. as you well know, this would be a difficult situation for anyone to handle, and it is for her that i continue this journey to change the behavior of drivers in the transit agency and ultimately changing the culture of this industry. chairman nolan: let me just interrupt you briefly, as we have strict time limits, but i would like you to describe what you are intending. >> this is a new driver training program that was just released at the end of this last year. most transit agencies today have outdated and i should say historical information they give their operators to train them, not only the new operators, but the veteran drivers that have to go through the recertification

process tend to get very bored, and they also do not pay attention of. this is actually based on the theory of a fact of learning, and there are some compelling stories in it, as well as attention deficit for your veteran drivers, and a step-by- step process on how to hire and train your new drivers. there are 25 companies now in the state of washington that are on this program. there are 15 in the state of ohio, and there are now 17 coming on board in the northern california areas. chairman nolan: let me stop you a minute. mr. reiskin, who would be the appropriate person to take a look at this? thank you. >> i appreciate that. thank you for all of your time, and i am sure i will see you in

the future. chairman nolan: we look forward to that. >> anonymous, [reading names] chairman nolan: this is under public comment. secretary boomer: public comment. >> first of all, i just want to express how sorry i am for what i just heard. i will probably add to that at the end of my presentation. i am here to request a meeting with director reiskin. i was not able to address you otherwise. it seems that the names -- the policies and procedures are designed with one thing in mind. the parking fees are the highest in the country. drivers are paying even for it

unjustified tickets and brooding because the procedures are so burdensome and time-consuming. -- pain even for unjustified tickets and booting. to further reduce chances of protest, a transportation code contains only a fraction. producing more fees and the opportunities to protest expire. even if the waiver requests that must be included are never sent and must be repeatedly requested. the mta often breaks its own rules and time limits and yet demands strict compliance from drivers for the slightest things. the mta allows up to two us to process payments -- two months to process payments.

there accountability is almost nonexistent. the mta middle management claims that no one can change the divisions. the government agencies are helpless and have the last words. i do not have the time to present the further details, but i would like to pass this on to the board members. chairman nolan: absolutely. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] beatrice. >> that afternoon. my name is jane, and i empower. and also part of a youth coalition. -- and i am with power. but we are hoping you can take action soon on this proposal. i think -- thank ed reiskin and

his staff for all of their work on this. we have working -- been working to secure funding. and it seems it will go much smoother and identify the funds if we can move forward as soon as possible, and my and understanding of the notice in requirements with big if we get in the public notice this week, then the board can take a vote as soon as march 20, and that would be really good in terms of moving forward some of the fund increases. what would work really well is a conditional approval, because we do not want anything to move forward that does not have the money that it needs to be successful, and finally, i just wanted to remind you that there is some money at the mta now

that the coalition together with the staff of the mta had decided to hold off on using until we could come up with a program that would really work for all of the families needed, but we would like to see some program move forward soon so that money could go into effect and start being used for this school year. i want to continue to thank you and ask that you move forward and try to back a vote on march 20. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> good afternoon, my name is manuella, and i am here as an organizer, organizing families, and i am also here as a mother, asking that you approve this program as soon as possible, because every month that goes by, it becomes more difficult for families to be able to provide fast passes for their families. >> [speaking foreign language]

[bell] gracias. >> i have been doing outreach to families, and sometimes it is really sad. even this morning, i met a family who was walking, taking their child to school, but had to walk a long been since -- a long distance, and it is depressing. having to walk, not being able to buy what you need because you

have to pay for this past, we are asking you to do this as soon as possible. -- you have to pay for this pass. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. >> i am with power, i just want to add to what manuella said. i am glad you got the valentines. there is a lot of love that is coming through from the youths. it was done after school, and it was not do not go to school and we will have this action. spreading the message that we love muni, and we hope you appreciate the valentines, and we want to encourage you to make this an item for the hearing on march 6, and we are asking for the 6th said you can come.

that meeting is scheduled for 4:30, but we want them to be present here. chairman nolan: thank you. >> [speaking foreign language] >> my name is -- i am a member of power, and i have been doing

outreach and talking to families, and the reason that muni is important to me is that i depend honoraria and it is very difficult to pay for the pass. it is difficult to even provide a fast pass. i want to thank the board and director reiskin, and i would like to ask that to make the vote as soon as possible. chairman nolan: thank you. next? secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: that afternoon, mr. gilbert. >> good afternoon, director nolan. i wanted to have a much to

discuss some concerns about the permit medallion program in san francisco, and after the taxi advisor in council finished its discussions, staff, in the persons of deputy director hayashi, this would over time give one-third of the service from the tax services, and i think this would have a devastating effect on drivers, taxi drivers, and their careers and their futures in the

industry, even with the implementation of the medallion sales program, which i had opposed. these would still be able to go into driver's. they would have this opportunity, and now, one-third of the medallions are going to be taken off the table and given to a cab companies, and given to cap companies on what basis? this agency is going to pick the winners and losers in this industry, and by awarding them permits, is going to decide which survive, which struggle to survive, and which are simply going to die. we have much more to say about it. chairman nolan: next speaker.

secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> good afternoon. my name is barry pearl, i ride muni, i have been working here for 28 years. one of the most infuriating and exasperated experiences with the muni in all of the years that i have ridden the system, dealing with wage works and the credit card that is assigned to city employees. we used to deal with a computer check, which was. i purchased a pass and had a total of $68 on the credit card. i needed for additional dollars in order to buy the past. -- pass.

i started by contacting one group, and they had no clue as to how i could take this credit card and take $4 in cash in order to load onto the clipper card. i then called 311. they had no clue. finally, i ended up contacting the clipper card people, and they directed me to the embarcadero station, where i could actually deal with a human being and present a credit card and cash to solve the situation. it was so infuriated. then, wage works sends me an on- line service, and that was equally infuriated because it had a 250 character limit in the comment i could make. and then they do not have a phone number.

you cannot call them, and they do not allow public input. they did ultimately respond to my survey, and they did get back to me, and i give them credit for that, but you need to deal with your fare machine. all they say is "you contact your bank." is nonspecific. it was an infuriating process. chairman nolan: thank you. next. secretary boomer: [reading names] herbert wiener. >> [speaking foreign language] >> good afternoon, my name is -- with power, and i am here for the free nuni for youth campaign.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> i am fighting for my kids. i am fighting for young people, so that they have one less worry, so that they do not have to worry about the money to get on the bus, so they can focus on their schooling. i am also thinking in the poorest neighborhoods, the youth risk hitting on the back when they do not have the money to get on the bus. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> san francisco is one of the most beautiful cities, and at the same time, there is a lot of really low-income families that live here that are just trying to survive on a day-to-day basis, single mothers that are just trying to make it. >> [speaking foreign language] >> and i just want to ask you can make this decision and vote in support of this program as soon as possible in this month of march to come. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] >> good afternoon.

on behalf of the 17 youths commissioners, i want to thank you for meeting with us. you have heard of a lot of compelling stories from young people directly, not for me, right? that 16-year-old from the heart of the fillmore who had to walk from edie to steiner street. another commissioner who i think articulate why the three fast pass is so important for undocumented young people and the stigma that a free, reduced lunch qualification means for people. that upper-middle-class commissioner who goes to st. ignatius and what a free press is so compelling in bridging a really significant -- why a free press -- free pass is so

compelling. and the office of supervisor campos, to schedule of vote as soon as possible, ideally march 20. we have been extremely grateful to work with so much staff in such an honest and helpful way, and we really hope that given how much of this funding depends on the votes at other outside agencies that this could happen as soon as possible. i conclude by just saying that at the youth commission, i get calls every day from front-line staff at community organizations, case managers at homeless shelters, afterschool workers at big organizations like the ymca, catholic charities, and they keep asking about the youth lifeline program that this board had two years ago, so we really hope we can move forward with something, especially for the low-income people, as soon as possible. [bell] secretary boomer: [names]

herbert. >> i am having difficulty on one california mine. last week, they had to turn back and not get to their terminal destination. on one occasion, i had to wait 15 minutes for the bus that was turned back. on the second occasion, i asked the driver why the bus had to be turned back. she has replied, "because my supervisor told me to." i was not given a full explanation. i would like an explanation why these buses are being turned back. i want an explanation as to why these buses get bunched up. sometimes there are three or four buses that are bunched together, and this has been

happening for the last six months. also, there is the number of the signs with the destination and the arrival of buses. sometimes, i will see a sign that the bus is going to come 45 to 60 minutes from now, and the bus is going to, a lot sooner, and actually, i got furious about two things. now, i realize that there is no free lunch. i hate to be in the lunch. -- being the lunch. and secondly, you are here to serve the people and not serve yourself. these are my complaints, and i hope that the motto of muni is not "every rider left behind." chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: [reading

names] >> i am a community organizer at a center. there is a group of high school leaders that have been working on this issue for about one year, 1.5 years, and i am also here to urge that this matter be brought to a vote as soon as possible, that it be placed on notice and that we can have a vote on march 20 so we can move this forward. i just wanted to echo that. when we came to you guys, one of the things that came out was this idea that they're going to be more youths on the buses and that there needed to be education, so i along with the school district have been meeting with the coalition of folks, the bicycle coalition, jamestown, power, school district officials, as well as

the mayor's youth commission and other groups to have been meeting to figure out what it will mean to roll out an educational campaign along with the free muni for youth. we met twice at the school district, which -- once with one group. we were trying to address where there was rider safety, a res ponsible muni rider, where we create long-term muni riders. starting next year, you are going to see a rise in youths getting to school. what that means and how they are going to address and deal with the issues of more youths being on the buses and being on muni.

to get this done. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. david. [reading names] >> i tried to be addressed today. first, on the operating structural deficit, it did not take public comment, so i am providing it to you now. one was expenditure reductions with a note that these had been when contract negotiations. i am not sure that that is the case, that $30 million in expenditure reductions have been achieved in that way. if that is true, i think it would be good to detail those savings and to tell that story, because i think people here, --

hear frequently that there is a structural imbalance and that we need to fix it. we need to talk about that more. really tell that. the other thing i am finding really in congress -- incongruent is that we and actually increase servant -- service on several lines, the n judah, the 14. there may be others. it seems inconsistent to me on the one hand to say the we need more revenue to continue our baseline when we are adding service that furthers that deficit, so i am not going to talk about the youth pass issued today, but i think we need to

reconcile eight the story if we need more revenue, but at the same time, we are taking this policy actions that tend to make things worse. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] >> barry. blondest hardest -- good afternoon. not a happy valentine's day. it was not a love affair on valentine's day with the taxi industry. we get this proposal. the town hall meetings went well, but the attendance was horrible, which segues into another issue. first, chris hayashi did a great report on the busting of the illegal taxicabs and limousines,

and i think you should look at the video that was on the television station channel 5. i can send you the link if you give me your email address. it is a great story. she did a great job. in terms of letting people know about these town hall meetings, it has been horrible. horrible. i am sorry to say it so loud, but how can people attend if you do not do widespread posting, at the airport, insisted that it is posted at the cab companies, it did the emails out. please schedule another town hall meeting in the future before this goes before you, or you are wasting everyone's time, or you will be having hundreds of cabdrivers here on the 6th or the 20th. do you want to that? the other thing is, why are you still looking at this under this

category? you are still looking at this as money generated. chris hayashi's staff, you are making it difficult. your website still stings in terms of taxicab information. i am sorry. give us a hand and made -- make chris hayashi directly under director reiskin. chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> hello, i am -- as you look at reforms coming up here shortly, there is no way you are going to be avoiding a lot of drivers and stakeholders here. i want to remind you folks about what the fo