Elk Grove seniors to get free SacRT bus rides under new program. How it works
Starting next week, more than 31,000 Elk Grove residents, some of whom have mobility issues, will be able to ride buses for free.
The Elk Grove City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved a yearlong pilot program allowing residents 62 and older to ride 17 Sacramento Regional Transit fixed-route buses for free, according to city documents. The program, called “Seniors Ride Free,” is the first of its kind for RT.
Starting Monday, eligible residents with an Elk Grove address can participate by showing a government-issued ID or passport, driver’s license or another valid form of identification when boarding. Within about six weeks, residents will be able to obtain a physical senior transit pass at locations including senior centers, Elk Grove City Hall and the RT customer service and sales center at 1225 R St. in downtown Sacramento.
This can only be utilized on seven local routes — E110, E111, E112, E113, E114, E115 and E116 — and 10 commuter routes — E10, E11, E12, E13, E14, E15, E16, E17, E18 and E19 — into Sacramento and surrounding areas. All the routes start or end in Elk Grove.
The program does not apply to other bus routes, light rail, Go Paratransit services or SacRT Flex, a neighborhood shuttle service.
Currently, eligible riders pay a discounted fare of $1.10 per ride. Standard fares are $2.25.
Under the program, the city will reimburse RT for each senior ride, up to $100,000. Funding will come from Measure E, the one-cent sales tax approved by Elk Grove voters in 2022. If costs approach the limit before June 30, 2027, the city will notify riders one month in advance of a program change, according to Kaley Lyons, Elk Grove’s transportation planning program manager.
The estimate was based on ridership and the number of residents age 62 and older — who make up about 17% of the city’s population and are expected to increase — according to city documents.
Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, who also chairs the RT board, said she hoped the program would increase ridership and improve access for residents who cannot drive, bike or walk easily.
“We hear about the need all the time at SacRT,” she said. “Recently I’ve been getting more and more requests from seniors and their children concerned about what options are available in Elk Grove.”
“The best problem to have is that the services are being used, and you come back here looking for more money,” she added, addressing Lyons. “That could be the best case scenario.”
RT Director of Planning Anthony Adams said he hoped the program could serve as a model for other capital communities.
“We hope to use this as a base case for the rest of our system,” Adams said during the meeting.
RT launched a similar initiative, RydeFreeRT, providing free rides for students from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade. Since its 2019 launch, Elk Grove student ridership increased in 2023 to 203,000 from 100,000, according to the city.
Adams said he expected the Seniors Ride Free program to increase participation among elderly riders.
Councilmember Rod Brewer, who also serves on the RT board, said his concern was that some seniors cannot reach bus stops. During the City Council meeting, he and Adams discussed potentially expanding the program to include services such as SacRT Flex, which replaced the SmaRT Ride program more than a year ago and provides on-demand, door-to-door shuttle service using smaller vehicles. That change would increase costs for the program.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Due to incorrect information provided to The Bee, the story has been updated to reflect that passes are not available at the Sacramento Public Library.
