Starting August 17, 2015, all public school students and public charter school students in Washington, D.C. can ride Metrobus, DC Circulator and Metrorail to and from school for free. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser enacted this new ruling with the kick off of the “Kids Ride Free” program. According to a press release, the new program will save an average family with two children up to $600 over the course of the school year.
“’Kids Ride Free’ saves families money and gets kids to school safely and on time,” said Mayor Bowser. “Expanding the initiative to include Metrorail will give our young people more public transit options, which is especially important to the 75 percent of District students who attend schools outside of their neighborhoods. My Administration is committed to creating pathways to the middle class for District residents and we all know that starts with having access to a quality education.”
Private and parochial school students will need to register to receive the Metrobus pass. All students who are ages 5 to 21 are eligible to enroll. To receive the free pass, a DC One Card is required. To enroll, go to dconecard.dc.gov and register the DC One Card. Afterwards, go to dconecard.dc.gov/manage, sign in with an email address and click the eligibility button under “Transit Subsidy Selection.”
