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MST Discount Fare — Veterans, Spouses and Caregivers, $1 a Ride

Monterey-Salinas Transit prices the discount fare at $1 against the $2.50 single — and lists veterans AND a veteran's spouse or caregiver among the eligible. Verification runs on a courtesy card or entirely online through the state Cal-ITP tool, tapping a linked bank card.

Verified August 21, 2026

What this benefit is

Monterey-Salinas Transit prices the discount fare at $1 against the $2.50 single — and lists veterans AND a veteran's spouse or caregiver among the eligible. Verification runs on a courtesy card or entirely online through the state Cal-ITP tool, tapping a linked bank card.

What it's worth: $1 single / $3 day / $10 week / $35 monthly — against the $2.50 standard single

  • Estimated for a monthly rider at the discount cap against standard fares.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are a veteran — or a veteran's spouse or caregiver, whom the fare table reaches too.
  • You are in Monterey County, where MST operates.
  • MST serves your area.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Either route works: get the MST Courtesy Card with a DD-214, DD-256N, a VA ID card or a state licence carrying the veteran designation — or verify online through the Cal-ITP Benefits tool and link a contactless bank card, which then simply taps at the discount rate.
  2. 2The tap route carries fare capping at the discount tier: never more than the daily, weekly or monthly discount cap however many rides you take.
  3. 3A veteran's spouse or caregiver is eligible in terms — bring documentation tying you to the veteran when applying for the card.
Form
MST Courtesy Card, or online Cal-ITP verification
File with
MST customer service, or the Cal-ITP Benefits tool online
Documents you will need
dd214
Periodic
Worth knowingActive-duty personnel have their own long-standing half-price cash-fare and day-pass discount at MST. Elsewhere in the state, a Cal-ITP veteran verification is spreading agency by agency — the same state tool MST uses — so a veteran outside Monterey should check whether their own agency has switched it on.

Sources

Why only one source type: The authority's own fare page states the discount table, both verification routes and the spouse/caregiver eligibility.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.