Lifelong transit fan and teen guest blogger extols the virtue of Zero Fare for Youth

Hello! My name is Jackson Ledesma, I’m 16 years old, a junior in high school, and an avid supporter and user of public transit since I could walk.

As a young transit fan, I can tell you that nothing was more exciting than sitting in an RTD Board meeting late on a Tuesday night to hear Board Chair Erik Davidson call “Unanimous Consent” on not only the continuation of the Zero Fare for Youth program but making it a permanent fare change.

I’ve been commuting on RTD since I moved to Denver around the age of five. For the longest time, I commuted on Route 0 and 0L buses from South Denver, although changes at one point took me closer to Downing Street and Route 12. I’m proud to be back to the Broadway corridor to enjoy the gentle purr of an articulated New Flyer transit bus racing its way past general traffic in the Bus Only lanes along Broadway and Lincoln streets as I try not to let the sights and sounds of transit distract me from the homework I neglected to complete the night prior.

Since the 2023 launch of the Zero Fare for Youth pilot, the days of searching for change and hauling down to Safeway to purchase a ticket book for the next week are gone. Over the summer, I used the Zero Fare to my advantage and went on numerous outings with many friends.

Over the summer, in collaboration with RTD, a few of my friends and I hosted a Zero Fare for Youth transit race where we gathered half a dozen youths from all across the Denver metro area, including a team from as far as Longmont. All in all, the event was fantastic. Although my team somehow got last place, it was a great opportunity to hang out with many like-minded “transit fans.” If anything, these events are a testament to the benefits that Zero Fare for Youth can truly bring.

Throughout history, the young and the teenaged have been the social indicators. From creating slang to dictating what’s popular,there’s nothing that youths can’t do. By ensuring that transit is available for young audiences, you ensure that transit is ingrained in youth culture. And as someone who has been riding transit for over a decade, I think that’s amazing.