For SacRT Tap2Ride posts, see category: Tap2Ride. For Cal-ITP posts, see category: Cal-ITP.
The November Cal-ITP Benefits Update newsletter has two items of interest:
- The Medicare cardholder enrollment pathway is now ready for agency adoption! Check out a video walkthrough of the enrollment experience for riders on the Cal-ITP YouTube channel. This new benefit option will offer enrollment for one of the three discount groups the FTA requires as a condition of funding. Thus, it’s a key component of a complaint discount program for agencies offering contactless fare collection.
- Sacramento Regional Transit is live in Cal-ITP Benefits! The agency is now accepting enrollments for eligible riders ahead of the rollout of contactless payment on bus lines throughout their system in the coming months. Additionally, they are piloting a new Veteran benefit. If you have friends, family, or colleagues who are Veterans living in the Sacramento area, please share the link to enroll so they can ride SacRT with a reduced fare.
At this time, none of the three active transit agencies are offering the Medicare Cardholder benefit, but presumably they will. It is up to each transit agency which benefits they adopt, though there are federal guidelines. The Medicare Cardholder benefit is not the same as the Older Adult benefit. Though all seniors can enroll in Medicare, and most do, Medicare is also available to younger persons with certain health issues or disabilities.
Though SacRT’s communication has emphasized the Veteran benefit, Dan was able to complete the senior (‘Older Adult’) benefit process and register a credit card. Whether this will actually be available when the readers are installed, remains to be seen.
CalFresh Cardholder benefit is also available from Cal-ITP, but none of transit agencies have implemented it yet.
The list of benefits that are currently offered through Cal-ITP is Medicare Cardholder, Older Adult, CalFresh Cardholder, US Veteran, and Agency Cardholder (not sure what this means).
The Cal-ITP Benefits page for SacRT is shown below as a screen capture.
Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) 