Last month, Monrovia considered a $1 to $2 price increase for Lyft rides through its transportation program, GoMonrovia. But, after analyzing April’s ridership, city officials determined that wasn’t enough.
The City Council last week approved a new Lyft price list of $2.50 for shared rides and $5 for classic rides. Trips to Old Town Monrovia and the Gold Line station will still cost 50 cents.
Councilwoman Gloria Crudgington said she hopes this is the last price adjustment for GoMonrovia, which has been operating as a pilot program.
When the popular program launched in March last year, it started with rates set at 50 cents per ride to and from Old Town and the Gold Line station, 50 cents shared rides, and $3 standard rides.
This year, Monrovia has tried to stabilize Lyft services and funding by requiring registration for the Lyft Concierge — the dial-in service for those without smartphones — raising prices to $1 for shared rides and $3.50 for classic rides, while maintaining 50 cent rides to Old Town and the Gold Line. It also updated an agreement with Bradbury to exclude it from the service area and ensure Bradbury reimburses Monrovia for all rides to and from the city to the east.
“We also had a service area reduction by about 31% because of L.A. County opting out of the program” last month, said Brittany Mello, city manager’s assistant.
In January, February and March, GoMonrovia saw about 70,000 to 75,000 rides per month, Mello said. “That went down about 40%, to a total of about 46,000 rides” in April, Mello said.
Despite dropping the Bradbury and unincorporated county service areas, GoMonrovia costs still need to be trimmed by about $340,000 per year, according to a staff report. April’s Lyft rides cost the city about $177,000. That number needs to be cut to $100,000 per month to fully stabilize the program, the report reads.
With the previous changes, the city projected $1.8 million in annual Lyft costs, Mello said. “We only have about $1.2 million available in transportation revenues; the new pricing will get us down to about $91,000 per month, or $1.1 million per year, which would align with our transportation revenues,” Mello said.
Councilwoman Becky Shevlin suggested a classic, private ride price of $4.50. “It might look more palatable. Someone’s response to $5 might be, ‘I’m not even going to look at (Lyft)’,” Shevlin said.
But Crudgington said that subsidizing private rides would decrease Monrovia’s credibility for encouraging environmentally sound transportation. “If I’m looking at $5 (compared) to $2.50, I’m more likely to share a ride,” Crudgington said.
Ultimately, the council voted unanimously for the $5 private ride $5 option.
Councilman Alex Blackburn suggested the city will consider making Lyft rides to medical facilities 50 cents to match Monrovia Transit ADA dial-a-ride prices. “That would cost us less than sending the (Monrovia Transit) van out,” Mayor Tom Adams said.
The City of Hope, which traditionally hires shuttle buses, recently told Monrovia that it would rather have patients use GoMonrovia than have to pay for shuttles, Chi said. Adams suggested making City of Hope Monrovia’s Lyft partner, if it agrees.
Hotels have also been advertising GoMonrovia to avoid running their own shuttles as much, Chi said.
Monrovia Transit users have been complaining about the recently deployed smaller vans, according to a city manager’s update. The city is looking at different types of ADA accessible vehicles for the program which will match the small vans’ efficiency while appeasing dial-a-ride users, according to the update.
The price changes will take effect June 1.
