at their word in terms of the importance of the issue. i think we really need to analyze what exactly is meant by the trade-off of being -- a trade-off. this is not something that has been identified before. that said, i want to send a clear message to this board and to the people involved in this issue. i think we should be very proud of where we are. some of us believe that we should go farther and make it free for all. but the fact that the city and county of san francisco is talking about, at minimum, making it free for low income youth, is something that we should be very proud of. i especially want to address the families and youth involved. it is important for them to have a victory. there should be proud of the fact that we are where we are. they have changed the

conversation. i hope they change the conversation, not only so that we take the step right now, so that we continue to move forward on this issue of how we make the system accessible. to the extent that you are implementing a program that allows free public transit to low income youth, i hope that two things remain a priority. one is acceptability. making sure that in implementing the program, you are not excluding the very families that you want to help. the thing about the low-income families that we are concerned about is that they are the ones that will have the toughest time accessing any type of bureaucracy or process. make sure that that accessibility is fair. make sure also that you make the process as simple as you possibly can.

simplicity is important, especially for these families. i'm excited about where we are. we have some differences of opinion as to how far we should go, but i am very proud of where we are. i want to thank the director of transportation and the staff. i think it is important for us to speak with one voice. even though this is an important part of the process, the bulk of the work remains to be done at the regional level. we need to make the case, and to make it successful, we need to be united. fully committed to making sure that we are successful in this effort and that we continue to monitor this effort. you have that pledge, and i look forward to working with the staff, with your staff, with the commissioners in making sure that we do this project right. to make sure we have the funding needed to make it successful. and that the implementation

works and there is an operational plan in place to make sure that it is implemented in a way that minimizes the impact on the ridership. that is doable. the last thing, to the extent that these other issues that are identified are important. the issue of maintenance been one of them. i also think beyond this program, you have an opportunity today, when you approve this budget, to make sure that you do right by this system can do right by the ridership of the mta. i do hope that you are able to address issues that remain issues. one of the issues that i think needs to be a focus is the issue of -- we have an audit that is ongoing right now looking at whether or not every one of those dollars that is being

spent, $63 million, is truly connected to transportation. let me identify one area where i think you can do something today. that is something you have for a lot about. $9 million of muni budget, money that the writers of this system are putting into. $9 million of that is going to pay for the entirety of the motorcycle unit. i believe the motorcycle unit plays a very important role. i believe there should be properly funded. i do not think it is fair for the ridership of public transit to pay for the entirety of that program. i think it is appropriate for some of that money to be paid by other people who drive other people in the city. you have the opportunity to reduce that amount by half. that is $4.5 million.

so that you address issues like maintenance, on-time performance, staffing. i hope those issues are addressed because i think you owe it to the agency and ultimately to the ridership to make sure that we do right by them. i look forward to working with you. i know the budget will come to us at the board of supervisors. thank you very much for this opportunity. [applause] chair nolan: i want to thank you for your leadership and your office leadership. i did then on this body for six years. i have never seen an effort as well organized and respectful as this one. some people think it is a good idea to come in and threaten us. it does not work for me. it has been incredibly compelling cases they have made. a year ago, this was not even a

thought. i hope that regardless of what the board does, and my suspicion is that we will certainly do it for the low income, and introduce an amendment that would have the board go on record in favor of what you are talking about. i hope the people who work so hard atally understand, this is a tremendous victory for their efforts. and for all the people of san francisco. it is a great dane. we will let you know a little later today. >> -- it is a great thing. we will let you a little bit later. >> thank you. [applause] >> i have a few and i will ask if there are other people love not yet turned in speaker cards. -- people have not turned and speaker cards. please do so. [reading names]

>> we are asking you to focus on the proposals in order to do free muni for all. >> i been involved in the transit industry for 45 years. this issue caught my attention because i am afraid it will bring a lot of unintended consequences. i will stick to those that deal with the budget. others have tried this in the past, about 30 years ago denver looked at systemwide free fares. different than what you are expecting -- suggesting. basically, ridership increased tremendously, but it was unproductive. three short trips, two blocks. that entails a lot of expense and the budget in order to

handle it. vandalism went up much more than they thought. what happens when youths turn 18? there is no transition from a free to full. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i am the candidate organizer. thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. we have some disagreement and do not believe the trade-offs are accurate. i will speak directly to lifeline. 72% increase in lifeline funds in this third cycle. part of it comes from the s m -- sfmta. $17 million for this third cycle. what we have to figure out is

that $10 million of this would go to free muni. i want to speak. briefly to the fact that the free muni for all youth is an appropriate for the funds. they have consistently identified the high cost of fares as a primary concern of low income communities. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i want to talk about one of the other trade-offs, mission mobility project. we believe from our conversations with the county transit authority that there is enough lifeline funds to cover the cost of the 29. the mission mobility project has received $7 million in regional transit initiative funds.

it would also be eligible for a grant. you all know that we think that free muni for all youth is the right choice. i welcome your amendment to reopen this in the future if there is more money that comes available. thank you very much. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> welcome back, chairman nolan. it is no longer spring break at city college. i want to stick to the policy points wheat expressed.

-- we expressed. the funds our climate initialed -- initiative dollars. the first two line items in the funding sources charget, they ae listed as operating dollars. those are impacts as youth lifeline funds. we are grateful for the board supports, consideration, and hard work on this. we are hopeful that you will let to go for free for all. we are excited about the possibility. thank you. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i am organizer. i want to address the staff

report that you presented. one of the big arguments. making is that making bus maintenance of a trade-off is a random attempt a last-minute attempt to limit the board's choice on free muni for all youth only. sfmta has presented budget increases for maintenance and other high priority areas. this is the first time we have ever heard about this. given the size of the additional increases, we feel that there should be other options. if the staff is concerned about the state of the impact on many services, you guys should look into the $65 million in other departments. [applause] >> [reading names]

>> we opposed free muni for all youth. we would support for the muni for low-income students during school hours. this would address the problem of fewer school buses, while preserving funds for maintenance and safety. thank you. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> it is a great idea, but the maintenance is a serious issue. this city has one of the oldest fleets in the country. $3.8 million, breaking down every single day on the streets. to take away the maintenance

cost is a huge mistake. we do not know when the new fleet is going to come end. -- come in. my other problem with this is we are already in a budget deficit. how much is this deficit gone to roll over into 2013? that is going to roll into 2013 and 2014. when is the real issue going to be addressed on how much this deficit is gone to be by the end of -- chair nolan: director heinicke has a question for you. thank you for coming -- director

heinicke: thank you for coming down. did you have a position on the various proposals? have you not taken a formal position? >> i do not have a comment. >> [reading names] >> good afternoon, directors. i did get a chance to review the budget. i am impressed with the way you've dealt with such a challenging budget this year. i could not hold my tongue with the medallion a sales program raising more than $20 million. in new york, i never had to pay as a student to take surface transportation to go to school. new york city has agreed and has

approved selling 2000 taxi medallions and there will raise $1 billion. this is something i think you really need to take a look at. you do not have to do not like new york, but we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars. we are looking to find things like this, this has to be a top priority. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> [reading names] those are the last speaker cards. >> great idea, appreciate you guys putting in all the time for this particular issue. to take the money for maintenance is unacceptable. right now, as we speak, you can go over, 45 buses sitting in the

barn. while our position is neutral on this -- first of all, can i ask for a request to expand -- extend my time? chair nolan: we cannot really do that. >> this is a tradeoff would service. ubalde agency is going to give out free rides to the youth, you are taking away service. do not blame the operator. do not blame the operator for this. good luck. chair nolan: thank you, sir. >> good afternoon. welcome back. tt this is the city of san francisco. named after a st. that has

compassion. i would like to commend the director of the mta, the supervisors, especially supervisor campos, the various organizations, and our youth for speaking to the truth. i am the director of environmental justice advocacy. our money must go to serve our constituents. the most wonderful among our constituents are our students. you do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand this. i commend those entities who voted their conscience to help our youth. chair nolan: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i want to say a couple of

things. you cannot fix a structural deficit by voting no for the free for all program. i am disappointed that mr. williams left. do not blame the kids who are trying to get to school with maintenance issues. we asked not to take it out of the workers and not to make a fault set of choices. i am disappointed that the labor folks would come up here and buy into that rhetoric. it is disappointing. the choice is not between fixing this state of good repair. we cannot address those needs by coming up with some diligence that if we do not vote for this program, there will be longstanding it of structural issues that will be addressed. thank you.

[applause] >>hi. thank you for being so thoughtful about this issue. i apologize if people have heard me say this before. i was involved a couple of years ago with power and other groups that were talking about muni. the bureaucratic logistics when we were trying to give out the three month pilot program to low-income youth was really overwhelming. mta and unified school district did not have the staff or the money to do outreach and to do distribution. most of it happened by volunteers and if it were not for the volunteers, it would not have happened. i am for seeing that happening. if it is limited to low income

use. please did very deeply into the work order -- dig very deeply into the work order. i know you have discussed the possibility of doing it by -- [inaudible] >> thank you very much. >> my name is roland. i am in favor of the youth pass. i have not heard anything about helping seniors and people with disabilities that are also on

low-income. many of them are on ssi and they cannot even have a pass. it really needs to be addressed as far as looking into some type of discount for seniors and people with disabilities. i know we do have, you know, -- if you are offering free, it should be for all the parties involved. chair nolan: anyone else? >> it looks like there is one young lady who wishes to come forward. chair nolan: good afternoon. >> it is great to see you guys

again. i want to second one of the comments made earlier. we have seen it before, we know what it will look like. we have assumptions. it is not going to be a beautiful sight. what person is going to have the job to make sure that it is done right? that is one of the things i want to highlight. i am kind of disheartening to hear support comes down to trade-offs between maintenance and this program. we support car drivers. i see drivers all the time and died commend them for the work -- and i commend them for the work that they do. i support them, and i hope they support us, too. thank you for your time. and being involved in that this

discussion with us. a year ago, we were totally not even thinking about this. [applause] chair nolan: i declare the public comment period is over. this will be the last speaker. >> [speaking spanish] >> good afternoon, everyone. i did been a member of the organization power for 12 years. >> [speaking spanish] >> @ power, we speak clearly and what we are talking about now are free passes for youth to get to school.

we should stick to that conversation because it is critical that for youth, who are our future. we should not let ourselves -- we should stick to the point that san francisco has enough money to pay for passes for all youth. >> [speaking spanish]

>> we are not asking for anything but our -- that our youth and families don't deserve. we simply cannot afford the passes. you have the choice today. >> [speaking spanish] chair nolan: ok, translate that, and that will be dead. >> this is the work of a multiracial, multi rankle coalition of people. you have the choice -- multi lintel coalition of people. you have the choice today. [applause]

chair nolan: this will be the final speaker. >> i was not going to comment, are discussing this. this legislation is being considered 20 or 30 years too late. the day we went away from neighborhoods schools, muni should have become free for everyone. how did you tell a child, we will not let you go to the school down the street, but you have to go across town and paid to get there? it makes absolutely no sense. it is something that should have been done a long time ago. i hope you factored in at the cost of determining who is low income and who is not. you will not be able to run a program like that for free. that is going to cost you some money as well. i think you ought to do it for

all children. i think you ought to do it now. [applause] chair nolan: the public hearing is now officially over. it is time for our decision. recently i had some surgery and i was out the last two meetings. i want to thank my colleagues, very difficult issues and the vice-chairman for conducting this with a great deal of dignity and efficiency and hearing your one. i took the time to think about this in recent weeks. i thought about this for a long time. the job is -- the ultimate thing is to look out for the entire city. and its complex components will be mindful of the various communities we serve. we can adopt a policy that seems to make sense for the city as far as i'm concerned. we had occasion for people who

say it does not play out well in our neighborhood or this committee or that. this is one of those examples. if -- as mindful as we are, the job of the seven of us is to consider what is in the best interest of the agency as we serve the entire city. like my colleagues, i have carefully considered the proposals for muni. i am persuaded there is a compelling need to offer that service for 22 months, the next two years. resources might be there to provide for low-income students. i am not convinced as -- as convinced that the case is compelling for middle and upper income kids. for the sake of individuals who have other means of paying for their service. the case for muni has been well made by a large, well-organized grassroots campaign.