board, i am at 11th grade student. i am a member of the student advisory council. for the past year, we have been fighting for rights to be believed we deserved for a long time. unlike most of you, we used muni as the only means of transportation to get across this city. this is a safe and comfortable place for all families. you have done the following, increased policing on the buses and searching for fare evaders. by no means am i justifying evasion, but the fact of the matter is that some of us cannot afford what might seem like pocket change to you. you have stalled and stalled.

you claim you are on a budget deficit. families have waited to enough of your bureaucracy. we are not asking, we are demanding. we, the families of san francisco demand for emu meat for our youth. >> next speaker, please. -- demand premium me for our youth. -- demand for the muni for our youth. -- demand free muni for our youth. >> next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. >> [speaking foreign language] >> good afternoon, my name's [unintelligible] is and i am here with power -- my [unintelligible] name is and i am here with power. -- my name is [unintelligible]

and i am here with power. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i am here, along with my community, to ask you to vote in favor of a free muni for youth, along with my community. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we have already said that this is possible. using 1% of the budget for muni. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this would benefit 47,000 used in children of low-income. >> [speaking foreign language] >> in this way, thanks to you, we would be creating

if the nuclear regulatory industry were benefiting where every single power plant that went up, we would think that something is wrong and you would want to benefit for every medallion under patrol. it is a form of nationalization that does not resemble a socialist-style nationalization that be have seen in the past. it is a four run by capitalism that creates an underclass below the people paying for it. it is completely wrong. please choose a different role. >> in that -- i noticed that supervisor avalos who joined us. sorry, your time is up. [tone] [laughter] >> can you hear me? first of all, thank you for

making time for me to speak and thank you for your work in service. i know that this is one of the most challenging apartments that we have worked for in terms of making decisions which are very difficult. i am here in support of the universal fast pass program for young people. it is critical that we make improvements where we can in the system. we need to always be vigilant about making improvements. for me, having seen so many young people around the city it is critical that we provide universal access programs for them, used cost-free. something that many support as well we have no barriers for

people wanting to participate for people providing that kind of access. that discussion, it would be an option for them to do that and they would have that possibility it is an issue of fairness, making sure that we are seeing the state poll a lot of funds away from our transportation programs that help people get to school that we could make examples of here at the local level, which we do for supervisors. i know that you are grappling with a lot of issues. i want to make sure the you understood our position here at the board of supervisors,

helping to move forward with the program in san francisco. >> thank you for joining us, supervisor. >> next speaker, to resell lunette and mendoza -- teresa luna and mendoza. >> [speaking foreign language] >> good afternoon. my name is maria. >> [speaking foreign language] >> well, a lot has already been said. we are here in support of you've been able to get to school. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> maybe you are bored her during the same thing over and over, so you do not have to continue to hear it over and over, please vote for free muni passes for youth. [applause] >> next speakers. [reads names] >> good afternoon. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i am the mother of five children. two adults and three young people.

as a single mother, it is very hard to find the money to pay for the fast passes for the three that go to school and the eldest that go to university. >> [speaking foreign language] >> our youth in children already have a lot to struggle with, to have to in addition to that worry about how to get to school. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> that is the reason i am here to ask you to vote in favor of this free muni for youth. the funding is there. it is up to you to vote yes. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i know that the economy is very bad right now, but those that are most affected are the ones who are poor, working families who are struggling to make ends meet. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> id is our responsibility to take this burden off of them. i know that my own children get off of the bus afraid sometimes because i do not have enough money for them to have the affair ended is not right for them to go through this. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we would be very grateful, and we ask you to please support this. we know the you are probably board of hearing all of this, but please support this, we would be very grateful. >> thank you. >> i know that the board is in

session, so i would like the supervisor to come address us, out of order. >> thank you very much, mr. president. i want to balance supervisor kim, who is also here. we're both in the middle of the board of supervisors meeting. we wanted to take the opportunity to be here. i want to begin by thanking the board of directors, as well as the entire mta staff for the work that has been done on this project. we on the board of supervisors oftentimes are responsible for giving you unfunded mandates. many times, as you know, we have asked the board to do a lot of things. we wanted to make sure that we did not approach this issue that way. what we decided to do from the beginning, to the extent that we were going to come and ask you to provide free muni for youth, we wanted to make sure that we actually identified a source of

funding to make sure that we not only had enough money to pay for this project, but that we identified sources of funding and that there would be no negative impact on the entire system. you have now, before you, a funding plan that not only covers the amount that had been identified, but actually provides a little bit more than that, not even taking into account some of the private funding we have talked about. why is it that it is important for you to make this important decision to provide free public transit to all youth in san francisco? you have heard, and will continue to appear today, from many of the families that are struggling economically. it has been a tough, tough financial time for families. it is important that low-income families have access to public transit. the point that i want to

emphasize is the importance of making sure that it is not just free for low-income children, but all children in san francisco. when the board of supervisors passed a resolution that was approved, it was a resolution that called for public transit to be free for all city children -- all children in the city of san francisco. when we talk about being a transit first city, we want to make sure that we mean what we say. it is about changing the way that public transit is seen in the city and county of san francisco. if it is transferring to what it needs to be, it cannot just be about poor children riding

public transit. it has to be something that every child, in respect of that blast. we see public transit as an integral part of their lives. the cities that have implemented this kind of a program, like new york city, have not made discrimination based on income. as an agency, we have a responsibility to make a longterm investment in the viability of this system. that is why free transit, free public transit for all children is so critical. it is not only critical because of that new generation of writers, but because we need to make sure that we maintain environmental detectives. we have certain goals that we have to meet as a city and we will not meet those goals if a large segment of the youth of sentences go do not have access or are able to ride public

transit to the level that we anticipate. we need to make sure that every child in san francisco rides public transit to meet those objectives. beyond that, we're making investment in the education system. when kids go to school, public school, the public school system does not ask how much their parents make. they go because we value the importance of public education. the same emphasis should be placed on public transportation. that is why we are here and it is why we are still import -- and it is why it is so important that we create public transit policy that respects low-income youth and made it so that it is a universal thing. these kinds of programs are all inclusive. for a system like the public transit system to be the world class system that we wanted to be, it has to belong to every

san franciscan. that is why this is so important. since the funding source has been identified, why not take the extra step? with that, i ask you to do the right thing. i do not know that an action will be taken today, but there is a process you are following and we are very grateful you are taking this so seriously. i have never seen this level of involvement that you have had from youth and families across the city. this is an opportunity for us, especially the youth, to make -- to show that we are invested in the city. lets not disappoint them. let's make sure that they see for themselves the government works. that when you've organizes, the government will respond accordingly. we are here to tell you that we are very proud. i think we are about to make

history and i hope that we will do the right thing. with that, i will turn it back. [applause] >> we are also joined this afternoon by supervisor kim. >> thank you so much for having us here in letting us speak out of order. i would also like to recognize the supervisor eric mar. is here as well. the school board commercial -- school board commissioner has been here as well. i think the supervisor campos has addressed the issue and why it is so important to our constituents. as a former youth organizer in the city, many of our youth do ride muni for free. i will not put a value statement on what is right or wrong, but many of the youth ride muni for free because they cannot afford to and they know that they need

to get to school, back and forth from our city. they are our natural transit first writers, because they do not have access. i think that many of the kids to grow up in a city and do not learn how to bicycle or drive a car. in fact, i was always writing in new york city on the buses and subways. we got bus passes depending on how far we live from school. to pay to go to school is a foreign concept to me. when i came to san francisco and i've learned that children the hardships would wait for a bus driver that would recognize them so that they knew that they could get on the bus, that is a practice we should not accept in san francisco. i often work with students that have younger siblings and they are often a responsible adult member in their family.

from they do not have the funds to cover their siblings to go to school as well. for multiple reasons, this is something that we should support. it is the right thing to do and it will be a huge benefit to the city in the end. i think that it will codify something that already exists. i think that ticketing young people for fair violations is wrong. i do not know what kind of outcome we expect from that. i am not really quite sure what our intentions are in doing that. by codifying premium need for you if we will be saying that we think public transit is important in that we want them to be able to access the cultural amenities of the city, the diverse neighborhoods, and attending schools every day. thank you for holding these hearings. it means that lot to our community. >> thank you so much,

supervisor. supervisor mar, good afternoon. >> i wanted to say, what an incredible coalition and groundswell of community support there is for this campaign. and i think you all for listening and really working hard. i know how terrible the budget challenges are for the mta. my daughter takes the bus from home to the city school. this is an incredible place where we can turn young people into lifelong unique writers. i know you are debating whether you should reduce the cost versus free muni for youth. even if you reduce it, and i know you are considering that, low-income parents will have to pay the price. supervisor campos mentioned we

have identified different funding sources to make muni free for youth. i know it will be a challenge. hopefully we can show this will work for san francisco. a debate within the youth commission came up about whether it should be free for low-income youth or all youth. i know a lot of private and parochial school students would become lifelong muni writers as well. this allows us to draw children from middle-class and wealthy background as well, so there is lowered stigma. thank you for a knowledge in the grass roots campaign before us. i would like to introduce my colleague, supervisor olague, as well. chairperson nolan: the newest supervisor. congratulations, and thank you. supervisor olague: i worked for years at a senior organization.

hopefully one day we will be able to look for ways limited income people and disabled people who are seniors can also have that considered for them. i write muni every day. i am on the five fulton every morning, sometimes the 24 division thereof. -- divisadero. every year, we seem to see more and more educational cuts, whether that means larger classrooms or more burden placed on parents around purchase and school supplies. now, of course, yellow buses no longer exist. that is a thing of the past. someday we will have a yellow bus in a museum, no doubt. i think it is critical, since the burden is placed on parents and families, that the city needs to provide this. school is mandatory.

it is not a choice to children. they have to go to school. so i think we have to make sure that we facilitate this for them. at some point, i think the issue of -- it probably has come up before at other hearings -- the issue of safe travel is important to consider. there are some children i wait with in the morning. they seem to have a different parent or caretaker accompanying them on their way to school. it is something to consider as well, as well as the excess travelers on those buses during those times when people are going to school. i noticed that sometimes the buses are really hard to get on during certain hours, because that is when children are trying to get to school. >> theresa mendoza, followed by sanjolie, marcy rain, george oy ama.

>> [speaking spanish] >> good afternoon. my name is theresa mendoza. i am a member of an organization. i am here to ask for you to approve the free fast-passes for youth. >> [speaking spanish] >> so that we do not have to suffer so much trying to divide up our money between buying clothes or buying a fast pass. because sometimes we do not even have money for that.

>> [speaking spanish] >> and i do not have much more to say, but i see you're kind hearts and you're kind faces, and i think we can make this happen. that is all i needed to say. thank you. chairperson nolan: thank you. >> next speaker is sandra lee hubbard, followed by mercy rain and georgia iowa. -- george ayama. >> i am here to lend support to the idea of free muni for all youth in san francisco. as many previous speakers have mentioned, we are phasing out our general education yellow school buses. the governor has proposed to eliminate all funding for

reimbursement for trips protection costs. you can imagine the havoc it is causing in our school district. we get calls on a daily basis. how will we get children to school? we have a system of free choice in our schools. that means parents can choose schools that are far from their own neighborhoods, if there is performing the would like for their own children. access to free muni would give their children a chance to participate in language immersion programs and art programs that are not in certain districts, but in other areas of the city. we have, and i think you have heard, but we have an increasing amount of homeless families we are serving. two years ago, we were spending $11,000 a month for youth passes for homeless families. we are spending in excess of that now. it has used up all of our funds to serve our homeless families. still, there is great