Politics & Government

DDOT Announces Changes to School Transit Subsidy Program

Changes will apply to K through 12 schools and will be implemented in phases to schools starting this fall.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced yesterday that the D.C. One Card will replace the monthly metro passes and will be rolled out in phases during the new school year.

The School Transit Subsidy Program provides reduced fares for District students who use Metrobus or Metrorail to travel to and from school. The new program, which uses SmarTrip technology, began as a pilot last spring at the School Without Walls.

The D.C. One Card is a single identification card that gives students access to D.C. government programs and facilities, recreation centers, libraries, and the Metro. DCPS students in grades 6 through 12 will automatically receive a D.C. One Card at school. Other students can obtain their card from one of the D.C. One Card Customer Service Centers.

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Eligible students will now purchase passes on their D.C. One Card in order to receive the discounted fare, and will only have to visit the Metro Sales Office once every school year.

students will be in the third phase of the roll out and will be able to enroll on the DC One Card Website Oct. 16. The monthly metro pass will still be sold between Oct. 16  and Nov. 15 and the last day to renew it is Nov. 30.

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Students at will be part of the final program roll out in Jan. 2012.

The changes will be phased in at all District schools over the next year. Until the changes apply to a school, all transit subsidy application paperwork and cards will be handled directly at the school level.

Schools will be collecting the applications and submitting them directly to DDOT to expedite the processing procedure. The school transit subsidy program offices located at the Reeves Center will no longer be accepting those applications that are brought in-person for processing (the DDOT school transit offices at the Reeves Center will be closing permanently on September 6).

Details on how to apply will be available online beginning August 8.


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