Want to learn about something that is convenient, cost effective, and environmentally friendly? GCC is one of the community colleges that has partnered with Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LA Metro) to offer the GoPass. Anyone enrolled in at least one class is eligible. The passes are valid on the LA Metro bus and subway lines, including the Glendale Beeline. 

GCC student and GoPass user Mikaella Lukban has a three hour commute to GCC and said the pass has been incredibly valuable. “It’s extremely helpful. I take three buses and an underground subway once a day, which is so tiring, and expensive.” Without the GoPass she would be paying approximately $140 a month in bus fare. But, thanks to the GoPass, her trips are free. That three-hour trip is also the perfect time to catch up on some reading or homework. “It was super fast and easy to sign up to receive a GoPass. And, I love how there are unlimited rides for the entire semester!”

Lukban said that the application process for the GoPass is “surprisingly super easy.” Students fill out a quick form and pick up their pass during office hours. The hours are Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and  Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Verdugo Campus Civic Auditorium location (1401 N Verdugo Rd) and the Garfield Campus (SO104).

“It is very important that we have security on the buses, we want to get where we are going and feel safe getting there,” GCC student and GoPass user Annette Cluff stated. Crime rates on the LA Metro have been so frequent that LA Metro will establish their own police force to keep drivers and passengers safe. Over the next five years, they will be hiring more than 600 sworn police officers to staff the Transit Community Public Safety Department (TCPSD). We will see these officers in full force by 2029.

Billi Sarafina can be reached at [email protected].