The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) has partnered with the city of Sacramento to offer free fare for students in grades K through 12 to ride SacRT buses and light rail vehicles. Students who either go to school within the city limits of Sacramento or reside within the City limits but attend a school outside the City’s boundaries are eligible.
The Sacramento City Council approved a budget that includes $1 million for free fare for students on June 11.
"This is a great win for our city's youth," said Councilmember and SacRT Board Member Jay Schenirer. "All children from kindergarten through 12th grade who live or go to school in Sacramento will now have the ability to use public transportation for free at any time of day, any day of the week, and year-round. In addition, we’re breaking down one of the biggest barriers to creating lifelong transit riders – cost of access."
The city’s Student Free Fare Transit Pass program will provide over 100,000 students the opportunity to ride any of SacRT’s fixed-route or SmaRT Ride microtransit services at any time free of charge for an initial period of one year (from October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020). The city is the sponsor of the program, providing funding to SacRT for lost fare revenue.
“Providing free transit passes will remove the barrier so many families experience trying to get their children to school every day,” said Sacramento County Supervisor and SacRT Board Chair Patrick Kennedy. “SacRT is always looking at ways to benefit the community and this new initiative will provide mobility freedom for our youth to get to school, internships and entertainment destinations."
The student free fare passes will be made available in the form of a sticker to be placed directly on the student’s school identification (ID) card, allowing schools to print and issue ID cards with the transit pass sticker already affixed to them.
“By providing unlimited access to transit, it will open the door to more opportunities for our youth,” said SacRT General Manager/CEO Henry Li. “This will eliminate obstacles to their success in school and life, and provide for more equitable investments throughout our region.”
Distribution of fare passes to all students is to be done at schools located within city boundaries. Schools that are outside the City limits, but have students who are residents of the city could also obtain stickers from SacRT. Students who are experiencing homelessness and/or a part of foster programs will also be allowed to participate in the free student pass program regardless of current residence address or school address.
In addition, SacRT is working with additional local jurisdictions to make the entire SacRT service area free for students in grades K through 12. Should the program be implemented throughout Sacramento County, an estimated 250,000 students would have the opportunity to ride for free. An initiative of this magnitude is expected to grow school attendance, leading to additional education funding from the state, while reducing congestion and helping to build future transit riders for life.
