For high school students in Mentor, Wickliffe and Painesville, Laketran offers free transportation on Local Routes 1-9
By Laura Briedis
For busy families, the balancing act of getting kids to before- and after-school sports, jobs and countless activities can be quite a haul. Luckily for high school students in Mentor, Wickliffe and Painesville, the new student transit benefit program with Laketran offers free transportation on Local Routes 1-9.
“There is a transportation paradox for many individuals in Northeast Ohio,” says Dr. Joe Glavin, CTE Coordinator at Mentor High School. “Individuals are not able to secure a job because they do not have a car, and they are unable to secure a car because they do not have a job.”
Each program has a unique name to correspond with the school (Cardinal GO, Blue Devils GO and Raiders GO), and guarantees students greater access to jobs, internships, career development programs and educational opportunities.
“The goal of these programs is to provide a reliable and affordable way for students to access educational and economic opportunities, as well as bring awareness to public transportation,” says Laketran CEO Ben Capelle.
Meet Luis (pictured above), a freshman at Harvey High School in Painesville, who is one of the many students already regularly taking advantage of the Raiders GO program. The busses get him to work on time, by 6:45 a.m. on school days, at The Grind, a recently opened coffee shop at his school.
“It was really easy to figure out how to ride Laketran, and the schedules and routes work perfectly with my schedule,” says Luis. “I like riding the bus because it allows me to get to work, and it is more comfortable and warmer than walking.”
Says Ben, “It’s great to see students like Luis taking advantage of the program and getting important work experience. That’s exactly the type of outcome we were hoping to see by partnering with the high schools—eliminating the transportation barrier for these students.”
Permission from parents or guardians is required for students to participate in the GO program. Students can register at their school. For more information about Lake County’s regional public transit system, which serves 750,000 riders yearly, go to Laketran.com.