Starting this week you can make a round-trip on Altamont Corridor Express trains from the Lathrop-Manteca to downtown San Jose for $14 — if you qualify.
The discount fares are 50 percent off individual one-way or round-trip tickets based on a sliding scale of maximum gross verified household income based on the size of a household. A single person household could make up to $25,524 to qualify, two person household $34,476, three person household $43,440, four person household $52,404, five person household $61,356, six person household $70.320, and seven person household $79,289.
Other round-trip fares that qualified individuals could secure from the Lathrop-Manteca station under the discounted program are $6 to Tracy, $8 to Vasco, $8 to Pleasanton, $10.25 to Fremont, $13 to Great America, $13 to Santa Clara and $14 to San Jose.
A 50% ticket discount is currently offered to persons with disabilities, seniors, and those with a Medicare card. The inclusion of a means-based discount would offer the same discount for qualifying low-income individuals which previously was not available.
The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission secured a Caltrans Low Carbon Transit Operations Program grant.
Although the grant is for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 the impact of such a program for an extended period could be significant.
During the heated economy after the turn of the century, San Jose businesses such as McDonald’s that were struggling to fill what was then $10 an hour jobs purchased tickets for employees they hired in Stockton. It effectively matched people in Stockton looking for jobs with jobs that went begging in the Silicon Valley by eliminating the transportation costs for such long distance low-end paid employees.
The development and implementation of a means-based discount has been a key priority for SJRRC to enhance regional mobility and transit affordability for people with low-incomes. Launching of the CAP program during the current COVID-19 pandemic will increase access to low-income populations still needing to get to essential jobs.
You can apply for the income based discounts by downloading the ACE Mobile App, applying on line using the ACE CAP Application form found on acerail.com/cap-program/.
