Organization announces 7,000 free monthly bus passes for unhoused Austinities

KVUE
Author: Sam Searles
Published: 11:26 AM CST November 16, 2022
Updated: 11:28 AM CST November 16, 2022

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Harm Reduction Alliance (THRA) has secured around 7,000 monthly bus passes for Austinities experiencing homelessness.

Forty-one organizations across Austin requested the bus passes to help promote mobility throughout the greater area. Around 7,000 of the bus passes were awarded and each pass will last for 31 days. Each pass is monthly and the program will last for the next six months.

This comes as Capital Metro (CapMetro) is working to announce a permanent "free fares program" in 2023. In July 2022, multiple service providers, advocates and Austinities experiencing homelessness started calling for CapMetro to expand their free fare program. 

Additionally, THRA wanted the expansion of CapMetro's heat policy. The agency offered free rides to cooling stations throughout the summer months. 

The passes come after a months-long effort to bring attention to the lack of transportation for those experiencing homeless and to bridge the gap to accessing "doctors appointments, [the] inability to access harm reduction services, barriers to find housing, lack of access to food pantries and more," a press release from THRA states.

The THRA will be holding a press conference at its building, located at 1803 E. Cesar Chavez St., at 1 p.m. on Nov. 16.