Council member urges emergency fare policy as WeGo staff report Journey Pass enrollment growth

Council member Quinn Evans Seale used the Metro Transit Authority public-comment period to thank WeGo for accelerating the Journey Pass pilot during a recent federal shutdown and urged the agency to adopt an emergency fare-suspension policy for future crises.

"WeGo was able to issue 4,500 journey passes to local residents who needed them," Seale said during public comment and urged the board to consider a formal process for rapid fare changes during events such as federal shutdowns, large storms or flooding.

Board chair Gail Carr Williams and WeGo staff described how the pilot had been designed with social-service partners and the mayor's office to enroll income-eligible riders. Chair Williams said that, prior to the shutdown, the pilot had distributed 2,500 passes and that in the first three weeks after staff accelerated rollout that number rose to "over 5,000," with "over 70,000 individual trips" taken on Journey Pass cards. She credited partner agencies and WeGo staff for accelerated sign‑ups and said the program had received recognition in a national trade publication for the rapid response.

A transit advocate speaking for local groups noted community interest in additional options for crisis response, such as temporarily waiving fares or directly mailing passes to customers known to qualify. Board members acknowledged the comments and asked staff to consider policy options; no formal policy was adopted at the meeting.

What's next

Staff told the board they will continue pilot enrollment and outreach with social-service partners and return to the board with policy recommendations if staff or the council seek a formal emergency fare-suspension framework. The board's immediate action items at the meeting were approvals on procurement and property disposition; the Journey Pass discussion was informational and part of the public-comment record.