Metro offers free bus, rail and bike fares on election day
![A Metro bus driver wears a mask.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9994690/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2400x1600+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc3%2F01%2F21b23e3745cc8209fcc874da7c22%2Fla-photos-1staff-523655-me-0411-coronavirus-saturday-006.IK.jpg)
In an effort to encourage voter turnout, Los Angeles Metro is offering free fares on public transit all day on election day.
Riders can ride any Metro bus or train free of charge until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
The Metro bike share program will also offer free 30-minute rides through midnight, “so that everyone has a chance to roll to the polls,” the agency said. Rides longer than 30 minutes will cost $1.75 for each additional half-hour.
Two stations, Union Station West and El Monte Station, have been turned into voting centers, which will be open until 8 p.m.
For those who wish to securely drop off their ballots, official drop boxes have been placed at several Metro stations:
- A Line (Blue): Willow and Willowbrook/Rosa Parks
- B Line (Red): Union Station, North Hollywood, 7th Street/Metro Center, Hollywood/Western, Vermont/Santa Monica, Wilshire/Vermont
- C Line (Green): Aviation/LAX, Norwalk, Harbor Freeway Station
- E Line (Expo): Expo/Vermont, La Cienega/Jefferson, Downtown Santa Monica
- J Line (Silver): El Monte Bus Station, Harbor Freeway Station, Harbor Gateway Transit Center
- G Line (Orange): Sepulveda Station, North Hollywood
- L Line (Gold): Mariachi Plaza, Sierra Madre Villa
Photos: Election day voting is over but the counting continues.
Metro is also partnering with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Culver City Bus, Glendale, Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority and Pasadena Transit to provide free or reduced-fare services.
In 2019, Metro’s board of directors voted to permanently offer free rides on federal and statewide election days to make it easier for people to travel to the polls, the agency said.
“The idea was to remove any potential barriers that we can, as a transit agency, in getting people to vote,” Metro spokesman Brian Haas said. “Our job is to move people around L.A. County as easily as possible, and that’s even more important on election day.”
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