USC to provide free metro passes to all students

Beginning in Fall 2023, USC will provide all students with “U-Passes,” cards that will allow them to ride all Los Angeles Metro and bus lines — including DASH buses — for free. These passes were previously only available to graduate students.

Students will be able to obtain the pass at “no additional cost,” according to the program’s webpage, but that doesn’t mean there is no fee whatsoever. The Daily Trojan previously reported that the University will be implementing a $93 transportation fee in the dues of all qualifying students. A University webpage devoted to explaining this fee writes that it will cover services such as “Shryft” — the free shared Lyft rides program operating in a two-mile radius of USC — the USC Bus program and now the U-Pass program.

Qualifications for this fee, according to the page, will be evaluated on a similar basis to other student fees. If a student has any on-campus classes during a semester in which they are enrolled in at least one unit, they will be charged with the fee. Additionally, according to the site, an “on-campus” part of a class may take place off of the University Park or Health Sciences Campuses but within any section of the L.A. Metro service area to meet the qualification.

While the pass will be made available to all students, ownership is not automatic. Students will have to enroll in the program when the time comes. More information on the program and enrollment details will be available in early August.