L.A. Community Colleges Get $1 Million Grant to Fund Free Metro Rides for All Students
Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images- GoPasses can be used on all Metro buses and trains, as well as 13 additional transit agencies.
- About half-a-million students will qualify for the free GoPass.
- One quarter of all LACCD students said they regularly used public transit to get to class prior to the pandemic.
Los Angeles community college students can take commuting costs off their higher education budget this year.
The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) this month secured a $1 million federal grant to extend the free Metro GoPass Program for its students this academic year.
Students at the district’s 21 community colleges can pick up a GoPass card at their school and register it online for unlimited rides on Metro and 13 transit partners to and from school and on weekends — all for no cost.
The congressionally directed spending grant was secured by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In a statement, the Democratic lawmaker stressed the importance of the public transit-pass program benefiting some 500,000 L.A. County students.
“Lack of transportation is one of the leading barriers for students seeking to complete their education, and that’s particularly true in large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles,” she said.
Access to affordable and reliable transportation should be a right for all students, LACCD Trustee Andra Hoffman said in a statement.
According to Metro, 25% of LACCD students said they regularly used public transit to get to class prior to the pandemic. More than two-thirds of LACCD students are low income; a Metro pass would cost students at least $160 per semester.
The Metro GoPass launched in 2021 and has since partnered with 20 school districts to serve students in kindergarten through community college.
Metro’s network of buses and trains serve more than 10 million Californians within its 1,433-square-mile service area.