On January 1, Cincinnati Metro launched the Everybody Rides Metro program, which will distribute $500K per year in discounted bus passes for lower income bus riders. Participating human services agencies will be able to purchase bus passes at a 50% discount and pass them along to their eligible clients who ride the bus to get to work, medical appointments, services, and the grocery store.
HSC championed this initiative after a prior version of the program ended in 2017 when the federal grant that funded it expired. Though the prior Everybody Rides Metro program helped fund almost 1,000 rides per day, the new program will be even more responsive to the needs of bus riders, allowing a variety of passes to be purchased for a wider range or uses. ERM also includes passes for Access rides, Metro’s paratransit service for people who are not able to use regular bus service due to a disability. HSC members who had participated in the prior program provided the recommendations that resulted in the program’s improvements.
The re-launch of Everybody Rides Metro has been made possible as a result of Hamilton County’s passage of Issue 7, which approved a new 0.8 percent sales tax to fund SORTA, its Reinventing Metro plan and improvements to transportation infrastructure.
Organizations who are interested in participating in the program can fill out an application here and send it to Caprice Jones at CJones@go-metro.com. Bus riders can contact HSC at info@humanserviceschamber.org to be connected with a participating organization.