New “Kalamazoo Youth Mobility Fund” partnership will create free public transit for Kalamazoo Public School high schoolers beginning with the 2019/2020 school year

With the financial support of the Foundation for Excellence’s new “Youth Mobility Fund,” The City of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Metro and Kalamazoo Public Libraries are partnering in order to remove one of the top challenges to youth development in Kalamazoo: transportation.  The Youth Mobility Fun vision is simple: beginning with distribution of school IDs for the 2019/2020 school year, any KPS high schooler with a valid school ID can board a Metro bus anywhere in the system, tap the ID on the farebox, and ride for free an unlimited number of times.

The initiative is envisioned as removing a main barrier to educational, employment, social and cultural opportunities for youth. Cards will also continue to be useful as library cards per the existing partnership with Kalamazoo Public Libraries. This will also leverage countless youth development initiatives in the city and supercharge educational opportunity generally. Over time, the program will seek to expand to be as comprehensive of youth and young people in the city as available resources allow. 

More information will be coming soon!  For more information on this project, please call (269) 337-8233.

Our NEW Route 20 - East Comstock Route

Starting January 7, 2019, we will be providing service to the eastern portion of Comstock Township via M-96 and 35th Street and areas around Market Street and River Street.  To see the route schedule, click here.  It will be free to ride Route 20 - East Comstock from January until April 1.  When boarding on any other routes, including Route 10-Comstock, the rider will need to pay a fare and will receive a transfer.  On April 1, it will cost regular fare to ride.

The new Route 20 will link with Route 10-Comstock at Merrill Park on River Street.  The schedule will be as follows:

For more information on this route and connecting to the Route 10 Comstock route, call (269) 337-8222. 

Universal Reduced Fare Card Pilot Program

Metro is participating in a Universal Reduced Fare Card pilot program sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The purpose of the program is to allow seniors and individuals with a disability to receive a discounted fare when traveling throughout Michigan without having to be certified by each transit system in the state. There are 34 transit systems participating in the program.

Passengers that are registered with Metro as a senior or an individual with a disability have the option of getting a Universal Reduced Fare sticker on the back of their ID card by calling (269) 337-8222 or picking them up at the Kalamazoo Transportation Center, 459 North Burdick Street or at the Metro Administration Office, 530 North Rose Street. The ID card can then be used with the other transit agencies that are part of the program to receive a reduced fare. Each agency will charge their own reduced fare so costs can vary from system to system. Participating agencies will continue to use their own ID cards but all with have the same sticker for the reduced fare.

Passengers that already have senior or disability cards can also request the sticker. There is no charge for the sticker. The Universal Reduced Fare stickers can be used on both fixed-route and demand/response paratransit services. The cards do not provide Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) eligibility and do not provide reduced fare for ADA paratransit. 

It is the rider’s responsibility to contact the other transit agencies where they are traveling to get information about the system’s policies, hours and fares. For a list of all participating systems, click here. 

This is a one-year pilot program that will last until May 1, 2019, at which time it will be determined if the program will continue.  More information on MDOT Universal Reduced Fare can be found, click here.