By Sophia Tada (she/her), Editor of Youth4Climate’s Blog
Since May 1st, 2022, when SANDAG flipped the switch on the Youth Opportunity Pass pilot, free transit has opened thousands of doors for San Diego’s youth. The Youth Opportunity Pass (YOP) has revolutionized youth access to public transportation in the San Diego area. By providing free rides throughout the North County Transit District (NCTD), the North County COASTER Commuter Rail Service, and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (SDMTS) to youth ages 18 and under, the program has immensely expanded access to school, jobs, healthcare, and other opportunities. But this success story may come to an end: the program is set to expire in June 2026, unless permanent funding is secured.
The YOP began as a pilot project, backed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), NCTD, SDMTS, and the County of San Diego, as a part of a broader effort by SANDAG’s Social Equity Working Group to address disparities in access to transportation. In just two years, it has delivered more than 20 million rides, and youth ridership has soared. SDMTS saw a 22.7% increase in fiscal year (FY) 2024, with over 113,000 unique Youth PRONTO cards in circulation. Today, youth take approximately 725,000 rides each month, with over 50,000 riding regularly, with most ridership growth occurring in underserved communities and near schools.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, San Diego’s transit recovery has outpaced the nation, leading in a bounce-back of transit use. Specifically, the San Diego Trolley jumped from fifth place in U.S. light-rail ridership in 2019 to first place in both 2022 and 2023. Furthermore, from January 2024 to June 2024, total urban area transit ridership reached 89.2% of pre-pandemic levels, far ahead of San Francisco/Oakland (64%), Los Angeles (81.2%), and Sacramento (78.9%).
But these numbers only tell part of the story. A 2023 SANDAG impact study involving more than 1,100 participants found that families experienced real relief. With transit fares eliminated, families could afford more essentials like rent, food, and utilities. Seventeen-year-old Kesav Gupta, a student at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, recalls, “I remember a time before YOP when I missed an opportunity to attend an event downtown because I didn’t have the fare. That doesn’t happen anymore. There’s peace of mind knowing I can get where I need to go.” He adds, “My family doesn’t have to spend $60–$80 a month on my transportation. That might seem small to some people, but for a lot of families, that money can go toward groceries or rent instead. It’s one less barrier, and that matters.”
Beyond immediate benefits, the YOP is shaping a culture of lifelong transit use. Nearly 80% of surveyed youth said they plan to continue riding as adults, indicating a long-term investment in the system as youth transition into paying riders who already use and rely on transit. Kesav agrees: “I already rely on it, and I plan to keep doing so. What’ll influence that is how reliable and frequent it stays. Programs like the YOP don’t just make it easier now—they help build lifelong transit riders. If we keep investing in transit, I’ll stick with it.”
Additionally, San Diego Unified School District data indicated that schools accessible by transit had attendance recovery that was 27% higher at those schools compared to those mostly accessible by car, suggesting that the YOP is helping more students show up and succeed. “YOP has reduced so much stress for me personally and my family members. When I had just moved down to south San Diego, my parents were worried about how I was going to get to Sweetwater HS and back, but I told them not to worry—I could just take the bus! And it has made their lives easier,” shares fifteen-year-old Bethany Rivas, a student at Sweetwater High School in National City. Environmentally, YOP is making a difference, too. By shifting youth away from travel by car, the program has helped reduce regional vehicle miles by nearly 7 million and cut 4.7 million pounds of carbon emissions annually, habits that will make less car-reliant adults. Yet despite these clear successes, the YOP is in jeopardy.
Why? The program’s funding is only temporary. It launched in FY22 with a $2.13 million budget, which grew to $5.87 million in FY23–24 and is projected to cost $6.5 million annually moving forward. The bulk of this money, $5.3 million for MTS and $1.2 million for NCTD, reimburses lost fare revenue that would otherwise be collected from youth fares. So far, funding has come from temporary sources like the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program and the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
This leaves MTS and NCTD in a tough spot. Youth ridership has surged, and the agencies now serve tens of thousands of additional passengers each month, yet collect no fare from them. This means they rely on external funding to bridge the revenue gap. Without that support, the agencies would face hard choices: reduce service, raise fares elsewhere, or end the program entirely. However, MTS and NCTD operate the program as recipients of funding, while it’s SANDAG that holds the funds and the power to determine YOP’s future.
That said, SANDAG has renewed the pilot annually from 2023 to June 2024, then again through June 2025, and most recently through June 2026, where it now may end. This demonstrates SANDAG’s commitment to the program since its introduction. But beyond that, no long-term funding plan is in place. SANDAG is currently exploring an equity-based fare structure that could include permanent youth passes; however, nothing is guaranteed without stable, recurring funding, which has yet to be secured.
The issue here isn’t that the program failed. On the contrary, the YOP is one of the most successful and equitable initiatives San Diego has ever seen. As Diego Sandoval, 17, a student at Eastlake High School who lives in Ocean View Hills, puts it, “It would be heartbreaking to know future generations may not have this program to support them and thus not be able to access as many things in our city.” The real challenge is that it’s a victim of its own success: a widely used, fare-free service can’t sustain itself without stable financial backing.
If YOP ends in 2026, the loss will be felt most by the thousands of San Diego youth who rely on transit for their daily lives, especially those from underserved, low-income families. It could reverse gains in school attendance, long-term ridership habits, and environmental sustainability. “I believe the YOP program should last forever,” Diego feels. “It’s allowed me access to so much.”
Now is the time to act. We must ensure the sustainability of the Youth Opportunity Pass for San Diego’s youth for future generations to come. Here’s how to help: Review our demands for SANDAG and get informed by attending the Regional Transportation Plan Learning Session on July 9th. Join SanDiego350’s Intro to Transportation Policy Training on July 12th to learn about transportation, land use, and policy, and how you can make a difference. Then, submit a public comment on SANDAG’s 2025 Regional Transportation Plan draft by July 18th using SanDiego350’s toolkit.
Together, we can secure a future where free, accessible, and sustainable transit is not a temporary privilege but a permanent right for every young person in San Diego.
You can also read this post on our Youth4Climate blog “No Fare, No Barriers: Saving San Diego’s Youth Opportunity Pass“.