New partnership will allow all Long Beach City College students to ride L.A. Metro, other transit systems for free

    March 15, 2022
    The new program is an expansion of LBCC’s highly successful "Strong Beach” Bus Pass Pilot Program with LBT that was first introduced in fall 2019 for full-time students only.
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    LBCC
    LBT is one of the agencies participating in the Metro GoPass program.
    LBT is one of the agencies participating in the Metro GoPass program.

    A new partnership between Long Beach Transit (LBT), Long Beach City College (LBCC) and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) will offer free rides for all LBCC students across several transportation systems.

    Beginning with the spring 2022 semester, all LBCC students – whether full-time, part-time, in-person, online, credit/non-credit or dual-enrollment – will be eligible for the free Metro GoPass, L.A. Metro’s student fareless pass program.

    “We are tremendously excited that Long Beach City College has added its name to the growing list of regional community colleges joining our GoPass Program,” said L.A. Metro CEO Stephanie N. Wiggins. “This important program is the largest unlimited-use student program in the nation. Long Beach City College students can use this pass to take transit freely throughout our county — not just to and from their schools. It is our hope that we can convert these students to lifelong transit customers with the help of this fareless pass program.”

    The new program is an expansion of LBCC’s highly successful “Strong Beach” Bus Pass Pilot Program with LBT that was first introduced in fall 2019 for full-time students only.

    Besides expanding to include all students, the new program also goes beyond LBT to include free rides on all L.A. Metro bus and rail lines; Culver CityBus; Foothill Transit; Gardena Transit (GTrans); Montebello Bus; Norwalk Transit; Santa Monica Big Blue Bus; and Torrance Transit.

    “As a participating agency of the GoPass Program, LBT is directly contributing to the success of students in the communities we serve,” said Kenneth A. McDonald, LBT’s president and CEO. “The program will continue to provide reliable transportation to promote the success of LBCC students and is an example of LBT partnering to make everyday life better for our customers.”

    The only criteria are that students must be enrolled for LBCC’s spring 2022 semester.

    L.A. Metro’s GoPass Program seeks to use fareless transit as a tool to help participating L.A. County students better manage the ever-rising cost of living and help recover from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 70 percent of L.A. Metro riders are considered low-income riders today.

    LBCC will contact students with additional information on how to receive their free pass, including instructions on how to get a Metro GoPass to access the transportation services.

    Nearly 400 LBCC students responded to an online survey regarding the Strong Beach pilot program, and survey results were overwhelmingly positive. Almost all respondents said that they used their pass on a daily basis and said that receiving the pass helped them be more successful at LBCC. Complete information about the LBCC GoPass Program can be found on the LBCC website.

    “LBCC recognizes that for some of our students, sometimes just getting to class is a barrier, particularly for students who do not have reliable transportation to and from campus,” said LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz. “The ability for all of our students to travel across several transportation systems will make a huge difference for our students. Not only will they be able to travel to class, but they could also travel to work or visit family in the greater Los Angeles area.”