. The I-405 carpool lane cost $22.7 million to construct with approximately 90% of the cost funded by Proposition C. Already operating the largest freeway carpool lane network in the nation, Metro now has an additional 51 lane miles under construction, 104 lane miles in design, and 197 lane miles in the planning phase.

One of a Kind Pass Program

Creation of the first-of-its-kind Regional Transit Pass Program in Los Angeles County. In the summer of 2002, Metro instituted the new EZ-Pass, which gave transit riders the option of unlimited travel using a monthly regional pass on the Metro Bus and Rail systems and on the fixed route bus networks of 11 regional municipal bus operators. The program was instituted to create a “common currency” among the region’s transit operators and help alleviate the frustration of riders compelled to carry extra cash or purchase additional transit passes.

Back to Top

Federal Stimulus

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law economic stimulus legislation known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Metro is currently seeking to secure and program funding made available through ARRA to invest in local transportation projects that are aimed at increasing mobility and reducing traffic in LA County. Funding that becomes available will be used to accelerate existing projects, fund additional projects, create jobs and stimulate the local economy. As more information becomes available, this page will be updated to provide an overview of what funding was secured and where it will be invested.

For more information on the ARRA, please visit The Recovery Act website

Back to Top