LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday called for a report that will look into the possibility of providing free transit on its DASH bus service in the next fiscal year.

In a unanimous vote, council members instructed the city's Department of Transportation to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its DASH fare collection. The LADOT will examine the costs of TAP hardware, fare enforcement programs and administrative work associated with fare collection to see whether the city could get by without charging riders.

Councilwoman Heather Hutt, chair of the Transportation Committee, introduced a motion calling for the report on Dec. 13, which her colleagues Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez seconded.

DASH provides bus service in downtown Los Angeles and 27 neighborhoods across the city. Buses in each route are designed to travel within their respective neighborhood and connect to other regional transit services such as Metro Rapid and local routes, Metrolink and Metro rail lines.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the city barred fare collection on DASH starting in March 2020. Fare collection was set to resume in January, however it actually began Feb. 1 after being delayed as a result of the wildfires that erupted in the LA region.

Riders pay 50 cents a ride, seniors and people with disabilities pay 25 cents and access cardholders travel for free — with the exception of the DASH service in Sylmar, according to the LADOT's website.