Free Youth Transit Pass in Washington
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Free Youth Transit Pass in Washington
Starting September 1st, there is a new transportation package called Move Ahead Washington, which is providing grants to public transportation around the state to provide FREE public transportation for all kids & teens 18 & under around the state. This will include transit, passenger rail/trains & ferries. You’ll want to make sure to check with your local public transportation to see if they are participating, but a number of large agencies are participating.
For the Puget Sound area – here are the places we found that are participating:
- Community Transit
- Everett Transit
- King County Metro
- King County Water Taxi
- Kitsap Ferries
- Kitsap Transit
- Pierce Transit
- Skagit Transit
- Sound Transit Light Rail / Sounder
- Washington State Ferries (this will start October 1, 2022 – including cyclists, pedestrians and vehicle passengers, but not vehicles)(Let us know if you hear of more agencies participating & we’ll add them to our list)
How it Works::
All youth will be able to ride transit for free starting Sept 1 (Oct 1 for WA state ferries). For those who are 13 & older, they encourage students to show one of the following to the driver/transit company. However, they will not be turned away if they do not have one of these cards & can still board for free::
- Youth ORCA Card (Please tap on/off. The card will not expire if it’s registered and youth have until June 30, 2023 to register their card.)
- Current High School or Middle School Student IDIn 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.
Starting in 2023, they will have the youth sign up for a FREE Youth Transit Pass which will allow them to tap a card (& eventually their smartphone) to access free transit.
