In May, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and LA Metro launched the biggest Universal Basic Mobility experiment ever attempted in the U.S., giving 1,000 South Los Angeles residents a “mobility wallet” — a debit card with $150 per month to spend on transportation.

The catch? Funds can be used to take the bus, ride the train, rent a shared e-scooter, take micro-transit, rent a car-share, take an Uber or Lyft, or even purchase an e-bike — but they can’t be spent on the cost of owning or operating a car.

Three people live in Rebeca Hernández’s house in South Los Angeles. They all work and save every penny to pay household expenses, cover tuition at two colleges, and help their family in El Salvador. Recently, Rebeca’s car broke down.

In a city as car-dependent as Los Angeles, people who can’t drive or can’t afford a vehicle of their own are at a huge disadvantage. Seleta Reynolds, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, puts it this way: “Right now in Los Angeles, you can get to about 12 times as many jobs in an hour by car as you can in an hour by transit.”...Read full article at LATimes.com.