Pasadena Commission Supports Proposed Participation of the City in Metro’s GoPass Pilot

Pasadena’s Transportation Advisory Commission formally supported city participation in Metro’s GoPass pilot program that would allow students to access public transport for free.

During its meeting on Thursday, the commission voted unanimously in favor of a motion by Commissioner Timothy Sales to support the Department of Transportation’s proposal for Pasadena Transit to participate in the pilot program.

The Metro GoPass pilot program, formerly known as the Fareless System Initiative, provides fareless boardings to students at participating school districts and community colleges.

The pilot study will run for two school years, from fall of 2021 to June 2023.

According to city principal planner Sebastián Hernández, the goal of the pilot is to identify the true cost of implementing a permanent program countywide.

“If Pasadena Transit were to participate, that would make Pasadena a place where students in the GoPass program could travel seamlessly throughout Pasadena without having to pay fare,” said Hernández.

According to Hernández, school districts and community colleges that will join the pilot program are required to participate in a cost-sharing agreement to offset some of the loss of fare for participating transit agencies.

According to the department’s report, the project is anticipated to reduce Pasadena Transit’s fare revenue by approximately $225,000 over the two year pilot period.

The cost sharing for K-12 students is $3 per student per year for all students in the district. For community colleges, the cost per student per year is $7.

Hernández said Pasadena City College already confirmed participation in the program. The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) is yet to announce participation but he said conversations with the PUSD are now ongoing.

Devon Deming of Metro Commute Service said some school districts do not want to participate in the program due to budgetary concerns.

“They haven’t maybe paid for transit passes for their students in the past so this will be a new expense for them and they feel like they don’t have enough students currently riding transit,” Deming said.

“Our goal is to increase the number of students that have access to ride transit and to make sure that students are understanding at a young age that they can get around anywhere in the county,” she added.

Data provided by the transportation department provides that 22 percent of bus riders when school is in session are students. About 250,000 youth rides were made annually prior to pandemic.