Contact us below to receive more information about Improving Transportation or to attend our next meeting
ITCH Overview
Our Team's Vision: Our Improving Transportation in City Heights team - also referred to as ITCH - envisions a future where every young person has access to the opportunities they need to reach their full potential.
The Issue: The lack of affordable transportation has an adverse impact on the lives of youth, specifically youth escaping poverty. Currently, thousands of young people in San Diego are isolated from opportunity as a result of the high cost of transit. Mothers and grandmothers of City Heights met in 2011 to talk about free public transit for youth. The idea of the Youth Opportunity Pass (YOP) was born and it took them over a decade of advocacy before YOP became a reality on May 2022. We're working to make YOP permanent.
Who Should Join ITCH: Community members who are interested in increasing youth opportunity, combating climate change, and increasing investment in public transportation. Our team meets every second Monday of the month. For more information contact Guadalupe (Lupe) Rojas, [email protected], 619-272-7582 x 104.
LATEST NEWS
- ATTENTION YOUTH! Be sure to verify your PRONTO card to continue riding for free. Click here to watch a video on how to verify your card.
- SANDAG releases Youth Opportunity Pass (YOP) Impact Study report. Click here to visit our YOP Impact Study page.
- SANDAG Associate Regional Planner Zaccary Bradt presented the YOP Impact Study that they released last December. Click here to watch! Running time: 32:43.
- SANDAG announces at the Board of Directors meeting on October 27, 2023 that the Youth Opportunity Pass has been extended for two more years! Read more.
Our Current Campaign
From May 2022 to June 2026, San Diegans 18 years old and under can ride for free on the bus, trolley, and other public transit operated by San Diego MTS and the North County Transit District! 🚌
It took more than a decade of advocacy by Mid-City CAN's Improving Transportation in City Heights (ITCH) team for the Youth Opportunity Pass (YOP) to become a reality! YOP began on May 1, 2022 with an end date of June 2023.
Our ITCH team, community members, youth, and community organizations have been advocating to extend and expand YOP. On October 2023, SANDAG announced the extension of the program to June 2026. We thank SANDAG, MTS, and local leaders such as Supervisor Chairwoman Nora Vargas and Council President Sean Elo-Rivera for supporting YOP!
To get started using YOP, click here (or the image above).
Help us make YOP permanent! What you can do now:
1. Help spread the word about this program. Ask your school officials if they are aware of the program.
2). Tell youth to register for YOP by visiting www.ridepronto.com. They can also download the PRONTO app.
How we got here:
Our Improving Transportation in City Heights (ITCH) team for more than a decade demanded no-cost Youth Opportunity Passes for every youth in San Diego. These passes would allow every young person in San Diego to ride public transportation at no cost.
After years of hard work, we believed this dream was achievable by Dec 2021. On October 22nd, 2021, SANDAG Board of Directors approved the Social Equity Pilot Program, which allocated $8 million for no-cost youth fares (18 and under) and increased bus frequency. On May 1st, 2022, all youth ages 18 and under started riding the bus, Trolley, SPRINTER, and COASTER for free!
Youth Opportunity Pass resources:
- Things to know about the Youth Opportunity Passes (page includes PDF of YOP in multiple languages).
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Click here for info about Youth Opportunity Passes.
Our Previous Campaign
In 2011, City Heights mothers and grandmothers united around the simple, but very important goal of seeing their children travel safely to and from school. Momentum built quickly as community members realized what a difference access to transportation would have on the lives of San Diego’s youth. In 2013, with major support from the San Diego Unified School District and contributions from the city and county of San Diego, ITCH won its campaign for a Youth Opportunity Pass pilot program.
The pilot program served 850 high school students who put the passes to great use, participating in extracurricular activities, securing internships, and finding employment that would have been impossible to find without the passes. It was clear by the time the pilot program ended: Youth Opportunity Passes are an incredible investment in our future.
