Public school students in Madison Wisconsin, grades 6 through 12, have a free ticket to ride the bus this summer. The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) and Madison’s Metro Transit, the public bus company, are once again partnering to provide free summer bus access for students in grades 6 through 12, including recent high school graduates.
Students can pick up their summer bus passes at school, or get them virtually through Metro Transit’s Fast Fare mobile app. Students can start the process by emailing a city address from their MMSD student email account.
During the school year, many MMSD students on free and reduced price lunch can already obtain free bus passes on an existing program, but this summer program is more expansive, covering all students of the district in the older grades. Students at private and charter schools, or enrolled at other public school districts in the region, are presumably not eligible for this program however.
Students will benefit from the independence and mobility of riding the bus this summer. Young people deserve support as they pursue errands, education, employment, shopping, community service, entertainment, and social activities. Students will be safer and have lower cost transportation than trying to rely on cars. This is a welcome synergy, a common sense partnership between two public agencies to expand services.
We hope all other cities in the region will follow this example, to expand bus passes to youth, starting with the public school students.