OCTA offers families help moving free youth bus benefits to Wave

Orange County families using Youth Ride Free must switch to the Wave account and card system to keep their free bus benefits, according to NBC Los Angeles. OCTA plans an open house in Orange to help families make the change, though the report does not establish a clear event date.

The change affects young people ages 6 to 18 who use the program to ride OC Bus without paying a fare. Families that miss the transition deadline will lose access to the benefit until they complete the application, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Parents or guardians must first set up a Wave account before applying for Youth Ride Free, according to NBC Los Angeles. The accounts will be linked, and participating young people will receive a Wave card for free boarding.

Accounts must be renewed every two years. The change makes the Wave account and card part of maintaining access to the youth benefit, rather than simply replacing a boarding pass.

The assistance event is planned at OCTA headquarters at 550 S. Main St. in Orange. Officials will help families register accounts and explain how Wave works, the report said.

NBC Los Angeles lists the open house hours as 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday, but its relative date references do not align clearly with the Nov. 4 publication metadata. The report also gives Sept. 30 as the transition deadline without identifying a year, so neither date can reliably be presented as an upcoming deadline or event.

OCTA Chair Jamey M. Federico said the move to Wave is intended to simplify management of the benefit while allowing students to keep riding OC Bus for free, according to NBC Los Angeles.

The report leaves the event date and deadline year unresolved, but describes the required sequence clearly: a parent or guardian creates a Wave account, applies for Youth Ride Free and links the accounts so the young rider can receive a card.