Traffic congestion is commonly the result of accidents and disabled vehicles. Prompt clearing of roadway reduces the occurance of secondary accidents and slowing caused by blocked lanes and curious onlookers. The keys to maintaining maximum capacity on roadways are opening closed lanes and expediting the removal of disabled vehicles from the freeway. FSP operators provide on-the-spot help to motorists, free of charge, for services including battery jump-starts, tire changing, radiator hose taping and refill, a gallon of gasoline, or other quick repairs to mobilize a disabled vehicle. If an FSP operator is unable to get a vehicle running within ten minutes, the operator will tow the vehicle to a designated drop location where additional assistance can be requested. FSP operators may also be called upon to provide assistance in removing vehicles involved in collisions, removing debris from the roadway, or assisting with other incidents as directed by the California Highway Patrol. The Metro Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) is a joint program of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), California Highway Patrol (CHP), and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
Under the MSRC project, Metro implemented two FSP routes, commonly referred to as "FSP Beats", designated as Beat 36 and Beat 42. Beat 36 is 26.7 centerline miles in length; Beat 42 is 16.8 centerline miles in length. Three tow trucks are assigned to patrol each Beat. Approximately 25,000 hours of service were implemented by Metro during the period commencing August 2006 and ending July 2009.
The purpose of the Metro Freeway Service Patrol is to provide congestion relief on freeways, reduce vehicle idling and excess fuel consumption, and improve safety by rapidly clearing freeway incidents.
FSP helps reduce fuel consumption and reduce air pollution by reducing excessive vehicle idling and stop and go driving conditions common following a freeway accident. During period of August 2006 through July 2009, over 25,000 vehicle assists were performed on Beat 36, and over 13,000 vehicle assists on Beat 42. On average, FPS reduced vehicle delays by approximately 293 vehicle-hours per day on Beat 36 and 231 vehicle-hours per day on Beat 42. This equates to a reduction in fuel consumption for Beats 36 and 42 totalling 443 gallons per day and 349 gallons per day, respectively.
All contractual obligations were fulfilled by Metro as of July 2010 and the project successfully completed.