The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced transit ridership across the United States due to increased working from home and the abandonment of public transportation as a means of social distancing. Even before the pandemic, over the past 10 years transit agencies have experienced ridership declines, and this issue is now even more pertinent for transit agencies in the post-COVID era. Further, public transit’s recovery and expansion is essential to curbing transportation’s greenhouse gas emissions. In the interest of attracting more riders, Santa Cruz Metro, the sole transit agency within Santa Cruz County, has implemented a pilot program for one year to provide free rides to anyone under the age of 18. Using this pilot as a case study, this applied research project will be a longitudinal study of travel behavior among high school age teenagers, with original data collected through three surveys administered as a panel study over one year. This study will investigate the following research questions: How does the pilot program increase youth ridership in Santa Cruz during the pilot, and then up to a year after? Does this program increase the likelihood that youth will continue to use the bus into young adulthood, even in new contexts? The outcomes of this study will provide Santa Cruz Metro with a direct understanding of the impacts of the pilot program, and will be useful for transit agencies and policy makers considering larger scale free transit for youth and other groups.
