Removing Transportation Barriers: How a Metro Employee is Making Mobility More Accessible for All Students

It’s more than just a ride – coined by Tracey Foster, the Director of Regional Fare Programs at Metro, after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foster noticed that despite the global health crisis disrupting economies and daily life, the District of Columbia Public Schools kept their doors open. That’s when things became much more apparent to Foster, who oversees two regional fare programs, The Kids Ride Free (KRF) and U∙Pass®, allowing K-12 and participating university students to ride Metro at little to no cost, so they can go to school and school-related activities for free – promising students across the DMV accessibility, mobility, and affordability.

 “I come from a rich legacy of service, so I guess you can say it’s an innate quality to be engaged with programs that enrich the lives of others,” said Foster.

Having grown up watching her mother consistently give back to her community in Buffalo, N.Y., and earning a street sign dedicated in her honor, all Foster has ever witnessed was a helping hand improving the lives of those around her. She quickly followed in her mother’s footsteps carrying on her legacy of service.

With decades in public transit and working at Metro for nine years, her work has not gone unnoticed. Foster received the Silver Sustainability Champion award for her work on programs that advance equity and mobility at Metro’s recent Sustainability Awards ceremony last Friday.

 “I am very honored to receive this peer distinction, a moment that comes full circle,” she said.

Foster, who has found her niche in helping disadvantaged communities, has helped grow the Kids Ride Free program, established in 2013 as a bus-only program before evolving to rail in 2015. Currently, KRF serves students in D.C. public schools from K-12 and charter, private and parochial schools every school year, and many of these students are from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. According to the District of Columbia Public Schools, Washington, D.C. student population is over 80 percent minority (57 percent Black), 75 percent economically disadvantaged, and 45 percent At-risk, which includes students who qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, have been identified as homeless during the academic year, who are under the care of the Child and Family Services Agency, and who are high school students at least one year older than the expected age for their grade.

For many students, these programs ensure access to opportunity, and Metro is their only way to get to school, extracurricular activities, and internships.

“At the end of the day, the goal is always the same for public transit. It is about mobility; it is about moving people and connecting communities. It’s about seamless regional travel and ensuring that services are available for everyone,” said Foster. “These are the core tenets of our industry and foundation for our work.”

It’s more than just a ride.

KRF has since been incorporated into 300 schools, with over 30,000 Kids Ride Free SmarTrip cards circulating daily under Metrorail, Metrobus, and D.C. Circulator. 

The UPass program, launched as a pilot program in 2016 and officially adopted in 2018, serves 26,000 college students at 30 participating universities. Foster plans to add more colleges to the program. UPass in Apple Wallet was launched in January 2023 offering an additional convenience and environmental benefit to students. 

 “This was also an opportunity for students to travel beyond the campus, get out to see other parts of the city, which is investing interest and really enhances the college experience,” she said, adding college students take Metro for $1 fare a day, unlimited riding on Metrobus and Metrorail, too. 

Both the KRF and UPass programs provide financial stability for disadvantaged households, but they also instill an appreciation for public transit and exposure to opportunities throughout Metro, resulting in cleaner air and better mobility— it is more than just a ride.

“We are training them [students] how to use our system emphasizing tap to ride protocols and mobile app adoption. They’re getting acclimated to Metro as a choice mode of transportation. And the benefit that we see out of that, in addition to ridership, is that we are cultivating the future generation of riders,” said Foster.