CT: CT high school students may soon get free passes to ride CTtransit buses across the state

High school students in Connecticut may soon get access to free public bus transportation under a recently approved bill that the governor was expected to sign into law.

The General Assembly approved an extensive bill last week that included a number of items, including a plan to hand out free bus passes on the CTtransit system to students in grades 9 through 12 and to military veterans.

CTtransit runs the bus systems in Bristol, Meriden, New Britain, Wallingford and Waterbury as well as in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford.

The plan would require the state Department of Transportation to administer the program, and it would set aside $2.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year to fund it.

Jay Stange, a consultant with the New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation advocacy group, called the bill a big win for public transportation.

“Bus passes aren’t handouts, they are investments,” he said in a press release from the organization. “Each bus pass provided to a high school student or veteran is a ticket to opportunity, a chance to play afterschool sports, go to the doctor, work a job, participate in nonprofit programming or be more connected to the community.”

In February, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that his budget proposal to the General Assembly included $3.5 million in funding to provide free bus passes to military veterans and a 50% discount for students in grades K-12, which differs from the free bus program for high school students that was recently supported by both the Connecticut Senate and House of Representatives.

Nonetheless, a spokesperson for Lamont said in an emailed statement to CT Insider that the governor will sign the bill into law “when the legislature transmits the bill to his office.”

“The governor proposed this concept earlier this year and he is glad that the legislature incorporated it into the budget they approved last week,” spokesperson David Bednarz said.

Earlier this year, Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto voiced support for Lamont’s initial proposal to provide high school students with a discount to ride the bus.

“Providing discounted bus fares for students and veterans isn’t just about increasing affordability, it’s about access,” Eucalitto said in a press release in February. “Reliable transportation ensures people can reach essential destinations like health care, jobs, and school.”

If enacted, the free bus program would not be the first time the state has offered such a service. In 2021, Connecticut made buses free after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That move was followed by a major spike in ridership.

Stange said he noticed the effects of the free-bus policy firsthand. At the time, he said he worked for a nonprofit called Center for Latino Progress in Hartford and said all of the youth programs were filled “to the brim.” However, that quickly changed once the state ended the free bus service in 2023, he said.

“All of a sudden nobody was there anymore,” Stange said of the youth programs. “The kids couldn’t get there.”

The free bus program for high school students will be beneficial to the state’s biggest cities, such as Stamford, Stange said. High school students in Stamford are only eligible for bus transportation if they live farther than 2 miles from their high school, similar to other municipalities across the state. Everyone who lives within that 2-mile radius must either walk, drive, get a ride or pay for public transportation to get to school.

“In Stamford in particular this is going to be a massive benefit,” he said.

State Rep. Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat who represents parts of Stamford, said the legislation is a “step in the right direction.”

“Expanding access to public transit helps connect people to opportunity, improves safety by reducing the number of cars on the road, and helps address traffic and congestion, particularly in communities like Stamford,” he said in a statement sent to CT Insider.

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