COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the third year in a row, Columbus City Schools and Central Ohio Transit Authority is partnering up to help students get to school. 

The partnership, called the Educational Pass Program, provides unlimited access to COTA for all CCS students students in grades nine through 12. The unlimited access includes COTA's fixed-route transit lines, COTA Mainstream for qualifying students with mobility needs and COTA/Plus On-Demand service for no charge. 

Students can use the transit by using their school-issued Student Success Cards.

“We are proud of this continued collaboration to ensure Columbus City high school students have more mobility options,” said COTA President and CEO Monica Téllez-Fowler in a statement. “By having unlimited access to COTA services, students have an additional safe and efficient way to get to class or after-school activities. It also helps students understand how public transportation is another way to access opportunities in our region, opening more doors to access higher education or entering the workforce after graduation.”

CCS said more than 13,000 students will have unlimited access to COTA services this year.