Horrible Budget Ideas from the Geniuses at Muni (SFMTA)

On February 4th, the SFMTA Board of Directors had a special meeting covering various issues and topics.  One of the topics they covered is the upcoming fiscal year budget by showing a PowerPoint presentation.  Thanks to the public disclosure laws, we are able to view the materials the board gets to see.

To view the budget presentation, click here.

A lot of the material was all blah blah blah that wouldn't matter to me, but I found a chunk of information that made me quite frustrated that SFMTA employees would try to make the Board even think about accepting.

If anyone recalled the Mayor Frank Jordan era, Muni decided to implement a new fare structure where passengers had to pay an extra 50 cent fee to ride express buses or pay for a premium Muni pass, and eliminated all transfers.  The citizens hated it so much that Muni decided months later to restore transfers and kill the premium fees for all express buses.

So here's the stuff that made me go nuts:

Page 10: Automatic Indexing
The SFMTA is going to raise the price of its fare products by 3% for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years.  What this basically means is your Muni fare will increase from $2 to $2.25 ($0.75 to $1 for youth, seniors, and disabled), and monthly passes will rise two dollars for adults and one dollar for discount passes.  Some of the fare products like visitor passports and cable car fares will remain the same.

#Muni wants to consider making the F-Market equal to the Cable Car single ride fare ($6). Are you FUCKING NUTS?
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 5, 2014

Pages: 15 and 16: Possible Revenue Sources
I thought they've gone insane by proposing these ideas to generate extra money:

1. They want to raise the price of riding the F-Market historic streetcar line.  On top of the regular Muni fare, a premium surcharge will be $1 per adult, and $0.50 discount for eligible people.
2. Or instead of a surcharge, one idea is to charge passengers the equivalent fare that Cable Car passengers pay at $6 per single ride on the F-Market.
3. For passengers who ride the limited lines and peak express bus lines, a surcharge on top of the regular single ride Muni fare of $1 for adults and $0.50 discount for eligible passengers.
4. A policy to ban "M" Muni Only adult passes to ride the limited and express bus lines, therefore forcing those passengers to either pay for a "A" Muni premium pass or pay the FULL MUNI FARE + SURCHARGE if they only have the "M" pass.
5. A plan to increase visitor passport fares by $1 or $5.
6. A plan to increase the "A" pass $2 above indexed price due to BART's increased cost for rides within San Francisco.

However, since the Clipper card would be responsible for many of the fare and pass transactions, it will come at a big cost to Muni to modify the fare structure.  They estimate it will cost more than $250,000 to have the Clipper software rewritten with the new rules, but also have to tackle the Title VI equity analysis.

#Muni also wants to charge extra fare for express buses & limited lines? Or if you have "M" pass, pay FULL FARE?  Are you FUCKING HIGH?
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 5, 2014

Pages 17 to 20: Possible Revenue Reductions
So by raising money (as seen above), the agency also wants to lose money in their real stupid ideas:

1. The SFMTA wants to continue the free Muni for youth program at an expense of $2.7 million for the 2015 fiscal year, and $2.8 million for the 2016 fiscal year.
2. The agency also wants to extend the free Muni for youth program to include 18 year olds which will balloon the program's expenses to $3.6 million for 2015 FY, and $3.7 million for 2016 FY.
3. If the agency considers number two, they will also have to rewrite what "youth fare" means for passengers.  By redefining it to say it's good for 18 year old passengers, Muni is expected to lose up to $2.1 million in fare revenue.
4. If the agency decides to eliminate Sunday meter parking fees, the loss would be about $9.3 to $9.5 million a year in revenue.  This takes into account the agency's estimated 'cost savings' for killing the Sunday meter program.
5. If a proposal to give free Muni to seniors and disabled passengers is approved, upon the assumption that 50% of citizens are eligible, Muni is going to lose at least $4 million in revenue, and if it's increased to 67% are eligible, Muni is going to lose at least $6 million.

Free #Muni for seniors where up to 50 to 60% would qualify?  You got to be kidding.  75 cents a ride is damn cheap. Cost program: $4M to 6M.
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 5, 2014

Akit's Angry Opinions
I've never seen such stupid ideas in my life.  So let's go down the list of their bad ideas.

1. New adult fare at $2.25 a ride will definitely slow down the system for passengers paying the farebox; although, the agency would consider giving passengers who pay with Clipper a fare discount as a way to encourage more usage and speed boarding times.
2. I really don't like the idea of charging any premium fee for the F-Market route, especially for those who live near the F-Market line along the Embarcadero.  Why punish the average citizen who can't afford the parking rates and make them pay extra to get to their house or workplace?  The F-Market has been the perfect alternative for visitors and citizens to get to Fisherman's Wharf without paying the insane Cable Car single fare fee of $6 a ride.
3. What I hate even more is if Muni charges a $6 fee for the F-Market, equal to the Cable Car fare.  If anyone recalls the 74X CultureBus, a premium Muni bus service, they were charging a very high premium fare of $7 a ride (went up to $10), and because of the high fare for passengers, died a horrible death because of severe lack of ridership.
4. I am very against the idea of making all limited lines and peak express lines a premium fare service.  If anyone recalls this, I reported back in 2010 that Muni attempted to make the express lines a premium fare service and rejecting "M" passes, but finally decided in September 2010 to not go forward with the idea.  Some people have to commute long distances on Muni, and the limited and peak express buses helps get them to their destination in a respective amount of time.  If there's a premium fee, it will force people who can't afford the extra cost to take the much slower local buses.  But how about the people who live west of 43rd Avenue and Geary?  The only bus line from 48th Avenue to 43rd is the 38L-Geary Limited inbound line, and will you force the elderly and disabled who live deep in the Outer Richmond district to walk several blocks just to save money?
5. If Muni says okay to a premium fare for limited or express buses, I'm very against having "M" pass passengers get their passes rejected and being forced to pay the regular fare PLUS the premium fee.  At least give these people some respect by either honoring the pass and charging a small surcharge or honor the pass as full fare with premium.
6. I've never liked the idea of giving out free passes to kids.  I applauded the MTC board for saying screw you to the kids on the idea of spending public money for free rides for the youth, only to have the SFMTA board decide to spend its own cash for the pilot program.  And the youth responded by humiliating themselves in the news media by getting angry (here, take a look at a Chronicle picture of a kid so upset he's not getting free rides on the bus).  Renewing the program comes at a huge expense to us taxpayers.  Remember kids, the price you pay for Muni rides today is the best offer versus all the other major transit agencies in the Bay Area.  And, you get a FREE TRANSFER.
7. Oh, and let's not forget the idea to give seniors and disabled passengers free rides too.  Where do you think that money comes from?  The public's pockets.  I wonder how many people will try to fraud Muni and the MTC who issues the disabled IDs.  Get a crooked doctor to sign-off paperwork and why not apply for a shot a free rides on Muni for life?  Sounds similar to people who cheat the disabled parking placard system.
8. Last but not least, let's talk about the end of the Sunday meter fees.  I think charging for Sunday meters is a great idea because business districts gets more turnover (more customers), there's more available parking, and for anyone who doesn't want to pay the meter fees, can opt to ride Muni as an alternative.  When Sunday meters was free, visiting neighborhoods with major parking issues like Irving Street from 19th to 27th Avenue was horrible; cars wouldn't move for hours and some people would double park forever waiting like a vulture for an open space.  So keep the Sunday meters running.

A lot of times, Muni's 'smart people' likes to rattle the cage and think of these harebrained ideas, including restoring programs like charging a premium fee for express buses when it utterly failed in mere months over 20 years ago.  Some of these ideas won't likely be implemented because it will anger the public, but some might fly without a doubt like continuing to give the kids free rides.

When Muni pulls these ideas out of their ass, I'm very grumpy.  I would spit on their grave if there was one (can anyone find the CultureBus gravestone?), but for now, it's just ranting on this blog.

If you feel the need to express your opinions about Muni's ideas to raise money and give out more free crap, contact your city supervisor.

Muni Substituting Diesels on Trolleybus Lines on Sunday - Major Delays to Happen

This Sunday is the big NFC championship game where the 49ers are traveling to Seattle to face the Seahawks.  But the more troubling issue is why Muni is not allowing any trolleybuses to run in the city, and instead substituting it for diesels all Sunday.

From the Chronicle, the reason why the trolleybuses are being locked in the garage is a precaution in case there's fans rioting in the streets.

Riots?  If citizens wants to riot, they'll vandalize or destroy any Muni bus they please, regardless if it is diesel or electric.

The truth of the matter is, if Muni takes all the electric trolleybuses off the streets on Sunday, you will experience severe delays on all trolleybus lines.  There are not enough diesel buses to make-up for a huge loss.

And how do I know of the delays?  Last week Saturday, Muni switched all electric lines running along Market street to diesel only (excluding the 14-Mission), but they had a legitimate excuse, there was major road construction on Market and it blocked the overhead wires and the tracks used by the F-Market.  I ride the 6-Parnassus, but the diesel buses ran too far apart, with wait times of 30 to 40 minutes; normally the wait with trolleybuses is about 15-20 minutes.  Even the bus substitution for the F-Market was terrible, I was waiting 25 minutes for a bus that was sardine packed; after that point, I turned around and went home.

But wait, there's more.  This Sunday, Muni is cutting-off all Cable Car and F-Market service and they are also going on diesel as well.  For the entire three day weekend, the N-Judah will not run trains from Duboce and Church to Ocean Beach, and instead run much slower and smaller capacity buses.  This means that all the diesel lines will be STRETCHED THIN.

I seriously question the SFMTA's choices of cutting-off all the trolleybus lines for diesels.  Like I said earlier, with all the lines being forced to diesels, there is not enough diesel buses to make-up a huge gap like this.

SF's 10 Cent Restaurant Take-Out Bag Ordinance - Another Stupid Law from Your City Government

The San Francisco city government is going to regret this...

Starting this Tuesday, October 1, 2013, a city ordinance will now require all food establishments to stop giving out plastic bags, and all delivery and take-out bags will cost a minimum of 10 cents each.

Due to the end of plastic bags, food establishments can only give out: paper bags with a minimum 40% post recycled user content (most commonly used), compostable plastic bag, or a washable checkout bag that can be used more than 125 times (e.g. cloth bag).

But there are a few exceptions that has no ten cent charge that I'll highlight: Bags for things like bulk foods, candy, and to serve popcorn are exempt.  A bag used to contain seafood, meat, and frozen items.  A plastic bag is acceptable to seal items to prevent damage, mostly liquid items like soups and curries.  Lastly, there is no fee if you receive a doggy bag for your leftover food.

It Hurts Businesses
What does this mean for our city's restaurant establishments?  For those that has mostly dine-in patrons, the law won't impact them as badly because as I stated before, a doggy bag for leftovers is free.

But for those whose business is a majority of take-out, delivery, owns a bakery, or a fast food establishment, this bag law will be a problem.  It casts a negative aspect that every time a patron comes to order a meal, they will be forced to surrender an extra ten cents, by law, just so they can bring it in their office or bring it home to feed their family.

I'm predicting that if the ten cent bag law casts huge negative attention, people will stop going to establishments that exclusively depends on giving customers a bag to take their food items, baked goods, and their burger.  And what does that mean to everybody?  Businesses will lose their loyal customers, businesses will lose profits, the city and state will have less tax revenue to receive, and with less tax money coming in, less money can be spent by the government for the services used by the public.

Fast Food Restaurants Will Take a Hit
Take a look at McDonalds and Burger King, a majority of their restaurant patrons take it to-go.  I feel a lot of patrons will be grumpy that they are forced with the choice of eating-in (if they have the time), bringing their own bag which will then get all greasy and sticky, or fork over the ten cents in the name of greedy city government stupidvisors.

The 10 Cent Bag Law when comparing a Restaurant versus Grocery Store
When you compare food establishments versus grocery stores, there's a big difference with the 10 cent bag law.  At least when you buy groceries, bringing your own bag is fine because the products you buy are unlikely going to leak or stink up your bag.  But if you buy hot food items from a restaurant, bringing your own bag is a horrible idea because the smell of the food might stay into the fabrics, it might leak and make a greasy or sticky mess, and in the long run, reusable bags means after a small amount of use, people will likely throw it away and not wash it.

Akit's Opinions
I don't like the idea of forcing a 10 cent bag law on food establishments.  Restaurants that heavily depend on deliveries and take-out will get hurt the most.  Some of you might say it's just ten cents, but for someone like me who doesn't always have money to burn, I might as well get my take-out dinners from Daly City since I work not far at SF State.

Nasty Revenge on Neighbor's House in Inner Sunset

Living in the Inner Sunset district has its perks, including the easy access to great restaurants, the N-Judah metro line, and the friendly neighbors.

But this incident I noticed was quite the opposite of "friendly."  Last week, I was told by a source that someone's house had graffiti on the walls and the F-word sprayed multiple times.

Seeing that it sparked my interest, I went down to the house and snapped a photo and enlarged them for you to see.

Someone decided to spray paint this green house in the Inner Sunset with the words "FUCK U" three different times.  The photo shown only shows it sprayed twice, but it was also sprayed on the far right side of the house.

What I've been told about this particular property is the homeowner is notorious for calling the police on a regular basis because someone parks their vehicle too close to the edge of their driveway.

In some cases the car is determined to be within the legal limits, while other times the car is ordered to be towed by the city's contracted towing company and the fee to retrieve the car is well over $400.00 right next door to the Hall of Justice.

The parking stall is not that large, but not too small.  It can comfortably take a sub-compact car and likely a compact, but not a full size.

The homeowner really drives the point home that he/she doesn't like anyone overlapping their driveway by just even an inch by installing the yellow sign on the utility pole (as seen in the photo).  Unfortunately, what the owner has done is not a legal parking sign on public property, and does not meet the criteria for posting bills on utility poles.

A legal parking sign is something the city owns and approves, such as a street sweeping sign or temporary tow-away sign.  The criteria for private citizens to post items on utility poles is it must conform to the pole (a piece of paper wraps around the pole, a sign doesn't), and it must be no larger than a letter size sheet of paper (which the sign doesn't).

Akit's opinion:
While it's illegal for any person to graffiti someone's house; but frankly, I believe the homeowner deserved it.  From asking around, the homeowner loves calling the city to ticket and tow cars on a regular basis, making the person a marked man.

If I was a property owner,  I'd be frustrated if someone deliberately blocked my driveway to the point where I can't leave my garage; but if it's a vehicle that encroaches just a tiny bit over, but doesn't cause me turmoil that I'm unable to exit my driveway, likely I'd just leave a courtesy note.  The courtesy note would simply just remind the person to not block the driveway in the future.

If I wrote a threatening note or constantly called the cops for the smallest issue, I might as well pray my house won't get spray painted, shot with paintballs, have a rock thrown into the window, or my car getting keyed.

If that green house property owner wants to take some real action without pissing-off the neighbors, do the right thing and pay the $348 fee for the city to paint driveway red tips so people are warned ahead of time to not park within the red zone.  If the guy paints his own red tips, that's illegal.

Lastly, if the property owner doesn't want to look like an asshole, please take down the yellow sign.  It's like painting a big target on your chest.

The Ten Annoyances Akit Experiences Almost Daily

I haven't blogged in weeks!  Things have been quite busy at my job and now I have a little relief to blog again.

Being a native San Franciscan has its perks, you always know the fastest way on Muni and alternate routes to get to where you need to go, you know the restaurants that are good and pure crap, and you have a bullshit alarm.  I'm quite an observant person and that bullshit alarm goes off a ton of times for people doing some stupid crap on the streets of my city; so I want to highlight them:

(1) Idiot Pedestrians - There's nothing worse than the entitled pricks who thinks it's absolutely okay to cross a street against a red signal or jaywalk; and then there are those super entitled pricks who cross in front of an approaching car, as shown in the video above.

(2) Nail Clipping - Nail clipping ain't cool in public.  Just yesterday while riding the 6-Parnassus, a lady sitting behind me was clipping her nails during for about 10 minutes.  After she finished clipping her nails, I could hear her feet shuffle and her hands sweeping from her clothing; SHE WAS LITTERING HER CLIPPINGS ON THE FLOOR!

(3) Hogging a Muni seat, WITH YOUR FEET - Come on people, don't put your feet on the seat, especially when the vehicle is standing room only.  You look like an asshole, and if it was legal, I'd slap you in the face.

(4) Parking #FAIL - It's something I always take with my cell phone when I'm walking the streets.  People think it's absolutely fine to park illegally where ever they want.  There might be that lucky chance the fine folks at the SFMTA will be around to give a nice fat ticket to the car, but likely car owners will get away with it; and even if they get a ticket, they'll say it's well worth that fine.  In the photo above, I caught this car on Saturday parked on 9th Avenue in front of Kiki's restaurant; having a disabled placard is not an excuse to park like an idiot.

(5) Bad bicycle riders - There are some good bicycle riders, then there are the ones who deserve to get hit by a car.  On Saturday, I was waiting my turn to cross the street directly across from the Exploratorium at Pier 15 and I see two bicyclists decide to go through the intersection while an incoming car was approaching and had the green light to proceed through the intersection.  If it wasn't for the actions of the driver to slam his brakes, swerve, and blow the horn, the two helmet-less bicyclists would have been likely dead.  Just yesterday, I can't believe how many people blow the stop signs on the bike route known as "the wiggle."

(6) Illegal U-Turns - Ever since I moved into the Inner Sunset district, I'm not too far away from the 9th Avenue business district.  I see tons of drivers making u-turns in the middle of the block, and most of the time, do it unsuccessfully in the first attempt.  It turns up to be more like a nine point turn.  But as you see in the video, making a u-turn in a business district is a traffic violation, and especially since 9th Avenue has metro rail tracks, those who u-turn might as well be lucky a train hasn't slammed into their car, because in the battle of Muni metro versus a car, Muni metro wins with a flawless victory.

(7) Bad neighbors - I hate my next door neighbors because they don't shut the hell up.  They like to talk loud with their window open at 3AM.  One night, the idiots decided to crank the music so loud, I can feel my walls vibrate.  At least when I yelled at them that I would threaten to call the cops, that's when they stopped.

(8) Stopping at intersections - Driving my car is stressful, especially when approaching an intersection.  I always follow the rules, such as stopping completely before the limit line, and at an all-way stop, making sure to go when it's supposed to be my turn.  But you always see those who pull a "California stop" by only slowing down at the limit line, but then hits the gas and goes through.  There's also those who go out-of-turn at the all-way stop intersections, which frustrates me because they know the basic rule: First come, first served, and if two vehicles stops at the same time, the right vehicle goes first.

(9) Last minute lane changes - Another instance of why I hate driving.  People try to make a last second lane change because they don't want to be in the turn lane they are in.  Here's a bad one I was nearly a victim of: Three lanes, a Muni bus in the far left lane, and I'm in the middle lane.  At the green light, the Muni bus speeds forward to cut me off and cut from the #1 lane to the #3 lane to reach the curb for the bus stop.  Not cool.

(10) - I'm leaving this one blank for you, my blog fans.  What would you suggest for number ten?  Leave a comment.

The War Against Illegal Tow-Away Construction Zone Signs (Champion Cleaning)

Hello assholes!

The saga continues.  Get yourself up to speed by reading my first blog entry about this, and the second one.

On Friday morning, I decided to make a call to San Francisco 311 for an update.  The answer I got back was the same old thing: They took my report, passed it on to Department of Public Works, and that was it.  I asked the operator to transfer me to the DPW and I spoke with a female staff member on the phone.  I explained the situation to her, provided my 311 case number, and said an inspector will be investigating it three days.

Three days?  I told the lady the construction signs and crew will be long gone within 48 hours.  I tried to put some pressure on her to get the shit done, I also asked her what DPW will do if Champion Cleaning calls for a tow truck when they failed to provide a minimum of 72 hours notice of posting the signs.  She couldn't answer.

It seems every time I call the city, many either don't give a damn, don't want to be helpful, or just pass the buck onto some other department.  I work for the State of California, but I don't treat people like crap; I treat them nicely as best as I can, and make sure if they contacted me by accident, I put them back on the right path to the right people who can answer their questions.

On Saturday (today), I went out in the morning and on the ride back on the 6-Parnassus, I noticed a white van parked in the middle of the block on 9th Avenue.  I decided to hop-off the bus and take a look around.  Other than the van in the middle accessing the sewer opening, I saw one of their employees sitting on someone's property and having a smoke break.

Now I'm wondering if any cars got towed or not.  Since it's after 5PM and the signs are now expired, parking is now restored.  But if they try to pull another fast one and throw some more tow signs without advance notice, I'll be hounding DPW again.

As for DPW, I'll be calling them again on Monday for an update.

In-Depth Research: The Illegal Tow-Away Construction Zone Signs in the Inner Sunset

Since I had to quickly write the blog entry about the illegally posted tow-away signs in front of my house, I decided to spend this evening doing some further research about this matter.

My late grandmother taught me to raise hell and advocate for what I believe in.  She sure did that by demanding redress for all Japanese Americans forced into the Japanese internment camps during World War II, and after many years of working hard and being a leader, all survivors received a $20,000 check and an apology from the President of the United States.  Now it's my time to raise hell against Champion Cleaning, the people who thinks it's totally okay to put tow-away signs and blatantly violate several laws in the process.

Here's what I did after filing a complaint with the city:

I gave a call to SF 311 for an update about my complaint and was told the message was passed-on to the Department of Public Works' street use department, but didn't receive a response back.  The next time I can get in contact would be as early as 8AM on Friday.

I decided to call the SFPD Taraval Station and spoke with a desk sergeant.  I explained the situation and he told me to get in touch with DPT (SFMTA Parking) about the matter.  I asked if I had the right to file a police report for a company violating traffic code 33.1, and he said I can't.  I also asked him if the station had a copy of any paperwork regarding any temporary tow away zones in their jurisdiction and he said they don't have materials about that; unlike what the officer at the SFPD Richmond station told me.

Seeing no purpose of trying to call in circles, it was time to look around the city law books online.

First stop: San Francisco 311's FAQ section about construction zones

Quoted directly from the website:

How far in advance should I apply for a tow-away zone permit? 
Tow-Away No Stopping signs must first be registered at least 72 hours in advance of the effective date and time. Once registered, the signs shall be posted at least 72 hours in advance of the effective date and time in order to give the public sufficient notice.

Since the construction workers placed the signs LESS THAN 72 HOURS, it's illegal.  If you recall, the construction workers placed the sign on Thursday, July 25th at 8AM; the posted sign said: 7AM-5PM and is effective from 7/23/13 to 7/27/13.  The construction contractors should have placed the sign no later than 7AM on July 20, 2013; therefore it's a violation of numerous city laws.

But there's more from the 311 site:

What do I need to know about posting tow-away zone signs?
Tow-away signs for construction zones shall be posted in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section 33.1 of the San Francisco Traffic Code and in accordance with the following criteria:

1. Signs shall be posted only within the limits of construction.
2. Signs shall be posted every 20 linear feet of occupied space with at least one sign at each end of the occupied space.
3. Place signs on wood or aluminum backing or approved equal.
4. Mount the signs securely to existing poles, posts, on Type II barricades per Caltrans specifications, or on construction fences.
5. The Contractor shall maintain the signs on a continuous basis and shall replace damaged or missing signs daily.
6. Contractor shall remove the signs and mounting materials immediately after construction has been completed.

Okay, let's do a little in depth about this one.  They followed #1, #2, and #5 correctly.

And the rest?  #3 #4 is in violation because while they did post the signs on A-frames, they broke the law by posting some of them on traffic cones.  #6 can't be determined until the project is done.

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Second stop: San Francisco's codes and laws posted online
As per San Francisco Transportation Code, Article 1, Division 3, Section 3.4, Subsection (b) it states:

"Building Construction, Maintenance or Repair. Any temporary Parking restriction or prohibition related to building construction, maintenance, or repair in the public right-of-way shall be posted in compliance with Article 15, Section 724.3 of the Public Works Code."

This basically means the construction signage under the Transportation Code must comply with the Public Works Code or it is a violation of Section 3.4(b) of the Transportation Code.

Let's go to Article 15, Section 724.3 of the Public Works Code.
Subsection (a) basically states 72 hours advance notice must be provided when placing the construction signs.  It also mentions:

"The placard shall contain the following information: name of the permittee, a telephone number where the permittee can be reached during the hours of the permit, the duration of the permit including start and stop dates and hours of use, a geographic description of the street space occupied under the permit, the permit number, and the Department's street space hotline telephone number. The Department shall provide a placard to each permittee."

Subsection (b) basically states the proper posting of signage, such as on a-frames and poles.

Let's do a little analysis about the posted laws I'm referring to on the "second stop." Champion Cleaning who posted the signs have broken numerous codes under the Transportation and Public Works Codes:

1. They DID NOT provide 72 hours notice.
2. DID NOT provide further information on the placards (items failed to mention: geographic description of street space occupied, permit number, and street space hotline number).
3. POSTED SIGNAGE on non-approved items (traffic cones).

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Last stop: SFMTA's "Blue Book."
Since so many of these construction zone parking laws cross between Public Works, Transportation Codes, and many others, the SFMTA published a "Blue Book" as an easier way for people to understand all laws and regulations.  It basically sums up everything I've mentioned above.  If you would like to read it, click here and review section 4.

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My last words:
I've done my research, which means I have the ammo (the laws) to unleash hell.  If the city officials don't want to do their job to enforce and place a $1,000 fine against Champion Cleaning (a subcontractor of PG&E), I'll start making the round of phone calls, starting with the supervisor of my district.

If ANY CAR in my neighborhood gets either a ticket or towed in the next few days, I will fight back hard because you bastards NEVER gave minimum 72 hour notice.

Construction Tow-Away Signs Posted Without 72 Hours Notice in Inner Sunset District

UPDATE: I've referenced all applicable laws about this matter.  Click here to read.

Just this morning just before 8AM (on July 25, 2013), I left my home in the Inner Sunset District and noticed a white van in my neighborhood blocking my neighbor's driveway.

What I saw was shocking.  These two guys wearing bright yellow vests started putting up these tow-away signs on portions of my block (see photo).

When I read the signs in detail, it said construction zone is effective from July 23rd to July 27th, and during the hours of 7AM to 5PM.  The company is Champion Cleaning and their plates are definitely out-of-state.

A few things seemed very wrong about this:
(1) It's 8AM, and I know my neighbors park their car on the street and take the bus to work.  Therefore, there is the possibility their car may be towed.
(2) Today is July 25th, and the signs says the construction zone is effective two days prior.

Being overly concerned, and my morals and ethics kicking into high gear, I started making phone calls.  Here's how inefficient and stupid the process went:

(1) Called SFPD Taraval station.  The officer on the phone really didn't give a damn and told me to call SFMTA Enforcement (formerly known as Department of Parking and Traffic).
(2) Called SFMTA/DPT Enforcement, said I was referred by SFPD Taraval, and person also didn't want to be helpful and referred me to the Department of Public Works.
(3) Called Department of Public Works three times and all I got was a generic voicemail line.
(4) Called San Francisco 311, explained the circle of phone calls I've made, and the lady took down my information, the full story of the situation, and forwarded it immediately to DPW for follow-up.

While I'm currently waiting for DPW to investigate and call me about this problem.  I decided to contact a different SFPD station for more information.

Calling the SFPD Richmond station, the officer on the phone told me the following details about the laws regarding construction zone signage and enforcement:
(1) The signs must be posted at least 72 hours prior to the start of the construction zone.  In this case, it should have been posted on my street no later than July 20th.
(2) It can only be towed if the construction company requests for it.
(3) No private towing company can tow the car.  Only an authorized SFMTA tow company can do it.
(4) Permits must be on file with various agencies, including the local neighborhood police station.

So while it seems that only the construction company can request to have a vehicle towed; if they decide to go the very ugly route of calling to tow cars, there would be some very angry neighbors because there was NO ADVANCE NOTICE of 72 HOURS as per city law.  It was important for me to notify the city of the blatant violation of the law so that if a tow happens, it's on public records that I registered an official complaint against the company in question.

If you see these signs in your neighborhood and 72 hours notice was not given, please dial 311 and file a report.  If you notice cars being towed or the construction workers threatening drivers about possibility of being towed, please call SFPD dispatch at: (415) 553-0123.

UPDATE: Clipper Refunding Passengers Who Experienced Failed Pass Load

If you are a victim of a failed automatic loading of your monthly pass to your Clipper card and you were forced to pay e-cash for your Caltrain ride, the folks at Clipper just released this announcement:

WageWorks Update: Refunds have been issued to cards that were charged a cash fare on Monday when they should have received a Caltrain pass.
— Bay Area Clipper (@BayAreaClipper) July 3, 2013

Thank you for the good gesture Clipper.

If you want to prevent this type of mess from happening again, learn about other great options to load your passes here.

[UPDATED] Clipper Card Failed to Load WageWorks Benefits

New Update: Clipper to refund passengers.  Read story here.

A BART strike is plenty frustrating for a lot of commuters and that means people will need to depend on alternate public transportation to get themselves around.

This isn't a great notice from the folks at the Clipper card program:

Due to a processing error, some Clipper cards will not load WageWork benefits until tomorrow, July 2nd. Please be sure to tag on/off today and tomorrow. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

This is a huge problem.

People who uses their Clipper card didn't get their new monthly transit pass loaded or their loading of e-cash, which could have meant people either had denied rides, or had to pay e-cash instead of getting their new pass.

Akit's Opinions
Clipper should be reimbursing any passenger who had to pay out-of-pocket or e-cash if their pass did not arrive in a timely manner.  This would include people who use Caltrain's monthly passes.

I've warned people all the time about this.  If you can skip automatic loading of your transit passes, tickets, and e-cash, do it.  There are many alternatives that gives you the control, such as a commuter debit card or paper voucher.  For more information about this, click here.

Bravo Clipper.  Bravo. [Slow clap]

UPDATE: Clipper is considering refunds for those victims of this snafu.

Refunds for passengers affected by yesterday's delayed WageWorks orders are being discussed. Updates to come.
— Bay Area Clipper (@BayAreaClipper) July 2, 2013

SFMTA (Muni) Invites Public to Meetings - But We Cannot Review Documents & Comments Email Address Doesn't Work

On late Friday afternoon around 5:20PM, I received an e-mail from the SFMTA inviting members of the public to review their draft document which could affect Muni with major service changes and fares.  Under federal law, public transit agencies must do a review under Title VI requirements of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

I've mentioned about Title VI before, when the Clipper card program wanted to impose a change to include a fee for obtaining a new card.  Read the story here.

Here's the e-mail message for you to read:

When you look at the letter, it mentioned that the agency created a draft of new or revised policies due to a change in the Title VI requirements by the FTA.  It gives a link to the FTA document to review the federal changes, and the SFMTA will be presenting their "draft policy" at upcoming meetings on June 22nd and June 25th.

I was interested in reviewing what the SFMTA drafted regarding possible changes for Muni, so I went to the bottom of the message and clicked on the link, but it referred me to the SFMTA search results page and not the website.  I even hand typed the address, including the "titleVIcomments" and still received the search page and no actual SFMTA Title VI website.

Thinking that this must be a mistake, I used their email address: TitleVIcomments@SFMTA.com.  I wrote that there's no SFMTA draft document to review, suggested a new e-mail be sent to the correct SFMTA website, and asked for a response within a week

Here's the response from the SFMTA, and it was a really quick response:

Click on image above to enlarge.

Yep... EMAIL ADDRESS DOESN'T EXIST.  That's pretty disappointing.

This has three huge issues:

1. Why is the website link to the SFMTA website not going to the location of the document?
2. If people just attend these public meetings without spending some time prior to review the document online so they can give proper comments to the SFMTA representatives and the Board of Directors, isn't that a violation of public hearing/meeting laws, or something like that?
3. If people cannot e-mail comments because the e-mail address doesn't exist, is that also a violation of public hearing laws because the public cannot write to the agency?

I'm going to contact SFMTA's press department for further information.  I'll post an update when I get a reply.

Parked Car Sticking Out Like a Thorn in Street - My Awkward Encounter with the Driver

This was the worst I've ever witnessed, but not any more.

If you follow me on Instagram or stare at my Twitter feed, I sometimes take photos of the most awkward parking fails I find.  Normally, it's those who takes more than one parking space at the local shopping mall by parking crooked, but this one I encountered sure beats the rest.

Sticking Out Like a Thorn
On my way home from work today (Monday), I was approaching my block to find a parking space, and noticed an older Toyota Carolla with its front end sticking out and blocking half of the traffic lane and its rear right tire into the curb.  When I saw it from a distance, I thought the person was just trying to parallel park the car, but after looking at it for several seconds, it didn't move.  Other vehicles had to turn wide just to avoid the car.

When I passed by the car, I saw two people in it, just sitting there doing nothing.  There was no hazard lights flashing and the engine was off.

Luckily, there was a parking space about 100 feet ahead and I parked my car.  When I was unloading my trunk, the car was still sticking out like a thorn in the roadway as I saw more cars having to swerve out of the way.

The Conversations
A lady with her baby carriage was walking down the sidewalk and looked at the car and the drivers.  As I walked up the hill, I spoke to the lady and she thought it was awkward that the two occupants are doing practically nothing with the car sticking out.

I walked towards the car and noticed a male driver and female passenger sitting shotgun; they looked like college age students around 18 or 19 years old.  Fearing the couple may be having some trouble, I asked them:  "Are you okay?  Is your car working?"

They looked at me with no answer.  I explained to them that they are sticking far out into traffic and said, "I pray to god you don't get hit or cause an accident by having other cars swerve into oncoming traffic."

As I walked into my house, I heard their car engine turn on, therefore the car wasn't in any trouble, and they just drove away like nothing ever happened.

That was just totally odd.  Were they high or stupid?

After Waiting for More Than a Month - Donation Bins Finally GONE

It's finally GONE!  Took you long enough.

After an entire month of waiting and some heavy handed persistence to the city government to do something, the donation bins blocking public a parking space and meter have finally been moved away.

Initially when I reported on the bins at the corner of Evelyn and Portola, I got a surly response from San Francisco 311 that they want me to call the donation bin company for blocking a city parking space, therefore the SFMTA makes zero revenue on the parking meter.  After giving the 311 folks a kick in the shin, they forward my request to DPW to get the ball rolling.

Three weeks after my initial request, the bins still remained and the city "escalated" the issue because it was taking too long for the task to be completed.  The city contacted the company on February 11th and demanded for them to remove the bins.

Sometime within the last seven days, the bins finally departed.  I know for sure they were still there on March 2nd because I always pick-up some lotto tickets at the market on the corner.

I'm happy that the city took action to get the donation bin company to move their bins off of public property because on some weekends, the lot can get full, and the city doesn't make any revenue on the parking meter.  But I'm very disappointed at the long wait because DPW should have moved it themselves after giving a week's notice and send the bill to the donation bin company.  Those donation bin companies knows they are NOT supposed to put those on public property and should only be on private property with the permission of the land owner.

Muni Should Seriously Question How They Spend Their Money

Photo from Flickr user "Nathan Y" using a Creative Commons License

Just a week ago, it was the first day for San Francisco's youth to use their free Muni passes for sixteen months.  Sure, it was a joyous occasion for city politicians, advocates for youth, and the kids that qualified for the program, but has angered many (including yours truly) that it's a huge waste of millions of taxpayer dollars.

My primary argument: The city and Muni should be spending the several million dollars that is now being used for free rides, and actually using it towards preventative maintenance and maintaining critical systems.

So just the day before the release of the new passes for kids, something big came up, a Muni metro's passenger door fell off on the journey between Castro and Church station.  Muni metro vehicle 1439's front door fell onto the trackway, and while passengers were not injured, it sure points out the need for money for maintenance on the agency's aging fleet.

(Note: Photo used in this blog entry not the actual one of the incident)

I think all that money Muni is spending on free passes for kids is one big joke.  If a person got killed from that incident by flying out of that train, the city would be spending a huge amount of dough inspecting every single door.  But with an agency still bleeding red, how can they spend money on youth when it should be invested in prevention and repairs?  If another transformer blew in the metro system, there would be another metro meltdown because no trains can operate without electricity; I'd rather see the millions spent to maintain and possibly upgrade the transformers so it can help everybody, and not just kids getting a free ride.

As I mentioned before: Kids, you should be very fortunate that Muni gives the best discounts out of the rest of the agencies in the Bay Area.  You get a 62.5% discount (versus adult fare) with a free transfer, other agencies don't give free transfers or cut the discount to 50% or less.

There's no way to cancel the pass program, but I'm hoping the city will realize after the pilot program ends, that it's NEVER RENEWED.  Too damn expensive.

Update: After Three Weeks, Donation Bins Still Blocking Parking Space & Meter

Taking photos of the bins as proof the city has done nothing

Three weeks ago, I reported about two private donation bins at the corner of Evelyn and Portola that's blocking a public parking space and parking meter.

My argument for getting these bins removed is very simple, it's on public property and the city is generating zero money on the loss of parking revenue since the meter is literally unusable.

As citizens, when we want to report on problems, we simply contact SF 311 on the phone, file an online report, or their Twitter account @SF311.

When I first reported it to 311, their response wasn't that friendly; by asking me to do the dirty work of contacting the private company to remove it.  But I know that if the city makes the call to the company, they'll have to listen because it's the city government demanding removal.

I sent a message back to 311 asking them to do it, and they promised to handle the problem by having DPW issue a correction notice to the company within five days.  That was January 28th.

Expecting the city to do their job in good faith and get those bins removed, I visited the exact location on February 9th, two weeks after my initial report to 311.  They were still there.  Here's proof:

@sf311 RE: SR#1944688 I took photo yesterday & donation bins blocking city parking meter still there. Follow-up? twitter.com/AgentAkit/stat…
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 10, 2013

311's response on the failure of removal of the bins:

@agentakit Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have escalated this matter over to DPW to investigate. ^ mm
— SF311 (@SF311) February 10, 2013

So the folks at 311 promised me an escalated response, which means this is being given priority.  I've been taking photos of the bins on a regular basis just to show as proof the city hasn't been forcing the company to remove the bins, or that DPW should be confiscating them in the name of the public interest.

But now it's February 17th, and just last night, I reported to 311 that the bins are still there, and provided photographic proof (as seen on the top of this blog entry).  Here's 311's response to the matter:

@agentakit Please call 311 so we can discuss this issue with you more in depth
— SF311 (@SF311) February 17, 2013

I just called 311 and here's what they are telling me:
The last entry of the report is that on February 10th (after the case was "escalated") DPW accepted the request, and a DPW supervisor of the Bureau of Street Use contacted the vendor demanding removal on February 11th.  The 311 operator noted my call and update that the bins are still there.

Now it's February 17th, AND IT'S STILL THERE.  Do I need ask Stanley Roberts of KRON's "People Behaving Badly" for help?

Muni, Samtrans, VTA & Dumbarton Express Not Part of BART Plus Program Starting January 1, 2013

Back in mid-September, I reported the SFMTA was considering to drop their participation in the BART Plus program.

If you are not familiar with BART Plus, it's both a BART ticket with stored value and a flash pass good for unlimited rides on partner agencies.  This made it perfect for those who needs to take a feeder bus to a BART station without the need to buy multiple passes, and kept it at a simple set price structure so if you need more BART fare on the Plus ticket, you can.

BART Plus was the perfect model of a multi-agency pass, giving passengers many choices, but starting January 1, 2013, BART declared four more nails in the coffin of the BART Plus program, effectively putting it on its own death bed.

Starting January 1, 2013, the following agencies will not accept BART Plus: Muni, Samtrans, VTA and Dumbarton Express.

The only partner agencies the BART Plus ticket will be valid on after January 1: County Connection, Rio Vista Delta Breeze, Tri Delta Transit, Union City Transit, WestCAT and Wheels.

Akit's Opinions:
These severe cuts to the program will only allow access to the very small transit agencies.  All the big agencies that BART Plus users have depended on for a very long time will now be forking more money to ride the big agencies for their daily commutes.  The loss of AC Transit to BART Plus was its first downfall, but losing Muni, Samtrans, VTA and Dumbarton Express is extreme.

BART's reason for this: "...because they (the transit agencies ending on 1/1/13) are using the Clipper Card for travel on their systems."  What a lame excuse.  So what?  Just because these agencies now accept Clipper doesn't mean BART Plus shouldn't be honored.  There has to be another reason why... is it because BART wants more money, or does the participating agencies realize it's a severe money loss?

BART Plus will always be remembered as the perfect program for a one pass solution to ride most (not all) transit agencies for decent price.  The loss of the four major agencies is horrible for commuters.  Many people have been asking Clipper to create a one pass solution, but these greedy ass transit agencies wants to not be friendly and force us passengers to dish out more money for transit fares.

BART, Muni, Samtrans, VTA, and Dumbarton Express: YOU MAKE ME SICK.

SFMTA Should Reject Spending $1.6 Million for Free Youth Passes in Light of Muni Metro Meltdown

UPDATE: SFMTA Board approved giving free passes to youth, instead of investing money towards keeping Muni running, especially since the meltdown.  Big frown!  Read Tweet from Muni.

Original posting: Yesterday was one of Muni's worst days ever with two major incidents: a passenger being dragged over 500 feet when struck by a F-Market streetcar, and the meltdown of Muni metro.

Muni Metro serves tens of thousands of people every single workday, and a transformer at the Van Ness station practically ended all tunnel service within the city, therefore forcing city buses to take the brunt of transporting riders from West Portal to Embarcadero.  Muni blames the transformer on the weekend's heavy rains for ruining the commute after 6PM, but fortunately service is restored to the light rail system for the morning commute.

Today at 1PM in City Hall, the SFMTA Board of Directors will be having their last meeting of the year, and I'm betting the board and citizens on the microphone will be ranting about the disruption of Muni metro.  Some will put blame on the weather while others will put blame on the neglect and deferred maintenance now punishing the city.

Also on the agenda is the board will be voting on $1.6 million in grant funding from the MTC to provide free Muni youth passes for those who qualify.  The rest of the grant money ($5.1 million) will be going towards a rehabilitation of the light rail vehicles. (View PDF of proposal here)

Other than my views of using taxpayer money to fund free rides for kids (I deeply oppose any free rides for kids), in light of the major Muni metro meltdown last night, I want the SFMTA Board to reject the $1.6 million in funding and change the proposal to spend that money to fixing the critical infrastructure of Muni in order to maintain operational status.

While I know $1.6 million won't solve all our problems, at least fixing certain critical components such as making sure the electrical transformers for Muni metro won't explode is more important because the metro service serves a bigger population, and not just kids who might be eligible for a free pass.  I depend on Muni metro on days when I go to the ballpark, and many of you depend on it to bring you fast service to your workplace in downtown.

What would you spend $1.6 million?  Making sure Muni works for all, or give free passes for kids?

I'd make sure Muni works for all.  And for you kids, be lucky Muni gives the BIGGEST DISCOUNT for youth passengers versus other agencies in the Bay Area.

• Muni: $2 adult, $0.75 youth (62.5% discount) with free transfer.
• Samtrans: $2 adult, $1.25 youth (37.5% discount) with no transfer.
• VTA: $2 adult, $1.75 youth (12.5% discount) with no transfer.
• AC Transit: $2.10 adult, $1.05 youth (50% discount) with additional $0.25 for one ride transfer.

 I've made my point.  REJECT FREE PASSES FOR KIDS.

Clipper Card Glitch Screws Passengers Again - When Will it Stop?

Broken readers is just one of many problems.

If you have a Clipper card, you may have been a victim of glitches or problems that are not your fault.  Throughout the years that I've been blogging about Clipper, I've written my fair share of issues and try to get MTC, and Cubic Transportation Systems (the contractor running the Clipper card) to get it fixed.

And while they do admit to their errors and fixes them as soon as they can, the problems continue to persist, like this most recent issue:

Starting on June 1st, Muni decided to end the paper version of the free ride transfers for those who exit Daly City BART and switches to the Clipper card handling the transactions.  This matter was concerning to commuters who used the SF State free shuttle as the transfer policy requires the passenger to ride the 28/28L line bus away from the station within the first hour of exiting the station; by taking the SF State shuttle, the transfer on the Clipper card is void and a return trip from SF State to BART will be charged at regular price.

Muni and SF State worked out a plan, effective August 1, 2012, instead of the one hour policy, it was extended to 23 hours for the first Muni ride.  The reason behind this is students that take the campus shuttle away from the campus, and can still ride the 28/28L line going back to BART with no fear of being charged a $2 fare (as long as it's within 23 hours of exiting BART).  Read story about the change in transfer policy.

But things didn't work out as planned.  As reported by the Golden Gate Xpress, the supposed reprogrammed transfer policy had a glitch and students who took the campus shuttle away from Daly City, was charged a $2 fare for their return to BART when taking a Muni bus.  Muni admitted the error and promised to have a fix by October 26th and Clipper will refund any passenger affected by the glitch.

The problem I have with this is, why do these glitches keep cropping up, and why isn't the contractor (Cubic Transportation Systems) not making sure it works perfectly the first time, every time?

It's not an isolated problem for Cubic, it's a chain of failures due to idiots programming the stuff without testing it.  Here's a list of their failures for the past few years:

1. In August 2012, there was a discovery that happened in 2010 when their cards enrolled with autoload funded their cards, but didn't charge their credit card at the time of the reloading of funds. Passengers were finally charged in August 2012 on their credit cards for the reloaded funds.
2. Back in May 2012, AC Transit passengers complained that when they rode an AC bus, transferred to BART, and took another AC bus, they were overcharged on their fare.  This glitch was the same problem Muni passengers faced before (see below).
3. At the same time, passengers who rode Muni, took BART, and transferred to Muni was also overcharged.  I originally reported on the problem back in June 2011 and while Clipper promised to get it fixed, people were still getting screwed until May 2012.
4. A software glitch delays the implementation of Clipper on Samtrans.  MTC fails to notify public until I broke the news.
5. In October 2010, I reported on the Clipper card readers beeping like crazy and it wasn't fixed until February 2011.
6. In early August 2010, those who linked their Clipper card with Wageworks was very angry when a glitch in the system resulted in pre-tax transit benefit users not getting their passes or funds loaded to their card in a timely manner. (Via my blog and SF Appeal)
7. On one day in July 2010, a software update to Clipper card readers on Muni failed to work properly resulting in disabled Clipper card readers.
8. April 2010, software update disables TransLink (pre-Clipper era) card readers.

I think I've made my point clear.  MTC needs to force Cubic to wise up and make sure that whenever there's a software or firmware update, that everything is throughly tested BEFORE the public uses it.  For every mistake or problem, people lose money from their Clipper card from errors or overcharges, transit agencies don't generate the correct revenue, and the time wasted for fixing the errors and issuing refunds to those affected.

Why I Don't Use Clipper Card's Autoload: 2010 Glitch Now Charging Customers

I've warned people before, Clipper card's Autoload program has problems.  But in light of the problems came the worst epic fail of all... being charged on your credit card for a reload of e-cash two years ago.

That's right.  KPIX reported yesterday that the folks at Clipper and MTC noticed a glitch in the system back from 2010.  Clipper card passengers who rode affected vehicles had their funds automatically reloaded for reaching a certain threshold, but the information from the consoles was not transmitted back to Clipper for credit card processing.

Basically, the passengers went off scott free with some free e-cash that was never charged to their linked credit card.

But now that the MTC found out, they are sending notices out to nearly 8,000 Clipper card users that they will get charged for the amount they owe.

Akit's Opinion
I can understand the MTC's point of view of getting back $230,000+ lost dollars, but it took two years?

Let's remember that Clipper card history reports can only be retrieved by customers as far back as 60 days.  The MTC should make an effort to show each customer being billed for the two year old charge to get some kind of documentation back from two years ago.

Now you wonder why I warn people to not use Autoload.  You'll get screwed no matter how long ago it was.  Stick to loading e-cash and passes by going to vendors and self-service machines.  You'll always know that when you load funds, it's both instantly available to use and you get a receipt of your transaction as proof.

MTC Votes: No Funding for Free Youth Passes for Muni

For many months, the battle of youth Muni passengers getting free passes for rides has been a hot topic.  While many youth and low income advocates are pushing hard for it, and the SFMTA and SFUSD has put their support towards it, I've noticed a lot of other people feel they don't like the idea.

The epic battle raged on yesterday at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's meeting where they decided on the fate of giving $5 million in funding, which will cover over half of the $9 million needed for the 22 month project.

The vote was close and it failed with only seven commissioners saying yes, and eight commissioners saying no.  Majority ruled and the attendees was angry because all the work they've done just went down the toilet in a very close vote.

Akit's Opinion:
I can sympathize the fact that the people who have been hard at advocating for the free passes are both upset and depressed.  When you fight hard for a cause and it can be taken away with a simple vote, things can go from bright to dark in a flash.  But just because the MTC voted against giving $5 million for the project doesn't mean you should get full blown emotional with anger and crying (as shown by the Chronicle), will not being able to get free passes affect your grades?  I've seen people with much more difficult financial situations and those in foster care beat the odds.

I have to look at the whole picture.  What can five million dollars be used for and how can it benefit everyone?  It doesn't make practical sense to give the youth of SF free rides.  I believe money should be invested in something that can benefit EVERYONE and would be a long term benefit versus a 22 month pass pilot project.  For five million, it could partially pay for a new bus which can last at least 10-15 years and serve hundreds of thousands of passengers in its lifetime, rehabbing transit vehicles so they can operate longer with fewer breakdowns, fund transit routes to areas neglected with lack of transit, and plenty more.

There can also be the argument of discrimination; why should the MTC, a regional authority regarding transportation would give Muni a huge chunk of money for free passes, when other agencies such as AC Transit and VTA would only get some funding for a reduction in fares or passes?  It could be argued that others that live in Marin County (which is under the MTC's jurisdiction) and San Mateo County can also demand for it too.  So truly the project will be more than just several million, because other counties and their advocates will demand they should get free passes too; therefore a chain reaction will start.  Even if the pilot program is successful, continued investment into it will be extremely expensive, and what will happen if the MTC decides to kill funding to it?  I feel the youth of the Bay Area will revolt.

If there's a middle ground to all of this, I'd consider an option to only give the youth of San Francisco two rides per school day with the usual 90 minute electronic transfers on their Clipper card.   This keeps both the costs lower and would supplement the years of neglect from the SFUSD for not funding school buses to get students to and from school.  Having free rides on weekends, holidays, and non-school hours is a big no-no.

As I mentioned in my blog in March, the youth of San Francisco should be grateful of Muni's contribution to keep fares low.  When comparing transit agencies within the region, Muni gives both the steepest discount (in comparison to the adult fare) and free transfers valid for 90 minutes to get to where they need to go.  Other agencies gives a discount, but doesn't come with transfer privileges:

• Muni: $2 adult, $0.75 youth (62.5% discount) with free transfer.
• Samtrans: $2 adult, $1.25 youth (37.5% discount) with no transfer.
• VTA: $2 adult, $1.75 youth (12.5% discount) with no transfer.
• AC Transit: $2.10 adult, $1.05 youth (50% discount) with additional $0.25 for one ride transfer.

Lastly, cheers to the MTC for doing the right thing.  Kids, stop crying and getting angry, it makes you look like fools in the Chronicle.