Free fares honor Rosa Parks’ birthday across all forms of LA Metro transportation
Transit Equity Day, an annual day of action that began in 2017, will be observed on Feb. 4, on the birthday of civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
LA Metro will offer free rides systemwide all day Feb. 4, including on buses, trains, Metro Bike Share and Metro Micro. The promotion begins Feb. 4 and runs until 3 a.m. Feb. 5.
Metro riders will not need a TAP card to board buses or enter rail stations during the free-fare period.
Parks, who was born Feb. 4, 1913, helped galvanize the civil rights movement after she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. The boycott that followed her arrest became a turning point in the movement and helped lead to a 1956 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended bus segregation.
Transit Equity Day was created to highlight the role public transportation plays in daily life and to push for more equitable access to safe, reliable transit.
“Transit Equity Day honors Rosa Parks’ legacy and the principle that everyone deserves access to reliable public transportation,” said Metrolink board chair Doug Chaffee. “Free-fare days open the door for more Southern Californians to experience Metrolink firsthand and see how regional rail can connect them to new opportunities by expanding their options and reducing barriers that limit mobility.”
In recognition of the day, Metro also released a new $2 TAP card. Metro ambassadors will distribute free TAP cards to riders as part of the celebration.