High school students in Seattle Public Schools can get a helping hand with transportation with the debut of free bus passes during the academic year.
The passes, provided by the city of Seattle, are available for low-income students who live more than two miles from their designated school. There are 3,000 available for the 2016–17 school year funded by $1 million from the Seattle City Council.
Although there are income and proximity requirements, young people don’t have to prove them on the application. That low-barrier application is very important, said Katie Wilson, cofounder of the Transit Riders Union (TRU).
“It’s an honor system,” she said. “You don’t have to send in your pay stub or show you’re on food stamps or something.”
The problem with many programs meant to help people living on low-incomes is the constant need to prove your poverty, a process that can be burdensome, time-consuming and ultimately degrading, Wilson said.
Students at Rainier Beach High School’s summer Freedom School fought for and won the bus passes with support from the TRU, an unconventional union founded locally to fight for improved access to public transportation and subsidized rates for people living in poverty and those experiencing homelessness.
The Seattle City Council approved funding for the cards in fall 2015. Wilson hopes that the program can eventually be expanded to include students at other age levels and for a duration longer than the school year to help students get to summer programs and to their jobs.
Applications are available here.