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OC Bus

Youth Ride Free

Preparing Students for Success

The OCTA Youth Ride Free Program provides youth ages 6 to 18 with free travel on OC Bus fixed-route service to school, work or fun on safe, clean and reliable buses.

Preparing Students for Success

The OCTA Youth Ride Free Program provides youth ages 6 to 18 with free travel on OC Bus fixed-route service to school, work or fun on safe, clean and reliable buses.

Partner with us today!

The Youth Ride Free program provides free year-round travel on OC Bus to youth 6 to 18.

To ensure the greatest number of youth benefit from free access to public transportation for school, work and leisure, OCTA partners with K 12 schools and parents to deliver the Youth Ride Free program. Please review the program guide and partner with us today!

Download program guide

How It Works

1

Enroll Your School

Email us if you are interested in participating. In the email, please identify staff at your school or school district who can serve as points of contact for this program. This will be the individual(s) who collects request forms and provides passes. If parents from your school contact OCTA directly, they will be directed to this contact.

Email octa

2

Collect Request Forms and Distribute Passes

Printed copies of the Parental Request Form are provided to schools with passes. Completed Parental Request Forms are to be returned to the designated point of contact(s) at a student’s school and retained at the school.

Once a completed Parental Request Form is received, provide the student with a Youth Ride Free pass. Please be sure to note the pass serial number on the completed form.

3

When Passes Expire

When passes expire, schools should promptly destroy the collected forms, according to their respective secure document policies. Any remaining or expired Youth Ride Free passes can be recycled /discarded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Please download the parental request form and submit it to your school.

Yes, but the child will need a new parental approval form.

For this school year, Wave cards will be enabled with a temporary benefit that works like the paper passes, valid for up to one year, through September 30, 2026.

Parental Request Forms do not have to be returned to OCTA.

Please email YouthRideFree@octa.net with the desired quantity.

With nearly 60 routes and more than 5,400 stops, OC Bus makes it easy to get to school, work and fun. Rider tools such as the Transit App make it simple to figure out when the bus will arrive and how to plan trips. We also offer transit training to promote bus riding confidence.
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Questions? Contact Us

We’re happy to help answer questions about the Youth Ride Free Program.

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Grant Funds Offer Many Benefits

The program is grant-funded by the California Department of Transportation and the California Air Resources Board through California Climate Investments which help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health and the environment.

OCTA
California Climate Investments
Caltrans