Here's How to Turn Your SAC I.D. Into a Free OCTA Bus Pass

Santa Ana College students can now ride the bus for free with their school I.D. All you have to do is get a new free SAC I.D. card and activate it at the Cashier’s Office.

The Santa Ana College Student Pass Program is a three-year pilot program that allows students to use their school I.D. to board any local Orange County Transit Authority route, such as the 57, 64 and 560. Additional fees for express routes may apply.

Students enrolled in more than .5 units at Santa Ana College are eligible, according to the Cashier’s Office. Non-credit students enrolled at Centennial Education Center and Orange Educational Center are eligible as well.

“The program is great. It’s super helpful and beneficial, although I did wish this was offered when I started college a few years back,” said Adriana Alejandre, a student at SAC.

Students need to obtain a new free I.D. at the Cashier’s Office, located in VL-205. Old SAC I.D.s will not work for the Student Pass Program and new I.D.s must be activated before it can be used in lieu of far payment.

The fall 2017 pass expires Jan. 31 and has to be re-activated in order for it to be valid again in the spring.

The Carbon Transit Operations Program, which funds public transportation throughout California, is paying for the first year of the program. SAC students may have to pay a minimal fee for the second and third year if no one steps up to fund the program, according to a Cashier’s Office employee who did not want to be identified.

SAC will be celebrating the program’s launch Friday Sept. 15 with an event on campus at 11:30 a.m.