, -- getting to school safely and doing their homework. they are unlikely to be able to afford these extreme fares which keep rising. [applause] >> i may use commissioner and also the chair of the city services. the commission has talked about this and support of free muni. the youth have to go to school. it does not work. adults, they have a job.

it is your legal responsibility to go to school. some have to break the law to go to school and learn and do our duty. that really doesn't work like that. this affects all of us. >> i would like to ask for us to have these passes.

>> i have friends who asked me for money and i am supporting free use passes. >> hello. >> i think that kids should have free media passes said that families can have more money for holidays like

christmas time. >> hello, i am from mission began and i think that the youth should have read many passes because i feel bad for people who are unfortunate that get on the bus and i see a lot of people get kicked off of the bus because of their color and i think that is unfair. whether they are black, asian, latino, i always see people getting kicked off of the blasts. >> we did not have money in the

family. most of us had to walk to school. >> i don't have a lot of money and sometimes i have to walk to school. it is really silly and san francisco. it takes a long time to walk. it would be really nice to be able to take the bus. -- it is really hilly in san

francisco. there was this lady and she did not have any money. >> anyone else from the group? >> hello, everyone. i work in mission peak in. i want to recognize the hard work of this group. they have really run with this campaign and took initiatives to make it a creative piece. they have been doing a lot of photography around the kennedy to educate kids on how to be better writers. -- frienriders. >> i pledge not to fight on the

bus. they took the initiative and made a whole facebook album of different images for their friends and i thought that was brilliant. i just want to say that we strive for civic engagement and community leadership. part of that is going on field trips and taking kids to city hall meetings or to museums are different cultural things going on in the city. this is very very costly. having you be able to ride the bus for free would be beneficial. i urge you to take action and to try to find a coordinator. >> you did a great job.

>> i talked with people every day in the streets. you have to move around the city.

i don't have any money to go anywhere. they have the community to explore the city. i support that we really want to do it and we're going to do it. thank you. >> sarah armstrong. >> hello.

i would like to express what i think that there should be for all youth. i know there can be a separation. i think this would help to bridge the gap. this is a huge environmental benefit. more kids riding the bus means less cars on the road. we could bypass the administrative problems. i would like to make clear that use of all backgrounds support this initiative. thank you very much.

>> good afternoon, members. i grew up riding the bus. i could list all of them but it would not give me enough time. this had shifted me into becoming a lifelong bus rider. a lot have similar stories and even more compelling to the wants of a hat more time to share. i urge you to listen to the story and the urgency of this. the young people in this room are the next generation. they are telling you guys the policies that we want to see from you all. we are telling you that we need to free muni.

we need this to be more affordable to less. i also want to say this would help the city to reach the goal. >> thank you. >> i am here to advocate for free use for san francisco use. the use of san francisco will appreciate and utilize a resourced that all should have access to. we would like to give unlimited resources. the idea of running at an early age is also significant. last week, we presented this proposal to the board of education and received support.

we also collected 2000 student signatures from san francisco public high schools. on a more personal note, i have lived in san francisco my entire life and i've taken unique -- muni to all my extracurricular activities. >> a lot of kids in my community

do the same thing. we convened a young adult advisory board. we discussed this. to immigrants, and not only low- income folks, but everyone else. people who can afford a bus pass are likely to be the folks who will be the first one to buy a car. regarding environmental issues, we need to take the lead. we are sanctuary city. keeping that in mind, please make sure that this does not limit on documented use. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you.

good afternoon. >> and the little boy that i take care of who has down syndrome was too shy to come up. both of us are in support of the free bus passes for youth. if i got your -- if i got to run things, i would extend that to all people with disabilities who are not generating income for themselves. i try to provide the best care possible for him, meaning taking him to the beach and museums. it would be really awesome if all of that was free for him. if he had access to go and explore the city for free. and to bring along friends. i want him to have the best experience possible in the world. to make these things free would really encourage that. chairman nolan: thank you.

next speaker, please. secretary boomer: we are almost at the end of our speaker cards, so if there's anyone who wishes to address the board in a room for 08, this would be the time. >> good afternoon. i want to say, as a transit advocate, i spent a lot of time in washington and sacramento over at mtc working on these issues. i understand the challenges, but i understand what happens when people get together and want to make something happen. when we make priorities, we are able to achieve a lot. when we set out a vision for the kids to have come here today in a difficult time, especially some of these kids of color, they are facing the toughest times of anybody in the city right now. in this difficult time, we owe it to them to make sure we can make things better, to improve the system, to make it more

accessible. what we are asking for is a full partnership with mta on top of that. we have a plan that seeks funding on top of different sources. we have a strategy for making it happen. we can only do it if you are all on board as a full partner. we are committed to making it happen. you have heard about the universal nature of the program. that is importing going short. in the budget analysis is here. if you have any questions, feel free to come up to us. we would love to have some discussions about the numbers. chairman nolan: thank you. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. i am 17 years old and was appointed to the youth commission by supervisor mirkarimi. i support this resolution for free muni because i remember this time freshman year, i had

to walk all the way from my home to high-school because i could not get on the bus because i did not have money. there are a lot of you who have experienced that. a lot of those who have not even gone to school because they do not feel it is worth it. i feel that we should support for remini for youth -- free muni for youth. also, something for those who turned 18 and still have to commute. hank here -- thank you. [applause] >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon. i am a member of power. i want to thank everyone for being here today. i am here to be in support of the campaign to make him uniquely for all youth -- make muni free for all youth. i am asking you to point to a member of your department like to work with directly to for this resolution. i it sometimes do not have money and i am a mother of two daughters. as a person who does not have money, i have to figure out how i'm going to move myself and my daughters to go through the back of the door. i often have to risk having the door slammed on us sprint i have experience that have -- i have experience with doors that have been slammed on my daughter's legs. i hope you all can support this campaign.

chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker, please. good afternoon. >> i am the sfo in use leader. i catch the bus to and from school every day and two extra curricular activities. sometimes, i do not have the money to pay for the card. sometimes, i do not have the money to go to my basketball games. i have to risk getting on the back and being harassed. i think free youth passes would benefit all because it students can i get where they're trying to be, that could hurt them in the future. thank you. [applause] chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker, please.

>> good afternoon. i have worked in the community for more than 20 years. seven of those years in an after-school program. i have been an interpreter. i was also called to school district meetings to me with counselors and teachers. one of the number one issues that i have dealt with with the kids i worked with is arriving late to school because they are looking for change to get on the bus or the parents left them money or they did not have money. it is critical for me, as an educator, i always tell them accountable. i think this is the opportunity they are holding us accountable, as adults, for their education. it is critical and one of the simple things we can do to help children with their education. so they do not have to worry about how to get to school every day in. the last point i want to make is, it is important for you guys to set a time line for this.

i ask you to please set a time line. we need this to start by the end of this year. it is a much-needed service terry hay que. -- it is a much-needed service. thank you. [applause] >> i am the director of the youth commission triet we have had a bit of the interference of the last years in britain we have been trying to create a and use lifeline passed since february of 2010. the chairman of the use commission spoke to that. i want to speak to the necessity of committee staff to work on a time line. we are not trying to meddle in business that is not ours. who it should be or what kind of staff. the reason i am speaking of staff is that i did not hear it in the commons before. in -- in the comments here before.

there was never a half-price fast pass sold at all in fiscal year 2011. hopefully, we can make that happen. and i love to hear from the board. chairman nolan: next speaker. here >> good afternoon. i am a teacher in the san francisco unified school district for over 20 years. i am also immune the writer -- a muni rider. i urge you to provide free passes for use 24-7. it is important that they all have access to the great opportunities that are provided in san francisco. we do not have it when so many youth cannot afford to get on he muni. this would be a great equalizer

so that everyone would have an opportunity to access the services of our city. it would also reduce stress. so many students are stressed out because of the difficulty getting to school if they do not have the money. i urge you to provide this service as soon as possible. [applause] chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. >> [speaking spanish] >> i am here this afternoon, like everyone else, to tell you that it is important to have free fast passes for youths.

>> [speaking spanish] >> this is a country governed by laws. one of those laws is that kids have to go to school. i have seen parents get into trouble because their kids are not arriving to school because they do not have the money to get there. >> [speaking spanish] >> for people who live close to schools, like i do, it is ok because they can walk. for people live farther away, it is a big hardship. i urge you to make a decision now.

to give free fast passes. [applause] chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: this will be our last public speaker. >> muni has been the family car since the early 1960's for me. whatever decision is made, i urge that there are present -- there are provisions for telling people how to ride the vehicles and the resources we have. this group is very well behaved. i do not believe there are representative of the general population that i have seen. the young people on the bus. funding sources, you could either get a $50 franchise fee for the commuter buses to go to santa clara valley. i would recommend you look in the gazette for billionaires' in

billionaire a row for them to make some choices whether they can provide funding for this source or to provide free cultures in golden gate park. one of you can make to them is, if it wants to be a billionaire and a first world country or a billionaire in a third-world country. we rely on these people for the future. thank you carry -- thank you. chairman nolan: the public comment period is over. i want to thank everyone for their testimony grid it is helpful. understanding the place we are in, i appreciate that people understand that. we need to work with the support of people like the supervisors, who were here. and all of the others that were mentioned.

with that, i want to thank everybody for free -- for being here. i would like to hear my colleagues thought at this point. director ramos: if i could address the audience in spanish in. [speaking spanish]

[applause] chairman nolan: do you offer -- what we are expected to do is to offer at least some -- we're not taking any action, but a direction for director reiskin to go for it -- to go.