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Program makes rail services in region more accessible for those who have low incomes

Fares with half off are available on Metrolink with a California EBT card
Metrolink
Fares with half off are available on Metrolink with a California EBT card

A passenger rail service which serves parts of Ventura County has relaunched a program to offer reduced fares for those who have low incomes.

Metrolink passengers with a California Electronic Benefit Transfer card are eligible for a 50 percent discount on all Metrolink tickets and passes.

The low-income discount program has been relaunched as the Mobility-4-All program. 

Riders can use their EBT card at any Metrolink station ticket machine to validate and unlock the discount, explained Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle.

“Since we began the program in September 2022, we have sold more than 80,000 tickets with the discounted fare,” Kettle told KCLU.

"It's a program that recognizes that not everyone may have that second car or may have another need for utilizing public transit for their trip," said Kettle.

He says renaming the program Mobility 4 All reaffirms their commitment to providing exactly that.

"This program is about making sure we provide equitable transit and equitable mobility to all southern Californians...without a reference to socioeconomic status," he said.

Funding for the discount is made possible by a grant from the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP), administered by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

A California EBT card is required to validate the discount, while an alternative form of payment is needed to complete the ticket transaction.

Caroline joined KCLU in October 2020. She won LA Press Club's Audio Journalist of the Year Award in 2022 and 2023.

Since joining the station she's won 7 Golden Mike Awards, 4 Los Angeles Press Club Awards and 2 National Arts & Entertainment Awards.

She started her broadcasting career in the UK, in both radio and television for BBC News, 95.8 Capital FM and Sky News and was awarded the Prince Philip Medal for her services to radio and journalism in 2007.

She has lived in California for ten years and is both an American and British citizen - and a very proud mom to her daughter, Elsie.