In July, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency made an emergency decision to increase the price of a youth Fast Pass to $21, a 110 percent increase since the June 2009 price of $10.

In protest, a broad coalition of youth, transit advocates and elected officials stood outside City Hall on Sept. 19 to urge free Muni passes for youth under the age of 18. On that same day, SFMTA Director Joel Ramos and District 9 Supervisor David Campos introduced the idea of free Muni to all San Francisco residents under the age of eighteen. At an Oct. 18 meeting at City Hall, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution urging the passage of free Muni, although it does not have the authority to require it.

The increase in fare prices, though unexpected, was reasonable given the financial deficit the MTA faces; because of financial constraints, Muni should be free for low-income, but not all, youth.

If San Franciscans’ complaints do sway the SFMTA, the agency will lose potential revenues. According to the SFMTA, funding free Muni for all youth would cost $6.4 million in monthly pass and cash fares. There have already been tremendous numbers of cuts to Muni routes and buses and an increased deficit will only contribute to more losses in public transportation.

Consider the policies and prices of public transportation in major cities such as Chicago and San Diego. Their free or reduced bus passes are given to senior citizens, individuals with medical disabilities, or military personnel.

On the other hand, the few metropolitan agencies that do offer discounted or free bus fares do not grant universal free public transportation to its city’s youth. In example, the New York City Department of Education distributes student MetroCards to eligible students at the beginning of each semester of school and allows for three trips on each school day, covering the bus rides to and from school. Moreover, eligibility is based on a student’s distance from his or her home to school, not income. Considering a student’s distance away from home to school suits New York very well considering the fact that New York is approximately ten times bigger than San Francisco.

In Portland, all youth under the age of eighteen, high school students, and students pursuing a GED are eligible for discounted bus fares. High school students can, however, take the bus for free during the school year because the Portland Public School District does not provide any yellow school buses; however, do keep in mind that Portland is about three times larger than San Francisco, meaning that its students attending schools on the other side of town would have to take the bus for a longer period of time than typical San Franciscan high school students.

In Oakland, Marin and San Jose, monthly youth bus passes are similar to or more expensive than the current $21 San Francisco pass; in Oakland, youth passes are $20, approximately $28 in Marin and $45 in San Jose .

Lowell’s Peer Resources head Adee Horn expressed her support for free Muni. “A lot of people take Muni, but not everybody can afford it,” Horn said.

But why let youth who can easily afford bus passes ride for free sink our city’s transportation system into deeper financial difficulties? The best solution would be to provide free passes only to students who genuinely cannot afford them. This distinction could be determined by the same criteria that qualify students for free or reduced lunch.

The SFUSD has already taken measures to cushion the blow of increased Muni fares. Through the Youth Lifeline Program, the SFUSD distributed 12,000 free passes to low-income students during the last school year, and 12,000 discounted passes are available for purchase by eligible students this school year. The SFMTA should distribute more passes through this program instead of offering universal free youth Muni passes.

District 7 Supervisor Sean Elsbernd recognized the financial impracticality of free Muni for youth. “We have tens of millions of dollars of unfunded mandates at the MTA, ” he was quoted saying in an Oct. 7 San Francisco Chronicle article. Elsbernd suggested providing further discounted youth passes for children with financial difficulties.

On the other hand, Campos argues that making free youth passes universal would benefit low income students by eliminating any stigmatism associated with receiving free bus fare.

Campos also sees free Muni for youth as an investment in future ridership and education. “There is clearly a need for free Muni especially since [fares] have gone up by 110 percent and because the SFUSD is cutting its buses by almost 50 percent,” he said in an interview.

If the SFMTA is smart, it will acknowledge the value of free Muni passes for youth with financial difficulties but also recognize that our city’s cash-strapped transportation system cannot afford to fund free bus fare for all youth under 18.

The next meeting concerning the issue of free Muni has yet to be determined.