Nearly 20,000 San Franciscans under the age of 18 have applied for free Muni passes to be issued beginning March 1.
Free Muni for Youth Pilot Program will allow low and moderate income students, who live in San Francisco, free access to Muni for a 16-month period when using a Clipper card—the Bay Area’s all-in-one transit payment card.
“We are pleased to provide a service that so many people are participating in,” said Paul Rose, media relations manager for the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA). “Our students need to get to school and we can help with that.”
The campaign for the program started as 20 San Francisco schools removed school-bus service for their students over the past several years to reduce costs, leaving many students to rely on Muni to get to class. SFMTA voted unanimously to spend an estimated $1.6 million in federal funds dedicated to improving transit performance and ridership on the 16-month program.
A city-wide coalition lead by People Organizing to Win Employment Rights (POWER), the Chinatown Community Development Center, the San Francisco Youth Commission, Urban Habitat and Jamestown Community Center, waged a grassroots campaign for over two years to win the support of the San Francisco School Board, the board of supervisors and the SFMTA Board and make this possible.
In 2009, POWER started calling for the Free Muni for Youth Pilot Program to provide free transportation for the youth of more than 40,000 low-income families in San Francisco.
“We are very excited. [This is] the result of a long struggle, from youth [and] parents… It was a great community campaign,” said Donaji Lona, organizer of POWER. All San Francisco youth ages 5 to 17 with a gross annual family income at or below 100 percent of the Bay Area median income level are eligible for the program. That means a family of four with an annual, median income level of $103,000.
Undocumented youth are also fully capable of applying for the program. “We made sure that the required document list was extensive. All they need is proof [of] their age and a school ID—nothing they would not have,” asserted Donaji Lona.
Supervisor David Campos introduced the resolution at the Board’s Sept. 20, 2012 meeting, urging government agencies to “work together to develop a free Muni Fast Pass for San Francisco youth”.
Other supervisors voiced concerns about the youth program being funded directly out of Muni’s operating and maintenance budget. Attendees asserted that Muni’s transportation system is in need of significant upgrades, and more children riding Muni would just put additional pressure on the system. The agency, which has $781 million annual operating budget, already faces a $23 million budget deficit by the end of the fiscal year and may be looking at a similar shortfall next year.
Nate Hernandez, a San Francisco citizen, and daily public transportation rider supports the youth pilot program.
“Public transportation gets me where I need to go. Taking the train gets me to a good job where I can work hard and grow. This program for youth will help benefit their growth and their future,” he said.