The L.A. Metro Eyes a Beneficial Partnership With Lyft

Uber and Lyft market their services as complementing public transit, encouraging people who might otherwise drive all day to use an mix of municipal and private transit. But not everyone agrees that’s what happens. Some transit experts argue the services pull riders off trains and buses and into the backseats of cars. And some say the services are contributing to a slump in transit ridership in Southern California.

So is ride-hailing friend or foe to transit? L.A. County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority may soon be getting at least a partial answer. The L.A. Times reports that the agency is negotiating an agreement with Lyft that would provide access to data on how riders use the service for trips that begin or end at certain Metro stations, such as those at the end of a line or at major employment centers that draw lots of commuters.