{"id":"mesa-valley-metro-reduced-free-fares","name":"Valley Metro Reduced and Free Fare Options","provider":"Valley Metro","entitlement_type":"government-benefit","entitlement_type_label":"Government benefit","entitlement_type_context":{"definition":"A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route.","domain":"public-benefits","archetype":"direct-program","agent_instruction":"Identify the administering jurisdiction and disclose income, household, age, disability, immigration, residence, renewal, fee, and capacity rules that apply."},"summary":"Valley Metro offers half fares to qualifying riders and operates selected neighborhood circulator routes without a fare.","benefit":{"description":"Current reduced bus and rail fares for eligible youth, older adults, Medicare cardholders, and people with disabilities, plus free rides on listed neighborhood circulators.","estimated_value_usd":null},"discovery":{"focus":"public-service","has_estimated_dollar_value":false},"access":{"relationships":["Eligible Valley Metro reduced-fare rider","Passenger on a listed fare-free neighborhood circulator"],"requirements":"Meet a current reduced-fare category and use an approved reduced-fare Copper card, app, or proof when required, or board an identified free circulator; service-specific rules apply.","activation":"Review the current category and proof rules, obtain the appropriate reduced-fare credential when needed, plan an eligible trip, and tap or present it when boarding.","cost_basis":"varies","cost_basis_label":"Variable by provider or eligibility","cost_basis_context":{"classification":"variable","definition":"The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.","agent_instruction":"Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.","variation_patterns":["bounded price range","provider-set price","income-based sliding scale","coverage or service-dependent cost sharing","partial subsidy","directory of programs with different terms"],"does_not_mean":["universally free","cost information was necessarily omitted"]},"fees":"Reduced riders pay the current discounted fare and listed circulators are free; regular routes, streetcar, paratransit, replacement cards, and excluded services may have charges.","personalized":false,"regions":["US","Mesa and Maricopa County, Arizona","Valley Metro service area"],"expires":null},"status":"verified","last_checked":"2026-08-04","claim_url":"https://www.valleymetro.org/fares/pricing","source_url":"https://www.valleymetro.org/fares/pricing","source":{"primary_url":"https://www.valleymetro.org/fares/pricing","evidence":[{"source":"Valley Metro","url":"https://www.valleymetro.org/fares/pricing","kind":"provider","checked_at":"2026-08-04"}]},"parent":null,"coverage":{"level":"local","family":"reduced-fare-transit","jurisdiction":"Mesa, Arizona","maturity":"direct"},"web_url":"/benefits/mesa-valley-metro-reduced-free-fares","taxonomy":{"version":"1.0","url":"/api/v1/taxonomy"}}