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Discounted Metro passes are now available for full-time students at PCC to purchase for $30 at Student Business Services. The passes went on sale beginning February 25.Called the Metro I-Pass (Institution Pass), students who purchase a pass receive a sticker to affix to the front of their LancerCard and are then granted semester-long access to the Metro Rail, Metro Rapid and Metro Liner, according to promotional material distributed by Metro and the PCC Associated Students.

AS Chief Justice Michael Lance was the driving force behind the idea for the program and is credited with much of the work, which involved surveying students, reaching out to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) representatives, collaborating with PCC administrators and finally, bringing the finalized program before the Board of Trustees.

“I got the idea from surrounding community colleges and from networking with other student governments,” said Lance.

“We eventually decided to go with Metro because they were the most responsive,” he said.

The college received 8,800 passes. According to Metro, this makes PCC’s I-Pass program one of the largest in the region.

The program is the result of a contract between PCC and LACMTA that went into effect after receiving approval by the Board of Trustees in a 6-1 vote.

At $30 per pass for the semester, the I-Pass program is cheaper than the $62 monthly pass offered to the general public, the $57 pass offered to students and the discounted $36 pass offered to vocational and other students pending a successful petition to the Los Angeles Metro Station.

Students who purchase an I-Pass save $114 a semester.

Interim Vice President of Administrative Services Richard van Pelt worked closely with LACMTA and Student Business Services on the details of the agreement, which included determining the cost at which the college would purchase the passes from Metro, and the cost at which they would be sold to students.

Most of the work was completed over the Winter Intersession.

“Once the Board of Trustees approved entering into the agreement we only had a few days to actually work out the final contract details, sign the contract, have MTA print the passes and flyers and then put everything in place,” said van Pelt. “We got the passes minutes before they went on sale. By the time they went on sale there was a line of students waiting to buy them.”

Other integral members in the process were Crystal Kollross, interim dean of institutional planning and research; Stuart Wilcox, interim vice president of student and learning services; Lisa Sugimoto, college president; and Scott Thayer, assistant dean of student affairs.

“It’s difficult to obtain a Metro discount, and it’s been brought up to me by students on numerous occasions,” said Lance.

“As a student representative, it’s my job to do what’s best for students, and getting more students to school helps them pursue their education.”

In addition to lowering costs for students, the I-Pass program is expected to help with the parking crunch on campus at the beginning of every semester.

The I-Pass encourages students to make use of public transportation, which aligns with PCC’s sustainability objectives.

An online survey of about 1,400 students conducted by the Department of Institutional Research and Planning shows that bus ridership is second only to driving as the most-used method of transportation.

In other questions, 74.8 percent of the students said they would travel to school using a Metro I-Pass if it was offered to them free of charge; 54.8 percent of the same students said they would use the pass if it was offered at a discounted rate. About 65 percent of students at PCC are attending full-time.

Student Business Services is located next to the bookstore and at the time of purchase, students must provide proof of full-time status (12 units or more).

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