After a 2021 pilot program confirmed potential advantages of “common fundamental mobility” in Oakland, town has doubled down on incentives for public transit.
A thousand residents of West Oakland shall be receiving pay as you go debit playing cards with $320 on them to be used on public transit, town stated in an announcement Thursday.
The factors? Individuals within the pilot program should reside or work in West Oakland and earn lower than the realm’s median earnings: $103,500.
Although a six-figure wage could not strike many as “low-income,” the metropolis’s information launch categorizes it as such.
The playing cards, issued on a first-come, first-served foundation, can be utilized for Clipper playing cards or on particular person fares from “BART, AC Transit, BayWheels bike share, Lime and VeoRide E-scooters, Amtrak and different types of public transportation,” town stated.
In complete, the challenge will price $400,000, and attracts on a 2021 pilot program in East Oakland that distributed as much as $150 in pay as you go playing cards to 500 residents.
Within the 2021 pilot, “40% of individuals modified the way in which they traveled,” town stated, and 23% drove alone much less typically.
“Too many West Oakland residents battle to afford their transportation prices,” stated Josh Rowan, a spokesman for Oakland’s Division of Transportation.
The challenge will assist individuals use extra sustainable transit choices “whereas lowering auto dependence and put on and tear on our roads,” he stated.
Common fundamental earnings has been a preferred subject in California, with numerous cities, together with Pomona, giving out money to assist struggling residents.
Common fundamental mobility applications are extra uncommon. A 2022 pilot program in South L.A. supplied $150 in credit in a “mobility pockets” for two,000 residents to make use of on public transit.
