This bill, authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and co-sponsored by Move LA and Transform (in the Bay Area), would provide $50M/year for discounted student transit passes for K-12 and public college and university students. It made it out of the Appropriations Committee Friday with a unanimous vote, though an amendment limited the funding to passes for low-income students. We haven’t seen the language yet so it’s unclear how "low-income" is defined—whether this means students in Disadvantaged Communities or students who get a free or reduced-price lunch, etc.

It was a very good day Monday at Move LA's 8th Annual Transportation Conversation as 500 citizens of this great county talked with many of the leaders who will play influential roles in the decision about whether to put a $120 billion transportation sales tax measure on the ballot in November--and about what it can fund.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! . . . THE METRO BOARD VOTES ON A NEW STUDENT TRANSIT PASS PROGRAM THURSDAY

Please come to the Metro Board meeting on May 26 to support the re-vamped student transit pass program that will be presented to the board—or send a student or friend. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas will ask board members to consider the measure promptly at 10 a.m. so students can get back to school to study for finals!

Tired of screaming pundits and surrogates? Hungry for some civil dialogue on local issues? Tonight’s candidate forum in Pasadena may be what you are looking for. 

The build-out of LA’s transit system has been and will continue to be a long and complicated process that takes many twists and turns along the way. But Metro has been delivering on its promises with a rainbow of rail lines—Blue, Red, Green, Gold, Orange, Silver, Expo, and soon Crenshaw and the Regional Connector—and the grand opening of Expo to the beach today is another compelling milestone.
 

The Center for Transportation for Excellence in Washington DC monitors transportation sales tax campaigns across the U.S.—the successes, failures and lessons learned. When interviewed earlier this year Director Jason Jordan stressed that the first lesson is that success requires a “great, broad and deep coalition." Jordan said that coalition has to engage the public early, stick together, and keep talking about the value of the transportation investment—that it has to wage what is essentially a “permanent campaign.”

Last March LA Metro released a stunning proposal for the expansion of LA County's rail transit system (click here to see the map). The system that is envisioned will provide robust rail transit service to all parts of LA County, creating a dramatic alternative to the doomed-to-be-congested future we face now.

This proposed measure will even invest significant funds in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, whereas Measure R in 2008 provided no bike/ped investments at all.

In 2008 LA County voters knew that reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, revving up our economy by putting thousands of people to work, and also reducing household transportation costs was a challenging agenda that could only be addressed by a bold program. Voters approved Measure R by 67.9%, in part because they saw a program bold enough to address the challenges. Metro learned an important lesson: Fortune favors the bold.

In the most recent Student Survey of Los Angeles Community College District campuses (fall 2014): 83.6% of students reported that “low cost” was important or very important in their decision to enroll in college; 58.5% reported that “availability of public transportation” was important or very important in their decision to enroll, and 54.7% reported that “financial factors” are a moderate or major problem in reaching their academic goals. With this in mind the Student Advisory Committee of the LA Community College District voted for a resolution last December to support the development of a discounted student transit pass program for the LACCD, working with their Associated Student Organizations/Unions/governments. Read more HERE.

Move LA is helping organize students around opportunities to win discounted transit passes at LA Metro and in the state Legislature. Toward that end we are hosting a Student Transit Pass Summit at LA Trade Tech in downtown LA next Friday the 13th (!) from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Could you help get this message out to students? We have contacts with student leadership at community colleges but need help reaching out to state universities and UCLA!

LINK to registration: http://www.movela.org/student_transit_pass_advocacy_summit

SAMPLE TWEET: There's one posted now that you can retweet if you search for @movelatransit on twitter, follow us, and then retweet!

DRAFT FB POST OR EMAIL BELOW:

Want to get deeply discounted student transit passes when you register for classes? So you can ride any line, any time—bus or rail? Come to LA Trade Tech on Friday the 13th and talk to student leadership from across LA County about a countywide/statewide campaign to reduce the cost of transportation and make getting an education more affordable! This is a free event, but registration is required & space is limited (need a head count for food!).

Come talk with: Alex Galeana/SSCCC, Romel Lopez/East LA Community College, Jesse Randel/Santa Monica College, Chase Frederick/SW College, Lorena Aguilar/Mission College+CCASA, Saleem Moimuddin/Valley College+CCASA, Milo Anderson/Pierce College, and Isaac Medeiros, Gerson Liahut-Sanchez, Clarissa Casillas, and the CCASA crew.

With LA Metro Deputy CEO Stephanie Wiggins, Nick Liedtke from Asm. Chris Holden's office, author of AB 2222 to provide $50M/year for student passes, LA Trade Tech President Larry Frank, Move LA Executive Director Denny Zane and more!

Register here: http://www.movela.org/student_transit_pass_advocacy_summit