The following is a lightly modified press release from Metro.
As the new school year begins, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) encourages students, families and school districts to participate in its GoPass pilot program which allows students in K-12 and community college unlimited free rides on Metro bus and rail. The popular program, renewed by Metro’s board in April for a third year, currently has 274,915 registered students using GoPass for travel to school, work, and fun, and has helped Metro grow its student ridership by 43 percent over pre-pandemic levels.
The Santa Monica Bib Blue Bus is a partner in this program. A full list of participating agencies from around the county can be found at the bottom of this article.
Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Schools and many private schools will offer GoPass to their students this school year. To find out if your school is participating, visit this website set up by Metro.
“We are excited to bring back the successful and popular GoPass pilot program and make it available again for a third year to even more K-12 and community college students. I look forward to seeing how we can continue this program further,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Karen Bass. “Thank you to Metro and CEO Stephanie Wiggins for recognizing how important fareless transit is for our students and helping ensure that cost never stands in the way of getting to school.”
Metro’s GoPass pilot is available to all students whose school district has registered with the program. Participating schools distribute TAP cards and activation codes so students can ride transit to school, extracurricular activities, or work without the worry of paying fares. Students can activate their cards on the online GoPass portal or by calling 866.TAPTOGO. They also have the option of using a virtual TAP card on the TAP LA App.
Entering year three of the pilot program, Metro is pleased to share that 102 school districts and charter networks, with a combined 1,441 schools, are participating in the program. There have been more than 22 million boardings since the program launched in October 2021.
“The GoPass pilot has helped hundreds of thousands of L.A. County students get to school, work and extracurricular activities, while also reducing family expenses,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “GoPass is central to our strategy to build transit ridership by introducing young people to the benefits of using transit long before they drive. We look forward to welcoming even more students onto our system in the coming school year.”
GoPass participants can take unlimited free rides on Metro bus and rail, AVTA (beginning September 2023), City of Commerce Transit, Culver CityBus, Foothill Transit, Glendale Beeline, GTrans, LADOT DASH, LA County Shuttles, Long Beach Transit, Lynwood Trolley, Montebello Bus, Norwalk Transit, Pasadena Transit, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus and Torrance Transit. Together we are opening destinations for young people to experience throughout the region. Now museums, parks, the beach, concerts, and more are available to them with no transportation costs.
For more information on the Metro GoPass program visit: Metro.net/GoPass.
