Madison County Transit Summer Youth Pass program kicks off 10th season

Madison County K-12 Students Ride MCT For Free All Summer Long

GRANITE CITY - Beginning May 29, Madison County students will have the opportunity to ride Madison County Transit (MCT) buses for free all summer long with the 2017 MCT Summer Youth Pass. Now in its 10^th year, the Youth Pass provides free unlimited rides on MCT’s fixed-route buses from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Passes are distributed to all Madison County students in the 7^th - 12^th grades, and are available to those in Kindergarten - 6^th grade upon request.

Since the program’s inception in 2008, the MCT Summer Youth Pass has accounted for nearly 500,000 boardings by Madison County students on MCT fixed-route buses. Students with a Summer Youth Pass can hop aboard MCT and travel to summer jobs, classes, recreation areas, shopping centers and hundreds of other destinations. MCT’s bus routes, stops and schedules are updated in Google Maps, allowing users to simply enter the start and end point of their trip, click the “Get Directions” feature and then select the bus icon for a full trip itinerary. Students looking for a way to cool off this summer can ride MCT to the following:

• Wood River Aquatic Center (served by the #1 Riverbend and #7 Alton-Edwardsville)
• Granite City Pool at Wilson Park (served by the #4 Madison – Edwardsville)
• Highland Community Pool (served by the #14 Highland Shuttle)
• Edwardsville – Glen Carbon Community Pool (served by #17 Edwardsville – SIUE Shuttle)
• Splash City Waterpark in Collinsville (served by the #21 East Collinsville Shuttle)

MCT also owns and maintains more than 130 miles of scenic Madison County bikeways, known as the MCT Trails. With bike racks on all MCT buses and bus stops at MCT Trailheads, students can “Bike & Bus” for a seamless ride on both the MCT Trails and buses.

“For a decade now, the Summer Youth Pass has offered Madison County families an affordable transportation option for the summer months,” said MCT Managing Director Jerry Kane. “The Youth Pass is also an educational tool for our students and I commend the MCT Board of Trustees for supporting this program for the last 10 years.”

To request a Summer Youth Pass, or for more information about MCT bus routes and schedules, students can e-mail YouthPass@mct.org, call 618-797-INFO (4636), or visit the Madison County Transit page on Facebook.

Madison County Transit (MCT) provides multi-modal transportation services for Madison County, Illinois. MCT operates a fixed-route bus service, connecting to MetroLink; express weekday commuter service directly to and from downtown St. Louis; and seasonal express service to the Muny. For elderly and disabled residents who are unable to use the fixed-route buses, MCT provides complementary door to door service. MCT is also responsible for the construction and maintenance of more than 130 miles of bikeways that comprise the MCT Trails system, as well as overseeing RideFinders, the St. Louis region’s FREE carpooling and vanpooling program.

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