Low-Income Discounts for Bus and Ferry Trips in Marin

Low-income households would be eligible for half price fares to and from the Golden Gate Bridge district in Marin County by bus or ferry.

1 minute read

August 2, 2019, 1:00 PM PDT

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Golden Gate

Jeremy Borkat / Shutterstock

A pilot plan would test lower fares for low-income commuters coming in and out of Marin County in the North Bay Area.

"The Metropolitan Transportation Commission-led pilot project — which BART, Caltrain and San Francisco Muni have also committed to — seeks to increase overall ridership and improve affordability as the Bay Area’s cost-of-living climbs higher,” Will Houston reports for the Marin Independent Journal. The test would begin next year.

"The bridge district and Muni propose to offer a 50% discount to bus and ferry riders who make 200% or below the federal poverty level," Houston reports. This discount would not be available on a system or region wide basis but, rather, serve as a trial. In order to get the benefit, riders would need to have Clipper Cards, something not all low-income riders are able to do.

Other cities have also run trials on low-income fares and seen ridership improve.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 in Marin Independent Journal

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder