EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated with statistics from Metro. (Dec. 15, 2023)

LOS ANGELES — High school student Jeffrey De Leon is on a train heading for downtown Los Angeles to try ice skating for the first time at Pershing Square. Since Jeffrey is part of LA Metro’s GoPass program, his commute is free.

What You Need To Know

  • Metro's GoPass program provides free rides to K-14 students who are enrolled at participating schools

  • In November, Metro’s GoPass pilot program saw a 28% year-over-year increase over November 2022

  • Student boardings measured 1,772,606 riders with 1,589,336 student bus boardings and 183,270 student rail boardings
  • To date, the program has 343,980 registered students from 1573 participating schools in 115 participating school districts

“It definitely saves a lot of money, especially since I take the bus like almost twice daily,” Jeffrey said.

Normally, Jeffrey takes public transit to get to school, or the grocery store and relies on Metro to get around. De Leon said riding buses and trains for free is a huge help, financially, since his family is low income.

“So far, it’s only my father supporting a household of seven people,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey’s school is part of the 115 school districts across LA county that are participating in the GoPass pilot program.

Metro’s Devon Deming is the deputy executive officer with Metro’s fareless system initiative. Deming oversees the program and said it saves families about $300 a month per student. That’s money that can be spent on school supplies, groceries, college applications or other essentials.

“Transportation is usually the second highest cost in a household, so that’s saving them a ton of money and allowing them to use it on other things,” Deming said.

But the three-year pilot program is set to expire by next summer — something Deming is working to change.

“We will be going to our board in the spring to request that it become a permanent program. Hopefully that happens and we can continue to provide free rides to students across LA County,” Deming said.

That way, students like Jeffrey can continue to ride for free, which is something he said no one should take for granted.

“Take advantage of Metro’s offerings, like their go pass programs, because it might not seem like a lot of money, but it totals out to a ton that you can never imagine,” Jeffrey said.