Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) has been trying to get a bill creating a transit pass program through the legislature for a couple of years. Last year, his A.B. 2222 died in the Assembly when no source of funding was found for it. The recent passage of the transportation funding bill changes that calculation, though, making it more likely that funding could be found. A.B. 17, the current incarnation of the idea, would create a program under which a transit agency could apply for state funding to create a low- or no-cost transit pass for low-income youth between 13 and 17.
The benefits of such a program include giving youth much-needed access to schools and jobs. But giving people, especially young people, the opportunity to ride transit can also educate them about the importance of public transit, and encourage life-long transit riders, said Holden.
excerpted from STREETSBLOG CAL