Fort Bend Transit riders in Missouri City and Stafford have one more chance to ride free this month.

Friday, Sept. 25, is the last of four Free Fare Fridays, a regional campaign that waives fares on participating transit systems every Friday in September. Riders don't need to sign up or register. They board any Fort Bend Transit route and pay nothing.

The campaign, now in its third year, is run by Commute Solutions, a subsidiary of the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). September is one of the worst months for ground-level ozone, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The free rides aim to encourage commuters to leave their cars at home.

Participating agencies saw up to a 20% ridership surge in September 2024 compared to the prior year, Community Impact Newspaper reported. Growth continued in September 2025. Some agencies expanded routes and added permanent runs to meet the sustained demand.

"You don't have to go online, fill out a form, there's none of that," Commute Solutions Program Coordinator Catherine Gray told Community Impact. "You literally just hop on and it's free."

Fort Bend Transit serves Missouri City, Stafford, Sugar Land, Richmond, Katy and Needville. Other Free Fare Friday partners include The Woodlands Express and, new this year, Gulf Coast Transit District. Harris County Transit also participates, according to the Commute Solutions website. Houston METRO is not part of the program.

Transit agencies are reimbursed for lost fare revenue through federal and state Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding.

Emergency ride home program launches

Beyond free Fridays, Commute Solutions is launching an emergency ride home program with Houston-based taxi service Z Trips. Commuters who carpool, vanpool or take transit can receive an employer-funded ride home when an unexpected situation comes up, such as a sick child.

Gray described the bind the program addresses: a carpooler gets a call about a sick kid but doesn't have a personal vehicle at work. Or the carpooler drove but is responsible for getting four other riders home.

Robyn Egbert, H-GAC's manager of transportation demand management, said the region's population is outpacing its infrastructure. If transit adoption doesn't keep pace with growth, overall emissions will keep rising even if current ridership holds steady, she said.

Fort Bend Transit provided 329,619 trips in fiscal year 2023-24, according to county data the Houston Chronicle reported in December 2025. The agency also secured roughly $13.7 million in federal funding to overhaul its fleet and expand commuter service.

Riders can find route and program details at yourcommutesolution.org/breathe or call Commute Solutions at 832-681-2622.