Youths throughout Ventura County can now ride public buses for free

Mike Harris, Ventura County Star
·4 min read
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Christian Garcia, left, Ray Ghazi and Caleb Nielsen wait their turns to get on a Gold Coast Transit bus near Buena High School in Ventura on Oct. 20. Under a new pilot program offered by local transit operators, young people can now ride any public bus in Ventura County for free.
Christian Garcia, left, Ray Ghazi and Caleb Nielsen wait their turns to get on a Gold Coast Transit bus near Buena High School in Ventura on Oct. 20. Under a new pilot program offered by local transit operators, young people can now ride any public bus in Ventura County for free.

Young people throughout Ventura County can now ride any local public bus for free.

Under the two-year Youth Ride Free program, which launched Sept. 1, anyone 18 or younger is eligible to use fixed-route buses and dial-a-ride for the general public at no cost. Paratransit dial-a-ride is not part of the program.

Also eligible are high school students who are older than 18.

Anyone younger than 10 needs to be accompanied by an adult.

The pilot program is being administered by the Ventura County Transportation Commission in coordination with area transit operators.

The commission is the region's transportation planning agency.

Executive Director Martin Erickson says the program is a way to introduce public transit to young people in the community and encourage them to become lifelong passengers.

To ride, youths simply need to board a bus. High school-age youths should be prepared to show an identification card to the driver.

Riders can travel to any destination serviced by the buses, not just to get to and from school. They can board the buses at any time.

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Participating bus operators are:

  • Camarillo Area Transit

  • Gold Coast Transit District, the county's largest bus operator, which services Oxnard, Ventura, Port Hueneme, and Ojai

  • The Kanan Shuttle, which services schools and residential areas in Oak Park and Agoura Hills near Kanan Road. While the shuttle is free anyway, Erickson said more youth riders may learn there is no fee by it being part of the program.

  • Moorpark City Transit

  • Ojai Trolley

  • Simi Valley Transit

  • Thousand Oaks Transit

  • Valley Express, which services Fillmore, Santa Paula and unincorporated Piru.

  • VCTC Intercity Transit, which runs lines throughout the county and into Santa Barbara County.

Locals react

Buena High School students in Ventura gave the program good grades Wednesday as they waited at a bus stop after school for Gold Coast Transit buses to arrive.

"It's nice," said ninth-grader Josephine Crow, 14. "It lets people who live in faraway places get to school on time. And they don't have to pay."

Sophomore Orlando Beltran, 16, agreed.

"It's pretty good," he said. "I like it. Free access."

Anthony Velasquez, 20, uses a sister program launched by the commission in 2018 that allows local college students to ride buses at no cost.

"I like it quite a bit because it's free," the Ventura College student said. "My little siblings go to Buena, and they use the youth program for free as well."

Besides Ventura College, other schools participating in the College Ride program are California Lutheran University, CSU Channel Islands, Moorpark College, Oxnard College, Santa Barbara City College and UC Santa Barbara.

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The Youth Ride Free program is being funded for its initial two years by a $2 million grant to the commission from California’s Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.

The low carbon program provides funds to public transportation agencies for investments in capital projects and services that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve mobility.

The youth program is one such service, Erickson said.

By increasing public transit ridership, it results in less traffic congestion and thus a decrease in emissions, he said.

"It's been well received as indicated by the youths who are using it," particularly in Oxnard and Ventura, he said Thursday.

Gold Coast spokeswoman Cynthia Torres Duque agreed, saying "ridership has been climbing week after week."

The program has another benefit as well, Erickson said.

By offering free fares, bus operators can provide some financial relief to families struggling with high gas prices, he said.

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Erickson said the commission hopes to extend the pilot program after its first two years if the agency can secure more funding from the low carbon program or another source.

"It's been so successful that it's likely we'll continue it," he said.

The College Ride program also is funded by the low carbon program, as is a Metrolink Saturday service program.

Erickson said he's proud of the work the commission did to get the Youth Ride Free program up and running.

"It's a big deal when you have all these municipal operators countywide agreeing to do it," he said. "It wasn't an easy lift."

What to know

For more information about the Youth Ride Free program, go to goventura.org/vctc-transit/youth-ride-free-promotion.

For more information about the College Ride program, go to goventura.org/about/college-ride-faq.

Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Youths can now ride public buses for free in Ventura County