How Manhattan Beach's $5 shuttle works — and what the pilot costs

June 2026 · Last updated: June 10, 2026

Manhattan Beach now has a $5, app-hailed, all-electric ride service — the MB Wave Rider — that goes anywhere in the city plus the Metro K Line's Douglas Station, with full service running since June 9, 2026, per the city's Wave Rider page. The City Council approved the six-month pilot with operator Circuit Transit on a 3-1 vote (one abstention) on April 7, funding it with up to $540,626 in Proposition A transit money, per Easy Reader's report.

Here is how to ride it, where it goes, and what it costs the city — which is also your question, since Prop A is sales-tax money.

How do you actually ride it?

There is no route, no stop, and no schedule. You download the Circuit app, enter a destination anywhere in Manhattan Beach, and a driver comes to you — point to point, like Uber, except it's a shared ride that may pick up other passengers heading the same way. The fare is a flat $5 per person per ride, paid in the app; the city's page says older adults 55+ get a $2.50 fare starting in July. The app is required — there's no phone-dispatch option — and rides can't be scheduled in advance.

Through June, the city is running a launch promo: code FREE15 in the Circuit app gets any rider 3 free rides.

Where does it go, and when?

The service area is the entire city plus the Metro K Line Douglas Station in El Segundo — a deliberate last-mile link, per Easy Reader. The fleet is five EVs: two small neighborhood electric vehicles working the commercial districts west of Sepulveda, two sedans covering the rest of the city, and one wheelchair-accessible van. Drivers are W-2 employees of Circuit, not gig contractors.

Hours, per the city: Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sunday 12–8 p.m. Note what that means: it is not a late-night safe-ride-home service — a limitation Councilmember Joe Franklin raised before voting no.

Who voted for it — and who didn't?

The April 7 vote was 3-1: Nina Tarnay, Amy Howorth and then-Mayor David Lesser in favor, Mayor Pro Tem (now Mayor) Joe Franklin opposed, Steve Charelian abstaining, per Easy Reader. Franklin questioned the value math — at $5 a seat, a family of four pays $20, while he reported tracking Uber fares of roughly $6–$10 for trips across town. Charelian's concern was timing: the vote came weeks before budget season, and Prop A funds can be swapped for general fund dollars at about 75 cents on the dollar — a tool he argued the city might want to keep in reserve.

Supporters framed it as a business and World Cup investment. The Downtown Business and Professionals Association urged the council to launch before the FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, which began June 11 — and the service made that window.

What does it cost the city?

The pilot is capped at $540,626 over six months, paid entirely from the city's Proposition A Local Return account — restricted LA County sales-tax money that can only fund transit, with a roughly $1.1 million balance. Staff estimated a gross cost of about $90,000 a month, reduced to a net of roughly $72,000 a month after fare revenue at a projected 3,000 rides per month, per Easy Reader.

The comparison that moved the council: the city's existing Dial-a-Ride paratransit program costs about $940,000 a year to serve roughly 6,500 riders — about $145 per ride. Finance Director Libby Bretthauer cautioned that Prop A can fund the pilot but not an ongoing program "for years to come" without changes elsewhere.

There's also history here. A free shuttle called the Downtowner ran in 2017, peaked at 3,000 rides a month, and folded when its free-ride business model collapsed. The difference this time is that the city is the paying customer from day one.

What happens after six months?

Circuit provides the city real-time ridership data — peak times, popular pickup and dropoff points, demographics — and staff will bring a report back to the council before the contract ends, when it decides to extend, modify, or stop, per the city. The data is the point: the council wants to know whether this model can supplement or replace parts of Dial-a-Ride.

We track this story, and everything else that hits your money in MB and Hermosa, in the twice-weekly Pier to Pier newsletter.

General information, not advice.

Sources

City of Manhattan Beach, MB Wave Rider — https://www.manhattanbeach.gov/visitors/wave-rider
Easy Reader, "CITY COUNCIL: Low-cost electric 'microtransit' program approved," April 9, 2026 — https://easyreadernews.com/city-council-low-cost-electric-microtransit-program-approved/
Circuit Transit — https://www.ridecircuit.com/