Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continues to advocate for public transportation accessibility with her recent introduction of the Metro GoPass Student Pilot Program. Today, Mayor Bass rallied further support for the GoPass initiative in South LA, aiming to eliminate the financial obstacle for students and ensure easier access to educational institutions, as per the Mayor's announcement.
The program allows eligible students from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and Los Angeles Community College to travel for free on Metro’s buses and trains. In an effort to alleviate the daily commute for thousands of impoverished youths and those struggling with homelessness in the region, GoPass is aimed to support their school commute as well as other essential travel needs, as outlined by Mayor Bass.
Key figures such as LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins are enthusiastically backing the GoPass project. Labeled the first phase of Metro’s Fareless System Initiative, GoPass aims to support communities with critical transportation needs.
Numbers are on the rise for GoPass, with over 350,000 students from 1,570 schools across 115 school districts, spanning public districts, charter networks, community colleges, and private schools. Given the far-reaching scope of the program, hopes are high that the initiative will continue to expand throughout the metropolitan area.
The need for easily accessible transport solutions is clear from the response received for GoPass. The students in the program often require transportation to balance their academics, part-time jobs, and extra-curricular activities; GoPass helps to ease this daily burden.
