Orange County Transportation Authority officials will hold an open house next week to encourage more families to sign up for a program offering free bus rides.
Families that take advantage of the Youth Ride Free program will have to transition to a new system involving the use of a card.
Parents or guardians will need to create or sign up for a Wave account before applying for the Youth Ride Free program. The two will be linked, and youths will be given a Wave card they can use to board buses for free, officials said. Renewals of the account need to be done every two years after that.
Families who fail to complete the process by Sept. 30 will lose the Youth Ride Free benefit until they fill out the application for the new program, which is open to youths ages 6 to 18 years old.
“OCTA’s Youth Ride Free program has helped thousands of young people throughout Orange County get where they need to go safely and affordably,” said OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico. “Moving the program to Wave makes it easier to manage the benefit while helping ensure that students can continue riding OC Bus for free.”
The open house to help families sign up for the new account and explain it will be from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at OCTA headquarters, 550 S. Main St.