NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Wednesday September 14, 2022

Students and advocates from across California expressed disappointment after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1919 (Holden) late Tuesday. AB 1919 would have allowed any K-12, community college or university student in California to take public transit for free. It passed both the State Senate and the Assembly with only one NO vote.

“It is time for the Governor and the Legislature to ‘get on the bus’ with free public transit for all California’s students,” said Eli Lipmen, Executive Director of Move LA. “Assembly Bill 1919 would create the next generation of transit riders and help achieve our state’s social equity and climate goals.”

This week we helped kick off the Prop 30 campaign to win a measure on the November ballot that would enable California to get very serious about addressing climate change and air quality (that is Denny Zane in the middle and Eli Lipmen and his son Cal on the left). Over 20 years the measure would invest about:

• $45 billion to make zero-emission vehicles affordable, including cars, buses, and light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, as well as trains and ships, and all diesel-powered vehicles and equipment as well.
• $35 billion to expand zero-emission (this includes green hydrogen) charging and fueling infrastructure;
• $20 billion to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

Join us to talk about the benefits of what we have been calling "Boulevards of Equity and Opportunity"—LA County has many!—that can accommodate affordable housing development and are already served by transit. We believe this is an opportunity to provide more housing, create high-quality jobs, and build a transit culture—one of the most significant things we can do to combat climate change. The time is NOW to plan these boulevards with so much money coming our way from the Inflation Reduction Act.

About 140,000 students in K-12 and community colleges are participating in new GoPass program in LA County and numbers are growing

By STEVE SCAUZILLO | [email protected] | San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Students piled off the G Line (formerly Orange Line) bus at the Balboa Boulevard station early Tuesday morning, backpacks swaying, chitchat lingering in the air, as they made the short walk to Birmingham Community Charter High School in Lake Balboa.

The students are part of an expanding L.A. Metro program offering K-12 and community college students unlimited free rides on all its public buses, light rail trains and subways for the entire school year.

(Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• Student ridership has nearly doubled in the last 10 months;
• The number of K-12 participants increased 190% over 2019 from 64,000 students to 122,000;
• More than 5.5 million student trips have been taken since the program began
• There are nearly 140,000 K-12 students registered and 138,000 community college participants
• 51 school districts joined the program in Year 1
• 20+ more school districts are joining now
• 14 community colleges participated in Year 1
• 2 more community colleges are joining now
• 92% of the trips are taken to school
• community college graduation rates are up to 27% higher for students who have free transit passes
• 13 transit agencies have joined the program including Metro and more are likely to join this year!

Please tell Senate Appropriations to vote in favor of AB 1919 and make this real for all schools, colleges and universities in California! We make it easy for you HERE.

Last month Denny Zane, our founder and executive director, announced he would “move over” and asked our Leadership Board to support his recommendation to appoint Eli Lipmen (that’s me!), as next executive director. Last week, we made the formal transition and sent out the announcement (which received a great response!).

My first week as executive director was very exciting. I joined a small group of nonprofit leaders for a private meeting with USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez, and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. We discussed how the federal government can play a role in developing more affordable housing near high-quality transit and improving transit service and distribution of discretionary grants for transportation infrastructure projects. It was a unique opportunity!

Move LA joined the groundbreaking on July 6 for the Rail-to-Rail Active Transportation Corridor—a 5.5-mile path for pedestrians, cyclists and rollers on an unused rail corridor! This project will make walking, biking and rolling safe, and bring the Measure M promise of greater connectivity by connecting the Blue "A" Line, the Crenshaw "K" Line, and eventually the West Santa Ana Branch Line!

But this project almost didn’t happen—with one person going so far in 2019 as to say the project was “essentially dead.”

Move LA Founder and Executive Director Denny Zane makes decision to “move over” and promote from within; recommends appointment of Eli Lipmen, a long-time Move LA board and staff member.

Los Angeles—The Move LA Leadership Board has approved the recommendation of Denny Zane to appoint Eli Lipmen as the new Executive Director of Move LA. Denny, who has served as the executive director since Move LA’s founding in 2007, will “move over” and continue as the organization’s Program and Policy Director, effective July 1, 2022.

Eli Lipmen previously served as a Leadership Board member for Move LA for six years, working on the successful Measure M campaign in 2016. He joined the Move LA staff in August 2017 to work on Measure H, and has since served as Move LA’s Program and Development Director, as the organization’s representative on the statewide ClimatePlan Advisory Board, and as co-chair of the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone (SLATE-Z) Transit Work Group. Currently he also serves in a voluntary role as President of the Los Angeles City Commission, overseeing 99 Neighborhood Councils.

The Clean Cars and Clean Air Act has qualified for the November ballot and would generate $4 billion to $4.5 billion annually, providing California with a stable funding source to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles on the road— both battery electric and hydrogen fuel-cell-powered light-duty cars, heavy-duty trucks, ships, trains and aircraft—and to help prevent and suppress wildfires.

If this measure is passed by voters it would raise the funding needed by increasing taxes by 1.75 percent on individuals and couples making more than $2 million per year. Add your name to get involved with passing this ballot initiative.

We want to thank all of you who attended our Big Stuff celebration at the Boomtown Brewery in the Arts District on June 2 because you made it a very special, very fun party (the album is here where you can download the photos!). And we especially want to thank our sponsors, because we couldn't do the work that we do without their interest and support! 

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