Starting Wednesday, Capital Metro officials announced, all federal employees can ride for free while the partial government shutdown remains in effect.

On Tuesday, the shutdown tied to President Donald Trump's demand for funding for a border wall hit its 25th day, extending what has become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. With no end in sight, the shutdown has begun taking its toll on some of the 12,993 people employed by the federal government in the Austin area.

“This is not about politics; it’s about being there for our community,” Capital Metro CEO Randy Clarke said Tuesday in a news release. “Taking care of neighbors in need is the right thing to do. We hope that the free fares allow those who are serving our country to keep moving through this difficult time.”

As the shutdown has dragged out, some federal employees in the Austin area have struggled financially, with some facing eviction and being unable to pay their bills. Meanwhile, Austin food banks have seen an uptick in requests for services and are preparing to hold a special food distribution and resource fair Wednesday for workers affected by the shutdown.

As long as the shutdown continues, Cap Metro will provide free rides on all of its services, including MetroRail and MetroAccess, to federal workers. A federal employee will need only to present his government employee ID to a bus operator or fare inspector to ride for free.

Cap Metro recently started approved free rides to students from kindergarten through high school. The transit agency also offers discounted transit passes to low-income residents, people over the age of 65, individuals with disabilities, Medicare card holders and homeless people through the Transit Empowerment Fund, the news release stated.