In a city built around the automobile, the cheapest way to get to campus is often the one that leaves the car at home.

The math behind the commute

Parking permits at Los Angeles's four-year universities can run as high as $585 a semester, LAist reported. Against that, a student transit pass is a bargain. Metro's standard fare is $1.75 a ride, and the agency caps daily spending at $5 and weekly spending at $18, according to Metro — so even a student paying trip by trip rarely spends more than a parking tab would cost.

For many, the pass is cheaper still. Institution-subsidized U-Pass programs load unlimited rides onto a student's TAP card for a semester; at Cal State Dominguez Hills the pass runs $67.50 a term, LAist reported. At USC, a $146 semester transportation fee covers the pass — against campus parking that can reach that same $585 figure.

GoPass and the community-college pipeline

For community-college students, the ride is free. Metro's GoPass program gives unlimited rides on Metro buses and trains — plus service from more than a dozen partner agencies — to students at participating K-12 schools, adult schools and community colleges across Los Angeles County. Students pick up a physical card at their campus and activate it through the TAP app.

Gina Medrano, a Santa Monica College psychology student, rides from East Los Angeles to the Westside on a GoPass rather than fight the 10 freeway and hunt for parking, LAist reported. Zak Nirenberg, studying at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College downtown, framed the appeal simply: the pass erases the parking problem in a district where lots fill before 8 a.m.

The hidden cost is time

The financial case is clear; the lived experience is more mixed. Students interviewed by LAist and CalMatters described long waits, delayed or broken-down buses, and the need to build hours of buffer into a commute. One Cal State Dominguez Hills student said she leaves home by 8:30 a.m. for an 11:30 class. For students juggling jobs and family, those hours carry a real opportunity cost.

Safety perceptions add another layer. Several women described adjusting where they sit and what they display on the train. Metro says violent crime on its system fell 6.7 percent in 2025 from the prior year, and that it has added uniformed officers, expanded its transit-ambassador program and stood up a new in-house public safety department, LAist reported. Riders call the improvements real but incremental.

Riding anyway

For students whose alternative is a parking tab rivaling a car payment, the ledger still tends to settle the question. Stephanie Verdugo, a Cal State LA sociology major who rode on pay-as-you-go TAP charges when she couldn't cover a pass upfront, told CalMatters she spent about $80 over a month of daily riding. "To me," she said, "that's really good."