Disadvantaged youth could get a free ride to school under the proposed budget approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors on April 18. The 7-0 vote to launch the controversial pilot program would make the city by the bay one of just a few major transit systems with similar policies.
But the approved budget, which covers Muni, traffic, taxis and parking, must still gain approval from the Board of Supervisors and overcome other budgetary hurdles. In total, it would spend $821 million in the new fiscal year and $840 million the following year. The roughly $9.4 million pilot program would run from Aug. 1 to May 31, 2014.
During the packed board meeting, supporters argued the program would equalize ridership and make the city more family-friendly. The yellow school bus is scarce within the San Francisco Unified School District due to reduced routes and shrinking education budgets — so more and more parents are forced to pay for home-to-school transportation in the metropolis. SFUSD is the seventh-largest school district in California, with more than 55,000 students.
In response, San Francisco political leaders, community organizations and residents have poured into Municipal Transportation Agency board meetings to testify in support of free Muni fares for all young people. This proposal, however, would have cost the city $16 million in lost fare revenue and added costs of Clipper cards, according to the agency’s staff.
The unanimous vote to provide free Muni for low-income youth is still considered “a huge victory.” According to the American Public Transportation Association, 95 out of 232 transit systems nationwide offer free or discounted student fares. Portland public high school students, for example, can ride the bus and light-rail system free during the school year only. Meanwhile, New York students receive free transit passes based on grade level and distance from home to school.
