Starting Thursday, Sept. 1, if you’re 18 or younger, riding transit is as simple as boarding a bus, light rail train, streetcar or Water Taxi. Your cost to ride: $0.
Thousands of students already have the keys in their hand with their Free Youth Transit Pass cards. Now there’s a new tool on FreeYouthTransitPass.com that can help you register your youth ORCA card to ensure riding stays free until age 19.
How to ride
The Free Transit Youth Pass allows young riders to use the classic blue youth ORCA cards, show their student identification, or simply board and ride free. New black ORCA cards are also working their way out to school districts across the region and are being distributed through customer service offices and community or school events. Any of these options will work now, with more innovations on the horizon, including the ability to “tap” a smartphone or a “smart” sticker on a student ID.
The Free Youth Transit Pass builds on King County’s many years of success in providing ORCA cards to middle and high school students during the school year, and Summer Youth ORCA passes for those who would most benefit from expanded mobility options.
Youth and families can go to FreeYouthTransitPass.com for more information!
Did you get a youth ORCA card from your school, at an event, or from a community organization? Register it today on FreeYouthTransitPass.com
If you have a school-issued youth ORCA card or one that was picked up at your local farmer’s market, you have until next summer to go to FreeYouthTransitPass.com to provide your ORCA card number and birthdate. You can also contact Metro’s Customer Service office, by phone or in person, to provide your birthdate. Do this before June 30, 2023, so you can use Free Youth Transit Pass to ride free until your 19th birthday. After that, the same ORCA card can be used to start paying fare as an adult. No need to get a new card! (Want to create an online account in case you lose your card or to get ready to shift over to an adult card? See info below!)
Who doesn’t need to register? If your card was issued at an ORCA Customer Service Office or received through the mail, it already has your birthday verified so there is no need to provide it again online.
How do I get a Free Youth Transit Pass card?
ORCA transit agencies are distributing thousands of youth ORCA cards to high school and middle school students this fall, with much more in store in 2023. Check with your school to see if they are participating. If your school is not participating, you can order a youth ORCA card for free directly from myORCA.com (current wait times are a few weeks to receive a card due to demand and staffing levels). You can also visit us at an ORCA Customer Service offices during business hours to get a youth card today – and remember to bring some kind of ID! (In the meantime, please use student ID to ride.)
What do I do if I lose my youth ORCA card?
We highly recommend registering your card and then creating an online myORCA account with a valid email address and linking your card as soon as you get one. Families can link all their cards to one account so that if any cards are lost, you can easily order a replacement. Youth card replacements will be issued at no cost! And if you are 13 or older you can even set up your own account.