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$1 fare for Tacoma Link will start next fall

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Discounted transit passes to be provided to agencies serving low-income populations

The Sound Transit Board of Directors today approved a $1 fare to ride Tacoma Link starting in September 2014. The fare, which will help fund the system's operation, will increase to $1.50 in September 2016. Youth riders will pay a fare of $0.75, while senior and disabled riders will pay $0.50 to ride Tacoma Link in 2014, with an increase to $0.75 in 2016.

Riders will pay their fare by tapping their ORCA cards on reader machines at station platforms or purchasing a pass or ticket at ticket vending machines. ORCA cards can be purchased and loaded at orcacard.com, transit customer service offices or at any ticket vending machine. 

To reduce the impact of charging fares to low-income populations, Sound Transit will make available discounted transit tickets and passes to human services agencies in Pierce County.

Tacoma Link is currently the only free transit service in the region. A Sound Transit Board policy allows fare-free service where the cost of collecting fares exceeds potential revenue. The policy no longer applies to Tacoma Link since annual ridership has climbed to 1 million over the past decade.