Discount Bus and Rail Fare Programs

DESCRIPTION: People who are elderly and/or have a disability are eligible for discount fares on state-owned bus transit systems as well as rail transportation systems that serve Connecticut. Eligibility requirements and restrictions vary for each transportation agency.

DISCOUNT BUS FARE PROGRAMS: Older adults ages 65+ and people with disabilities can pay reduced fares to ride transit buses when they show the driver their Medicare card or Connecticut Senior/Disabled ID card on all CTTransit (www.cttransit.com/SeniorDisabled/ReducedFareIdCard.asp) buses. Usually, the discount is 50% or less of the standard fare. Other bus transit districts may require documentation of age and disability.

DISCOUNT RAIL FARE PROGRAMS: Amtrak (https://www.amtrak.com/deals-discounts/everyday-discounts.html) provides a 10% fare discount for older adults ages 62+ and people with disabilities. Metro-North (https://new.mta.info/fares/lirr-metro-north#b2) rail service to New York City from Connecticut offers a 50% discount off regular one-way fares (except for on-peak morning hours) for older adults ages 65+ and people with disabilities. Documentation of age or disability is required for any rail discount.

**The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s “Go CT Card” provides a prepaid card for easy access to use on all CTtransit, CTtransit Express, and CTfastrak busses throughout the state. The same discounts a rider receives with a regular fare ticket, but the card and the funds on it will never expire. Riders will not have to have exact change or purchase a ticket each time.

Transit riders can sign up to receive a card at https://www.cttransit.com/fares/go-ct-card or can call, 877-255-7433.
After receiving the card, riders will need to add transit travel funds (a minimum of $10 and maximum of $500) into the account set up in one of two ways:
- funds can be added online at www.goctcard.com, or in person by visiting a participating retailer (CVS Pharmacy and 7-Eleven) or one of the CTtransit Customer Service Centers. There are no service fees associated with adding money to the card – all funds used exclusively for transit fare payments.
Customers can access their Go CT Card account and pay transit fares on their cell phone by downloading the Go CT mobile app, available through the App Store or Google Play. (Riders who want to use the mobile app will still need to obtain a Go CT Card in order to create an account.)

TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT’S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE: Search by service names:
Local Bus Services
Local Rail Services

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SOURCES: Amtrak; CTTransit; Metro-North
PREPARED BY: 211/nl
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: July2023