(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that new, unique Kids Ride Free cards for the 2019-2020 School Year will be available for pickup by students from their school’s DC One Card Administrators beginning August 26, 2019. Last year’s card will still be valid for use until September 30, 2019.
“No child should miss a minute or a day of school because of transportation challenges, and no family should be in a position where money is a barrier to getting their children to school on time,” said Mayor Bowser. “As a councilmember, I created the Kids Ride Free program to build not only a more equitable transportation system, but also a more equitable school system. As Mayor, I was proud to expand the program to include trains. Now, we need to ensure that every young person in our city gets their new card so that they can make every day of this upcoming school year count.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser established and championed Kids Ride Free to ensure that District students can get to school and school-related activities for free on Metrobus, Metrorail, and the DC Circulator. The Kids Ride Free Program distributed more than 60,000 SmarTrip cards to District students for over 8 million rides in school year 2018-2019. That is up from approximately 48,000 distributed in school year 2017-2018.
This school year, instead of distributing cards over the summer, new cards will be sent directly to all DC Public Schools and DC public charter schools for distribution starting Monday, August 26, 2019. The new approach should make receiving the new card more convenient for families, allowing them to pick it up directly from their child’s school.
- Student’s School Year 2018-2019 Kids Ride Free card (last year’s card) are valid until September 30, 2019.
- The new School Year 2019-2020 Kids Ride Free card will be provided to students by their school’s DC One Card Administrator before current cards expire on September 30.
- Students who have lost or misplaced their previously issued School Year 2018-2019 Kids Ride Free card can receive a replacement card before school starts at the Deanwood or Judiciary Square DC One Card Centers starting August 16 through August 23 by registering on the Kids Ride Free website.
For additional information or questions about the Kids Ride Free program please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions at kidsridefree.dc.gov. Alternatively, you may contact your school’s DC One Card administrator or the District Department of Transportation’s School Transit Subsidy Office at (202) 673-1740.
