Upcoming open house will help students and parents complete the transition to Wave and keep free OC Bus rides active
ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority is reminding families that youth ages 6 to 18 who ride OC Bus at no cost through the Youth Ride Free program must first have a Wave fare payment account and then complete a Youth Ride Free application by Sept. 30 to keep their free rides active.
Youth Ride Free is now integrated with Wave, OCTA’s account-based fare payment system. Parents or guardians must create or sign in to a Wave account before completing a Youth Ride Free application for each eligible child.
Once the application is approved, the Youth Ride Free benefit is added to the Wave account linked to the student’s Wave card, allowing them to continue riding OC Bus for free to school, work, activities and other destinations throughout Orange County. It only needs to be renewed every two years after that.
Families who do not complete the process by Sept. 30 will no longer have the Youth Ride Free benefit automatically applied to their existing card. The Wave card can still be used, but it will require regular fare payment until the Youth Ride Free application is completed and approved.
“OCTA’s Youth Ride Free program has helped thousands of young people throughout Orange County get where they need to go safely and affordably,” said OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico. “Moving the program to Wave makes it easier to manage the benefit while helping ensure that students can continue riding OC Bus for free.”
Wave Open House Sept. 10
To help families and students make the transition, OCTA will host:
- Youth Ride Free Wave Open House
Thursday, Sept. 10
2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
OCTA Headquarters
550 S. Main St.
Orange, CA 92868
Students, parents, guardians or representatives are invited to attend to learn more about the transition, receive assistance creating Wave accounts and completing Youth Ride Free applications, and get answers to questions about the program.
Families who want to complete an application at the open house should have both the parent or guardian and student present and bring the required eligibility documentation.
What Families Need to Do
To keep a child’s free OC Bus rides active after Sept. 30, a parent or guardian should:
- Create or sign in to a Wave account in the parent or guardian’s name.
- Complete the Youth Ride Free application for each child.
- Provide the child’s Wave card number, if they already have one.
- Submit documentation showing the child’s name and birthdate.
- Provide a recent photo of the child.
- Families who do not already have a Wave card can request one as part of the process.
Once approved, students simply continue tapping their Wave card when boarding OC Bus, with the Youth Ride Free benefit automatically applied to their account.
The Youth Ride Free program provides youth ages 6 to 18 with free travel throughout the OC Bus system. The program helps young people reach school, jobs, internships, extracurricular activities and recreational destinations while providing families with an affordable transportation option.
Wave, launched in October 2025, provides OCTA riders with a modern, account-based fare payment system. Riders can use physical Wave cards or the Wave mobile app, and eligible riders can have discounted or free-fare programs linked directly to their accounts.
The Youth Ride Free program is grant-funded by the California Department of Transportation and the California Air Resources Board through California Climate Investments, which support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy and improve public health and the environment.
Families are encouraged to complete the registration process as soon as possible to avoid any interruption in free rides after Sept. 30.
For more information, to apply or to review required eligibility documents, please visit OCBus.com/YouthRideFree.
