Sound Transit press release.
Sound Transit’s Board of Directors voted unanimously today to approve free fares for youth aged 18 and younger, effective September 1. The new policy was prompted by the Move Ahead Washington transportation package passed by the State Legislature last March, which incentivizes all Washington state transit agencies to adopt a free fare policy for riders under 19 years old. Under the agency’s previous policy, youth pay a reduced fare of $1.50.
“Today’s decision will not only increase affordability for youth and families, but it will increase their opportunities as well,” said University Place Council Member and Sound Transit Board Chair Kent Keel. “Free fares mean easy access not just to schools, but to jobs, after-school activities and youth-related programs. It also introduces a new generation to the habit of a becoming lifetime riders of transit.”
The new policy is being implemented in partnership with other regional transit agencies to create a seamless experience for riders. Youth with a Youth ORCA Card will be encouraged to use it when riding. Youth ORCA cards issued by schools during the 2021-2022 academic school year will continue to work through June 30, 2023. There are 77,000 Youth ORCA cards that will automatically provide card holders with access to the free fare.
In 2023 and beyond, youth will be directed to get a Free Youth Transit Pass that allows them to tap a card—or eventually their smartphone—to access transit across the region for free.
An ORCA card or other fare media will be not required for youth to ride free. No youth will be turned away or penalized if they do not have an ORCA card, and no personal information will be collected. Regional ORCA partners are currently analyzing the best methods to distribute ORCA cards to youth.
Sound Transit and ORCA partner transit agencies are encouraging youth to use the Free Youth Transit Pass to take advantage of this free fare. This will enable agencies to track ridership by agency and identify trips taken by youth travelling via more than one agency. This information will facilitate compliance with state reporting requirements and allow agencies to identify important inter-agency connections for youth.
Use of the Free Youth Transit Pass to access this free fare will also help educate the next generation of riders on how to use ORCA and simplify fare compliance for bus drivers. Youth without a Free Youth Transit Pass may be asked to show a student ID or proof of age and will be provided with information about how to get a Free Youth Transit Pass. Engagement with youth riders will follow Sound Transit’s recently adopted fare engagement policies.
The ORCA transit agencies are working closely together to make it easy for youth to obtain ORCA cards. ORCA agencies are also working to provide school districts with additional ORCA cards for students in the fall. And the ORCA virtual card is expected to be available for all riders, including youth, sometime in 2023.
More information about how youth can ride regional transit for free is available at https://info.myorca.com/youth-ride-free/
First of all, free is not free.
Just be honest – we are paying for those fares with taxes.
Why not include that in your statement?
How about a shout-out to all of us who are repaying this multi-billion dollar transportation debt?
Why is it so hard for the left to admit that someone else is paying for your dreams and schemes?
Are you ashamed or arrogant, or perhaps you actually believe there is such a thing as “free”?
First of all no one in their right mind would ever step foot on one of the smelly slow pathetic mass transit systems we have in this state! As long as you like the smell of urine and vomit and maybe the occasional heroin addict shooting up across the aisle from you I can’t think of any other reason not to ride this wonderful system. It’s apparent that you are not able to subpoena people to ride your pathetic system so let’s just make it free like everything else you want people to use they’re not interested in it until you make it free but it’s not free it’s the wide angle of Saxons who built everything who are now expected to pay for everything because we’re racist bigoted whatever’s! Really? I would rather walk barefooted over crushed glass in a hurricane then step foot on any pathetic public transit system that then told me when and where I could go anywhere and who I got to go there with.
How about you release a full accounting of the transit authority’s financial ledger? Now THAT would be impressive journalism.
Tom, The Suburban Times isn’t a traditional news organization. I created The Suburban Times in 2005 to be a digital version of a community bulletin board. I keep the bulletin board clean and operational and the community fills it up with flyers tacked to the board. This items was a Sound Transit announcement, not a reported story. I don’t have reporters or editors. I merely accepted unsolicited essays and aggregate local content. Thanks for reading The Suburban Times. Ben Sclair, Publisher.
It is great to see kids having increased opportunities. It will be a boon for those seeking part time jobs, getting to the Y, sport practices and college running start programs. Not everyone has a non working parent or access to a vehicle. Let’s face it, not everyone has $3.00 for a round trip ticket. I believe ferries will also be added as well? It will also reduce carbon emissions with less cars.
I’ve been following this for a bit and wondered about funding? It comes from a variety of sources: one-time transfers from the state’s general fund and Public Works Assistance Account, federal dollars from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, and investments from the Climate Commitment Act. Woot Woot – they did not get an additional gas tax included! Interestingly Sound Transit is not getting a grant, but their board voted 100% to be included in the program for kids.
Hopefully the Move Ahead WA package will be sustainable. There are several parts to it, including preservation of our infrastructure (think bridges), combating climate change by reducing emissions and expanding safe affordable transit options. It will be nice to see where money is going since we often do not.
One of my worries will be the unsupervised kids that will take advantage with misbehavior. Have you ever rode a school bus? 🤪 Nonetheless, it is an opportunity from which many kids will benefit.