Luskin’s Jacob Wasserman spoke to The LA Local  about why more Los Angeles college students are choosing Metro over cars as free and discounted student pass programs expand.

Wasserman, a research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, said university pass programs can help build a culture of transit use. At UCLA, he noted, all undergraduate and graduate students receive transit passes, creating value for student riders while also supporting transit agencies because schools purchase passes broadly.

Wasserman also discussed the difficulty of expanding transit in a region built around cars and freeways. Many riders still face inconvenient stops, long walks and safety concerns when surrounding areas are not designed for pedestrians.

“At UCLA, every undergrad and grad student gets a pass. It makes the transit agency money because [schools] buy it for everybody, and the people who do use it get a ton of value. It’s effectively free,” Wasserman said.