Move LA, the California Bicycle Coalition, and the statewide Sustainable Communities for All coalition have convinced the state Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Transportation to set aside $25 million for student transit passes and $25 million for active transportation in the Assembly’s expenditure plan for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. A conference committee will convene next week to reconcile differences between the Assembly’s version of the budget, which includes the GGRF expenditure plan, and the Senate’s. The Senate has recommended that the GGRF money be used for “local climate planning” activities.

Move LA has had a long-time interest in student transit pass programs as a way to cultivate more transit ridership, reduce driving, increase access to education and opportunity, and reduce GHG emissions and air pollution.  In 2008 Denny Zane helped Santa Monica City College develop the school’s “Any Line Any Time” student transit pass program in partnership with the Big Blue Bus, which has met with great success.

Denny and Move LA's Jerard Wright summarized the literature on existing student transit pass programs in order to convince the Legislature and the California Air Resources Board of the efficacy of these programs — that they do build student ridership, thereby reducing GHG emissions. Their summary is below (or download pdf here):