The Multnomah Youth Commission, working together with Sam Adams and Tom Potter, current and former Portland mayors, and TriMet, created an affordable program. The program is modeled after a similar program in Lane County, Oregon, which provides all students with a free bus pass. YouthPass is endorsed by school districts, Portland Business alliance, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, but will be fully paid for by Oregon state funds.

A trial form of the program was used at Jefferson High School and Franklin High School. At the beginning of the school year the students of these two schools were given free bus passes which expire on Dec. 31. However, because the schools deemed the program extremely useful and the students valued the passes, they, unlike Grant and Lincoln, will be issued new passes in January 2009.

Grant High School was one of the few new schools that were to receive free bus passes in 2009, but due to the suffering economy the funding fell through. While many of us were anxiously awaiting our free bus passes that came with the beginning of the new year, Grant students will not be getting bus passes this year. Principal Malone said that the State of Oregon Department of Energy and US Bank were going to pair up and fund the new bus pass program, but when the time came they regretfully said they couldn’t pay the estimated $1 million dollars needed to fund the program.

The lack of funding for free bus passes to all Grant students does not affect the students who receive free passes now. Those passes will continue to be available to those who qualify.

At the moment, Portland Public Schools is still trying to find funding from other businesses that they could use to continue and expand the program. They hope to find funding for all Portland Public Schools to have bus passes, but for now they are working on the funding for Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln and Grant high schools to receive passes. Even if PPS finds a business willing to fund the program, the bus passes will not be available until next school year.