LA Metro receives federal grant to develop travel rewards program

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded $700,000 to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) to develop a travel rewards research pilot project.

LA Metro is partnering with the Harvard School of Business, the Duke Center for Advanced Hindsight and private sector technology and mobility partners to identify and test the most effective incentives to persuade travelers to skip driving and instead choose transit, ride sharing, walking, bicycling or telecommuting. 

Results of the pilot will be shared with other transit agencies, LA Metro officials said in a press release.

The grant was awarded through the FTA's Accelerating Innovative Mobility program, which is designed to drive innovation to improve transit financing, system design and service.

The $1.3 million pilot project includes $412,000 of in-kind development from private technology partners, LA Metro officials said.