Regional Transit: Fare-Free Program for Youth is a Success!

February 12, 2020
Sacramento Regional Transit

SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) announced today that student ridership has doubled since implementing the fare-free program for youth/students in grades transitional kindergarten (TK) to 12th. SacRT launched the RydeFreeRT program in October 2019, which offers youth/students access to the entire SacRT network, including buses, light rail and SmaRT Ride on-demand microtransit service, for free.

Last month, SacRT experienced record ridership increases with 176,500 student trips taken on bus, which is a 106% increase from January 2019 student ridership.

“One of our top priorities at the City of Sacramento is offering more opportunities for young people,” said City of Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “Having a free transit pass makes it easier to get to that paid internship, to that sports practice or that afterschool program. It’s amazing to see so many students take advantage of their new freedom to move around the Sacramento region and take advantage of all the opportunities it offers.”

The City of Sacramento provided SacRT with $1 million, as well as additional funds from other cities and school districts to counter revenue loss for the year-long RydeFreeRT program.

“Young people have told us the number one reason for chronic absence is lack of transportation. By eliminating transportation barriers, we’re increasing chances for more young people to succeed in school, career and in life,” said SacRT Board Director and City Council Member Jay Schenirer.

“SacRT is setting a new standard that will be emulated across the nation.”

“This program is the first in the nation to offer students free transit seven days a week, anywhere, any time,” said SacRT Board Chair and City Council Member Steve Hansen. “We are seeing a spike in students riding SacRT after school and on weekends, which confirms that there is a strong need for students to get to jobs, internships and extracurricular activities – Exactly what we hoped would happen with the implementation of this program.”

“Free fares for youth not only opens the door to opportunity, it creates lifelong public transit riders by instilling the habit at a young age,” said SacRT General Manager/CEO Henry Li. “Research shows that people who ride public transportation at a young age are more likely to use it as adults, which could have a tremendous impact on traffic congestion and air quality.”

Researchers at University of Texas, Austin who recently completed a study with three Sacramento City Unified School District schools to assess the barriers students face in traveling to school and other activities, are conducting a study on the impact of fare-free transportation on these students’ lives in areas including, but not limited to, school attendance, engagement in out-of-school time enrichment activities, participation in work-based learning, and attitudes towards SacRT in general. The study is expected to be complete this summer.

More than 300 schools in the Sacramento region are enrolled in the program. Most students automatically received a RydeFreeRT sticker with their student ID. For students and youth not attending a participating school, stickers and cards are available for free at local Sacramento County public libraries and SacRT’s Customer Service and Sales Center.

Partners and participating school districts include Sacramento Public Library, Center Unified School District, Elk Grove Unified School District, Folsom Cordova Unified School District, Natomas Unified School District, Robla School District, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County Office of Education, San Juan Unified School District, Twin Rivers Unified School District, City of Citrus Heights, City of Folsom and City of Rancho Cordova. The RydeFreeRT program runs until September 30, 2020. SacRT is working to secure funding to continue the program in future years.

Within fiscal year 2020, SacRT has seen an estimated 6% increase in ridership system-wide. More information on the program is available at RydeFreeRT.com. Watch a student testimonial about the RydeFreeRT program here.

Help Steer Sacramento County’s Transportation Planning

Do you want better public transit and more walkable, bike-friendly, accessible neighborhoods for all? How about affordable housing at transit stations all over town? On Dec. 12 and Jan. 9, the Sacramento Transportation Authority is meeting to discuss details for a possible ballot measure in November 2020 to levy a sales tax for transportation funding in Sacramento County. It’s up to them whether this measure addresses the dire reality of climate change and the needs of all neighborhoods no matter the zip code. Find out how to contact your representative and tell them what you think! Especially important for communities like Citrus Heights, Arden Arcade, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, North Highlands, etc.
– Chase Kelly-Reif, ECOS Board Member

Click here to learn more about how you can help.

Click here to learn more about what ECOS is doing to help.

SacMoves Coalition Comments to Sacramento Transportation Authority

December 12, 2019

The Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA) is working to put together a new transportation measure for our region. This month, they’re drafting the Transportation Expenditure Plan scheduled for the November 2020 ballot. ECOS has been a part of the SacMoves Coalition, which joined with SMART to develop a framework for the STA. Below is an excerpt from the document:

Sacramento County should have an innovative, seamless and diversified transportation network that offers a wide range of accessible, affordable and efficient mobility choices coupled with supportive land uses. The County’s transportation system should strengthen and diversify our economy, improve our air quality, and reduce carbon emissions and vehicle miles traveled by minimizing single occupancy vehicle trips, expanding and improving public transit and shared mobility services and providing safe access for bicyclists and pedestrians. All community members, particularly from marginalized communities, should have access to sustainable and affordable mobility options that facilitate positive community outcomes for public health and safety, livability and economic vitality. In short, virtually all Sacramento County residents should have the option of living and working within walking distance or a transit stop from everything they need.

Click here to view entire document.

Will local officials listen on 2020 transportation measure?

December 10, 2019
By David Mogavero (Former ECOS President)
Sacramento News and Review

What Transportation Measure?

In the next several weeks, our elected officials are writing a measure for the November 2020 ballot to levy a sales tax for transportation funding in Sacramento County.

How You Can Help!

Go to sacta.org/a_board.html, find the name of your elected representative who sits on the board and call, email, text or ask them for a meeting.

Tell them:

– You don’t want more roads, but want more transit and safer streets for bicycling and walking.

– You won’t be fooled by a measure that funds the road project down the street (that your neighbor told the pollsters they like) but sacrifices the quality of our county’s future

– You will only support a transportation measure that moves our community to a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable future.

-This is most critical for those who live outside of the city of Sacramento, including in Citrus Heights, Arden Arcade, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove and North Highlands, etc.

– Please contact your representative now and voice your concerns. By February, it may be too late.

Read the full article here.

Photo Courtesy of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA)

Sacramento leaders are facing a choice: Help or hurt the climate with transportation dollars

December 10, 2019
By Anne Stausboll
Special To The Sacramento Bee

Below is an excerpt from this insightful article on the new sales tax measure.

The sales tax measure will require approval by two-thirds of the voters. This is a steep climb and won’t be achieved by emphasizing enormous new highway projects that lead to more cost and harm to the environment. Support can only be achieved by investing in alternatives while providing for prudent maintenance of our existing roadways.

This isn’t about taking away people’s cars. It is about planning, common sense, and sustainable priorities.

Click here to read the full article.

Photo by Ricardo Esquivel from Pexels

Metropolitan Transportation Plan Update

On November 7, 2019, the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) submitted comments on the recently proposed update to our region’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS). These comments were submitted via one letter solely from ECOS, and a joint letter from both ECOS and 350 Sacramento. Below is an excerpt from our comments, followed by links to PDFs of both letters.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) has put forth a sophisticated Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS), a regional plan that the region’s jurisdictions should follow. While this regional plan is not a strong as we feel it could be, the 2020 MTP/SCS is a viable strategy for the region to meet its regional greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets mandated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) per Senate Bill 375 (2008).

The plan represents a reasonable compromise between what the region could accomplish if the political will existed, and the reality of much more expansive car-oriented, low-density growth that is actually being actively pursued by some of the region’s jurisdictions on the ground. ECOS would prefer a greater percentage of transportation investment to non-auto modes, and a much more compact land use footprint than proposed. The Sacramento region is not meeting its mandated GHG reduction targets because local jurisdictions are not complying with the strategy that SACOG has laid out for them, and the State must do more to ensure compliance of local authorities to our Sustainable Community Strategies, as well as to ensure the State’s own investments are aligned with its climate laws.

Click here to read the comment letter by ECOS on the MTP/SCS.

Click here to read the comment letter by ECOS and 350 Sacramento on the Climate Change section of the MTP/SCS, which was submitted separately.