Schools are providing access codes that students can use online to receive a free GoPass. (photo courtesy of Metro)

During the start of the new school year, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is encouraging students, families and school districts to participate in its GoPass pilot program, which allows students in K-12 and community colleges unlimited free rides on the Metro bus and rail systems.

The program, which is in its third year, currently has 274,915 registered students using GoPass. The program has helped Metro increase its student ridership by 43% over pre-pandemic levels.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District offer GoPass to students, with activation codes available through the LAUSD student portal.

“We are excited to bring back the successful and popular GoPass pilot program and make it available again for a third year to even more K-12 and community college students. I look forward to seeing how we can continue this program further,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board chair Karen Bass. “Thank you to Metro and CEO Stephanie Wiggins for recognizing how important fareless transit is for our students and helping ensure that cost never stands in the way of getting to school.”

Participating schools distribute TAP cards and activation codes so students can activate their cards on the online GoPass portal or by calling (866)TAPTOGO. They also have the option of using a virtual TAP card on the TAP LA app.

In total, 1,441 schools are participating in the program, which has had more than 22 million boardings since October 2021.

“The GoPass pilot has helped hundreds of thousands of L.A. County students get to school, work and extracurricular activities, while also reducing family expenses,” Wiggins said. “GoPass is central to our strategy to build transit ridership by introducing young people to the benefits of using transit long before they drive. We look forward to welcoming even more students onto our system in the coming school year.”

GoPass participants can take unlimited free rides on Metro bus and rail, as well as on many municipal transit networks such as LADOT’s DASH. For information, visit metro.net/gopass.