Metro Youth Mobility Program Newsletter | December 2023

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 12/06/2023 12:02 PM PST

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Issue 1: Dec 6, 2023

Register Youth ORCA cards by December 31, 2023!

As a reminder, youth 18 and younger ride transit for free. For riders 13 and older, using a Youth ORCA card (also known as a Free Youth Transit Pass) is highly encouraged, but not required. Tapping a Youth ORCA card allows transit agencies to better understand how many young people are riding transit, including where and when.

Youth who have a Youth ORCA card: To ensure that their card provides free fare until they turn 19 years old and does not expire sooner, all cardholders should register their card at FreeYouthTransitPass.com by December 31, 2023. This 2-minute process requires only an email address or phone number, Youth ORCA card number, and birthdate.

Youth who need a Youth ORCA card: Youth aged 13 and older are encouraged to order a free Youth ORCA card by visiting https://www.myorca.com/buy-online/ (the card will automatically be registered when ordered).

For more information please visit FreeYouthTransitPass.com.

Summer Look Back: Transit Equity Internship Program

Picture of a group of smiling young people in high visibility vests in front of a parked bus

This past summer, Metro hosted a group of 15 student interns ages 15-18 with connections to Renton, Skyway, Tukwila, and neighboring communities for a three-week Transit Equity Internship Program.

Through this program, interns become peer ambassadors of transportation resources, explore career pathways within Metro, and build skills and knowledge of transit, urban planning, climate justice, and local government. The internship will be returning in Summer 2024; stay tuned for more information.

Read more about the 2023 internship program on the Metro Matters Blog.

Ride Right!

When standing on crowded buses, consider removing your backpack to make more space for other riders. 🚎🎒😄

Transit Education Resources for Educators

We’re pleased to provide a suite of curriculum materials for introducing students to public transit. At this link, you can find activity packets, presentations, and videos for grades 2-5 and grades 6-12.

Younger students can ride a pretend bus, learn transit vocabulary, design their own ORCA cards and more. Older students are invited to learn how to read schedules and maps, create their own public awareness campaigns, calculate the environmental impact of transportation options, and more.

Educators and youth-serving organizations are welcome to use these materials with students in any capacity. These materials can be a great resource for preparing students to use transit on a school field trip or trips with their family and friends.

Download Transit Education materials here.

What We're Reading

Report: Youth Perspectives on Transit. Transportation Choices Coalition spoke with 100+ people aged 18 and younger from across Washington to better understand their perspectives on transit. Participants identified strengths of public transit, including environmental impact and increased independence, and challenges to using transit, including safety concerns and insufficient infrastructure and service.
Read more.
Podcast: Addressing sexual harassment and gender-based violence on BART through the Not One More Girl Initiative. From the Bay Area, Not One More Girl is a BIPOC youth-led initiative in partnership with community-based organizations and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to end gender-based violence and harassment on transit. Listen here.

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Comments or questions? Contact us at metroyouth@kingcounty.gov