三藩市交通委員會全體同意，通過撥款「青少年免費月票計劃」，因此從明年3月開始，三藩市的中低收入家庭青少年將可以領取免費的公車月票，為期16個月。

三藩市的青少年公車月票近期不斷漲價，現時為每個22元，比兩年前漲了接近一倍。而三藩市曾於去年4月至6月期間，推出過青少年免費月票計劃，但在計劃正式實施之前，已經遇上許多困難，例如管理、資格認證、派發方式等。試行後，當局一共派出1萬2千張免費月票。其後交通局通過將該計劃發展成為22個月，但由於經費問題，一直未能正式落實。

「青少年免費月票」計劃在今年年初曾有機會獲得經費，但可惜在大都會交通委員會上，由於其他縣的部分委員反對，計劃撥款落空。不過今年7月，大都會交通委員會有一項預留撥款，專門用於鼓勵人們乘坐公共交通，委員會其後開會，通過將610萬元資金給三藩市。為此交通局決定從中撥出160萬元用於「青少年免費月票」。

三藩市市參事坎柏斯（David Campos）是該計劃的積極推動者，為此他專程出席昨日交通委員會的會議。他表示這項計劃不僅幫助了低收入家庭和學生，而且鼓勵了更多的新一代公共交通乘客。坎柏斯引用紐約的情況，指出在青少年時期開始使用公共交通的人士，成長後會繼續樂意使用公共交通，因此他相信三藩市同樣可以做到這一點。

三藩市華協中心的巷里青少年小組，多年來一直亦在努力爭取和呼籲，他們曾反映公車對許多青少年而言，特別來自中低收入家庭的青少年，是必不可少、同時亦是唯一的交通工具，例如每天上學回家、參加課外活動等。而包括巷里青少年小組、三藩市青少年議會等社區組織，都對交通委員會昨日的決定感到鼓舞。

三藩市交通委員會通過的這項「青少年免費月票」計劃，初步打算在明年1月1日開始接受申請，而開始日期為2013年的3月，為期將是16個月。由於現時採用「路路通」卡，而非紙製月票，因此月票同樣會採用「路路通」。合資格的青少年家庭收入必須低於三藩市大都會地區中等收入的100%，即3人家庭年收入不超過9萬2700元，4人家庭不超過10萬3000元。

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Like a slow bus forced to lurch through heavy traffic (The 30-Stockton comes to mind), the two-year battle by youth activists for a Free Muni for Youth program successfully reached its desired destination Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Agency voted unanimously  to spend an estimated $1.6 million in federal funds dedicated to improving transit performance and ridership on a 16-month program offering free Fast Passes to low-income San Franciscans under 18.

The program is scheduled to begin in March and continue through June 2014.

Youth activists, headed by the group POWER, have been pushing for a free youth fare program for nearly two years with the backing of Supervisor David Campos.

“Many families will benefit from this program,” said Elena Martinez, a parent supporting the plan. “Thank you for investing in our children.”

Last April, as part of the budget process, the MTA board rejected the idea of giving a free ride to all kids but tentatively OK’d plans for a program for low-income youth. That approval depended on getting up to $5 million in funds from the regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which declined the request out of concerns of regional fairness.

But last month, the commission gave the MTA a $6.7 million allotment of federal funds that can be used for ridership-boosting programs or for repairs and maintenance to improve system performance.  Those funds prompted some members of the Board of Supervisors, who don’t officially have any say over Muni operations, to oppose the free-fare program and instead devote all of the funding toward better maintenance of Muni.

MTA chief Ed Reiskin recommended splitting the money to fund both free fares and light-rail vehicle maintenance with the latter getting $5.1 million.

“It’s a balancing of different needs,” he said. “We have the needs of the system and we have the needs of the community.”

Director Malcolm Heinicke voiced concern about funding the free fare program when Muni has so many maintenance needs but voted for the program because he said the agency had made a commitment to proceed if it got funding from the commission.

Click here to read the original article. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012 

After two years of ups and downs, The City’s low-income youths and their families and advocates can finally take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the moment.

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors accepted $1.6 million in regional grant funding that will clear the way for a 16-month pilot project to provide free Muni service to 40,000 low-income youths. The program is scheduled to begin in March.

“Not only does this address the immediate needs of getting our youths to schools, but it makes a strong statement that our local transit agency values young people and their families,” said Supervisor David Campos, a vocal advocate of the program.

The program was originally approved by Muni directors in April, but that authorization was contingent upon the agency receiving $4 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the region’s lead transit financing agency. The MTC rejected the request in July, leaving the program in doubt.

When $6.7 million in regional money became available in October, many local lawmakers — notably Supervisor Scott Wiener — argued that all those funds should be used for shoring up and maintaining Muni’s beleaguered fleet.

But Tuesday, Muni directors defied those wishes, instead deciding to dedicate $5.6 million to rehabilitate light-rail vehicles.
Jaron Browne, a community organizer for POWER, one of the leading organizations that pushed for the youth program, said there were times when the effort appeared doomed, but advocates stayed committed.

“We weren’t willing to accept that it wasn’t possible, and that hope and courage really paid off,” Browne said.

Despite Tuesday’s outcome, opponents of the program have plenty of ammunition — considering Muni’s woeful performance over the past few days.

An electrical shock to the system’s light-rail network shut down underground service at 6 p.m. Monday. Just before that, an F-Market streetcar struck and injured a wheelchair-using pedestrian. The victim’s condition as of Tuesday was unknown. Both the incidents resulted in major delays.

On Sunday morning, flooding at the Church Street station halted service for several hours. And on Saturday night, a pedestrian was killed at the Mission Rock stop on the T-Third Street line, although it’s still unclear if a Muni vehicle was involved, said transportation agency chief Ed Reiskin.

“I’m very concerned with our system needs, and in the end, the bulk of this funding expenditure is going toward maintenance,” said Malcolm Heinicke of the board of directors. “We feel that we made a commitment to the free Muni program before and this is our way of maintaining that obligation.”

The board of directors also moved forward with a study about bringing up Central Subway tunneling equipment at a derelict theater on Powell Street. The agency originally proposed to extract it on Columbus Avenue, but that plan drew opposition because of its construction impacts in North Beach.

Click here to read the original article. 

Monday, November 19, 2012 

SAN FRANCISCO —

A long-discussed and laudable plan to provide free Muni passes to The City’s low-income youths received a potentially fatal blow Wednesday, when the Metropolitan Transportation Commission denied a request to fund the program.

The plan was an interesting and novel idea, promoted by grass-roots organizations and county supervisors. Muni would set up a 22-month pilot program in which San Francisco’s poorest children and adolescents — about 40,000 youths — would receive free passes for The City’s bus and subway lines. They could use these passes to get to school quickly and efficiently.

Unfortunately, such a program would cost millions of dollars. San Francisco had agreed to pony up $4.4 million to fund the plan, but Muni officials needed another $5 million to get it up and running.

And so backers turned to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the body responsible for planning, constructing and financing public transit for the Bay Area. If Muni couldn’t round up the remaining funding, the plan was effectively dead in the water.

Unfortunately, MTC representatives from the North Bay and the East Bay asked why San Francisco’s low-income youths should be given free access to public transit, while their own low-income children would still have to scramble to figure out their own transportation needs. Alameda and Santa Clara counties soon added their own requests for subsidized discounts for low-income residents.

The vote was a razor-thin margin of 8-7. But in the end, the MTC denied funding for all three counties. Youth advocates and teenagers in the meeting exploded in outrage, chanting “Shame on you!” and denouncing the commission’s members.

The MTC’s reluctance to fund a free San Francisco transit program while denying other counties the same privilege is understandable. But the Muni board was not asking for a permanent subsidy. It was asking the commission to fund a one-time pilot program, to see if the concept worked.

And if the program had worked, it would have had the potential to launch a revolutionary new chapter in public transit. Middle school and high school students in dense, urban populations could have a sensible, easy way to get to class. As they grew into adults, their familiarity with the public transit system would certainly have led them to use the system more often, perhaps eventually generating more money in future fares than the amount they took out of the system as young people.

The free Muni plan had real promise, but at least for the foreseeable future, we will never know what it could have accomplished.

The MTC’s North Bay and East Bay commissioners were right to be concerned about preferential treatment for San Francisco. And no one doubts that if times weren’t so tough, officials would have been happy to fund the program. Still, the MTC suffered a failure of imagination on Wednesday night. This program could have transformed the lives of 40,000 impoverished youths, who often spend hours trying to commute to schools far away from their homes. If it had succeeded, it could have served as a model for other places around the country.

Someday, perhaps some bold leaders will take a chance on this interesting and imaginative project.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2012/07/free-muni-plan-s-defeat-setback-youths-city#ixzz22sv9JoFg

The much-debated plan to let low-income kids in San Francisco hop aboard Muni for free apparently died Wednesday as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission narrowly voted against giving the plan $4 million in regional transportation funds.

The commission voted 8-7 against a motion to fund the 22-month free Muni plan, give $1 million to a two-year reduced- fare plan for low-income adults in Santa Clara County, and contribute $500,000 to an Alameda County student pass plan with a possible $2.5 million later. The vote split along regional lines with commissioners from San Francisco, the Peninsula and the South Bay favoring the program and East Bay and North Bay representatives opposed.

The MTC vote leaves Muni’s $9.4 million plan, which was to start on Aug. 1, $5 million short. Municipal Transportation Agency officials declined to declare the free-fare program dead, but have said repeatedly that they can’t afford to contribute any extra money.

“We’re disappointed in the outcome,” said Paul Rose, an MTA spokesman. “We’re going to have to regroup and go back to our board and see where we are without funding from the region.”

After the vote, about 30 to 40 students who had lobbied for the free-fare plan for several months chanted “Shame on you” at commissioners, and one stood on a chair, grabbed a megaphone and railed about the unfairness of the commission’s funding priorities. Others quietly shuffled out of the room, dejected.

“I feel like my heart has been shattered in pieces,” said Tina Sataraka, 17, as tears streamed down her face. “They’re letting people in low-income communities down. It’s like they don’t care about us. It’s like they’re putting our youth under the buses.”

Sataraka, who will be a senior at Balboa High School, has two sisters and a single mother, and lives in Hunters Point. Sometimes money is so tight that the kids have to scrounge through the couch cushions for enough change to pay the 75-cent fare to get to school, she said. When they can’t find enough, they have to decide whether to drop what they have in the fare box and ride without a transfer, risking a $100 fine.

“Most kids in San Francisco don’t go to their neighborhood schools,” she said before the meeting. “We have to take the bus.”

Sataraka was among dozens of speakers, mostly high school students, who urged the commission to fund the free-fare program, arguing that it was a small investment that would benefit tens of thousands of youth in San Francisco, and could be used as a test program to build a Bay Area-wide program.

The MTA board, despite misgivings but under pressure from the Board of Supervisors, approved the free Muni plan in April, contingent on receiving up to $5 million from the commission. But commissioners, especially from the East Bay, were critical, questioning why San Francisco youth should be singled out for free transit. Muni’s request was soon followed by proposals from Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

Commissioners poked at the free Muni proposal for three months, raising questions about fairness and funding, particularly the prospect of long-term support for a regional program, and putting off a decision three times.

On Wednesday, before a crowd of about 150, the commission considered three options:

— Giving Muni $4 million and setting aside another $4 million for future experimental low-income fare programs.

— Funding the Muni, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Alameda Transportation Commission programs for a total of $8 million. This was the option ultimately voted on and rejected.

— Creating a plan for a future regional reduced-fare program for low-income youth but not funding any current programs.

Free Muni supporters argued for the first or second options. Supervisor David Campos, the program’s biggest backer, argued that it was “the most democratic” and could produce a model for the region.

But some commissioners said they couldn’t support a program that wasn’t regional.

“We should be looking at how to get free transit for all children under 18,” said Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty. “We’re just not ready yet.”

Commissioners Adrienne Tissier, Campos, Dave Cortese, Anne Halsted, Sam Liccardo, Kevin Mullin and Scott Wiener voted for the free-fare plan with Amy Rein Worth, Bill Dodd, Federal Glover, Mark Green, Haggerty, Steve Kinsey, Jake Mackenzie and Jim Spering voting against.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/MTC-votes-8-7-not-to-fund-free-Muni-plan-3735978.php#ixzz22stToKF2

Stephanie M. Lee

Low-income youths could soon ride San Francisco’s Muni for free, while drivers who park in the city on Sundays might have to pay up.

Those controversial proposals were approved Tuesday by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors, which unanimously passed the budget for Muni, parking, traffic and taxis over the next two years.

Yet for those programs to become reality, the budget still has to clear several hurdles that include gaining the Board of Supervisors’ approval.

Overall, the budget calls for spending $821 million in the new fiscal year that begins July 1, and $840.5 million the following year. That plan is projected to close deficits of $19.6 million and $33.6 million, respectively.

The 7-0 vote to start a pilot program that lets disadvantaged youths ride Muni for free makes San Francisco one of a few major transit systems nationwide with similar policies.

It was a win, albeit a scaled-back one, for a well-organized group of students, parents and community activists who wanted Muni to be free for all youths ages 5 to 17. Children under age 5 already ride for free.

The program, which would run from Aug. 1 to May 31, 2014, will cost an estimated $9.4 million. For it to be implemented, however, San Francisco’s regional transportation partners first must agree to help pay for it.

“I think that it’s not exactly what we wanted, but we did win something very big at the same time,” said Manuela Esteva, 42, a Mission District resident who says sending her two daughters to school costs $40 in monthly Muni fares.

During the Muni board’s meeting in a packed City Hall chamber, proponents, who also included progressive members of the Board of Supervisors and the city’s Board of Education, argued the program would equalize ridership and make the city more family-friendly.

But, opponents argued, the financially struggling agency should instead focus on maintaining buses and meeting service standards.

Up to $5 million for the program could come from the regional funding and planning agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, pending its approval.

“I believe the resources may well be there for providing free Muni for low-income youth,” said board Chairman Tom Nolan. “I’m not nearly as convinced the case is as compelling for middle-class and upper-class kids.”

The proposal to let all youths ride for free would have cost the city $16 million in lost fare revenue and added costs of Clipper cards, according to the agency’s staff. It also would have resulted in nearly $4 million in cuts to bus maintenance.

Funding aside, what exactly it means to be “low income” still needs to be defined. A working definition sets the bar at children who qualify for free or reduced school lunches, but some residents argue that price point is too low.

To help pay for the program, the board approved another controversial proposal: to charge for parking at meters on Sundays. Religious leaders say it will discourage churchgoers from attending services.

Calvin Jones Jr., a pastor at Providence Baptist Church in Bayview-Hunters Point, called the plan “too much of a hustle.”

But board Director Joel Ramos said, “At this point, we’re in a desperate situation and we have to do what we have to do.”

While the idea of charging for Sunday parking has been considered for several years, Mayor Ed Lee, unlike his predecessor, backs the change.

The MTA budget also calls for implementing all-door boarding by July 1, adding more than 500 parking meters, raising the cost of parking tickets another $5 and spending more than $447 million from the capital budget to continue building the Muni’s T-Third line as part of the Central Subway.

Stephanie M. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Twitter: @stephaniemlee. slee@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/17/BA3T1O4QBF.DTL#ixzz1tBWIGogW

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/17/BA3T1O4QBF.DTL