Today’s headlines proclaim that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board of directors voted unanimously on January 20th to fund “free” Muni rides for “low to moderate income” seniors and people with disabilities. The press is parroting the wording in the SFMTA’s press release announcing the “free” service. Would it be too much to ask that City officials and the press quit using the word “free” to describe “subsidized?” Every good or service has a price, and someone pays when consumption occurs. This is true whether we are talking about lettuce, jeans, housing, or transportation.
The subsidy is not insignificant when we consider the annual income thresholds to which it applies: $67,950 for singles, $77,700 for couples, and $97,100 for families of four.
The senior and disabled subsidy is part of a list of other decisions made by the SFMTA Board, such as increasing service on some lines, enhanced maintenance practices, cleaning up vehicles, and increasing staff.
Funding for what we consider to be ongoing service maintenance will come in part from the passage in November 2014 of Proposition A ($500 million in general obligation bond) and Proposition B (Charter Amendment requiring the City to increase the base amount provided to the SFMTA by a percentage of population growth). Definitely nothing “free” here!
Funding for the senior and disabled subsidy could also come from Propositions A and B, but City officials are hoping to extract some more money from the tech industry. Our question here would be -- why would any business give money away to the City unless it received benefits from the City, such as tax breaks, or were confident it could pass the cost on to consumers?
SFMTA Press Release January 20 2015
SF Examiner SF approves free public transit