Students without a reliable source of transportation will enjoy greater mobility and security to attend after-school functions, travel to work and shop and explore the county they live in under a free-ride program announced by Lincoln County Transit.
Lincoln County School District high school students can now ride free anywhere in the County, including all high schools and charter schools serving grades 9-12: Taft, Toledo, Waldport, Newport, Lincoln City Career Tech, Siletz Valley and Eddyville Charter high schools.
“”This will open many opportunities for them from after school events to summer jobs.” Lincoln County Transit Director Cynda Bruce said. “We look forward to watching our students become familiar with the transit system.”
Funds are provided using the State Transportation Improvement Fund money. (https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/RPTD/Pages/STIF.aspx). Any student in high school will simply need to display their current student body card to the driver as they enter the bus.
The program is the result of Section 122 of Keep Oregon Moving (Oregon House Bill 2017), which established a new dedicated source of funding for “improving or expanding public transportation service in Oregon.”
“We appreciate Lincoln County Transit’s efforts to expand services to high school students,” LCSD HELP Program Coordinator Katey Townsend said. “We live in a very large county and this will help many students get connected to resources, programs and employment.”