Free RTA Bus Passes Available To Howard County Students

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — To help alleviate the transportation issues students, families and bus drivers with the Howard County Public School System face this fall, the county will offer free Regional Transit Authority passes to middle school and high school students.

More than 57,000 students are eligible to ride the RTA system and more than 10,000 students can access a stop within a quarter-mile of their school. The partnership between the school district and the county will begin with the start of the school year next week and passes will be valid through Sept. 12, 2022.

Students can pick up their free passes from school administrative offices next week. An electronic pass will be available on smartphones starting in early 2022. Students will have full access to the RTA system and will not be limited to transportation to and from schools.

“Our kids need more independent safe modes of transportation and this program is a great example of our commitment to make Howard County more multi-modal,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at a news conference. “The bus can take you from your classroom to your after-school job, home from soccer practice or to a friend’s house to hang out or study. This program opens up many more opportunities for our students, encourages the use of our RTA system that’s already in place and decreases the dependence on cars.”

To obtain the free student bus pass, students must agree to:

• Provide name/student ID, address and grade to school staff;
• Maintain possession of the pass;
• Not transfer or share the pass with others;
• Only one replacement pass will be provided to each student;
• Abide by Howard County Public School System rules while on board.

"Many students and families rely on public transportation as their primary means of transit to work and other necessary destinations," HCPSS Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano said.