After 11 Years Of Work, Youth Finally Ride Transit for Free!
The story of Youth Opportunity Passes goes back over a decade, but we can finally celebrate that on May 1st youth finally ride for FREE!!!
This decade-long effort began in City Heights when Mid-City residents identified that transportation and its associated costs as a major burden for families. The push to obtain this pilot program was led by Mid-City CAN and Improving Transportation In City Heights and heavily supported by our City Heights CDC Transportation & Planning Team as well as the Built Environment Team.
From May 1st of this year until June of 2023, youth aged 18 and under will be able to use transit throughout San Diego County absolutely free! This means young people could use the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) services such as the bus or from the North County Transit District (NCTD) such as the coaster, breeze, or sprinter at no cost. This will remove a huge financial barrier for families in City Heights and throughout San Diego County. The initial $8 million commitment for this project from SANDAG was part of the Transit Equity Pilot Initiative, a working group our staff served on to help ensure more equitable and just transit policies were on the table and implemented.
Thank you to these amazing friends! Mid City CAN and Environmental Health Coalition played huge roles in getting Youth Opportunity Passes implemented, and shout out to Sup. Nora Vargas, who found the latest funding to kick-start the most recent action!
The impact of the Youth Opportunity Pass Pilot Program will be huge! Youth 18 and under will now be able to attend school, career opportunities, and recreational activities and not be burdened by the high costs of transportation. Additionally, and equally important, this pilot program will pave the way to create the next generation of transit riders and will be a huge step towards moving away from car-centric culture in San Diego.
To be able to obtain a Youth Opportunity Pass and ride transit for free- youth would have to either obtain a PRONTO card or download the PRONTO app. More information could be found here: :https://youthopportunitypass.sandag.org/
City Heights Community Development Corporation celebrates the launch of the Youth Opportunity Pass Pilot Program and is happy with the positive impacts the program will have. However, as an organization, we will continue to advocate in making this program permanent as well as expanding it so transit is cost-free for youth 24 and under throughout San Diego County, which is part of our 10 Transit Lifelines co-created with the San Diego Transportation Equity Working Group.
The City Heights CDC also supports making transit free for all people in the region by 2030, as called for in SANDAG's 2021 Regional Plan.