Our Strategy to Obtain Free Public Transit in SF Bay Area

#1 We Clarify the REASONS for Free Transit

Economic Justice:

  • Helps low-income residents, especially essential workers, students, and seniors.

  • Reduces financial strain on people already burdened by housing costs.

Environmental Impact:

  • Encourages people to leave cars behind—reduces greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion.

Public Health & Mobility:

  • Cleaner air, fewer crashes, and more equitable access to jobs, schools, and health care.

Ridership & Efficiency:

  • Fare-free systems (like Kansas City, Missoula, and Olympia, WA) often increase ridership while reducing enforcement and administrative costs.

We IDENTIFY WHO CAN ASSIST US

Bay Area transit is fragmented: over two dozen agencies (e.g. BART, Muni, AC Transit, VTA). We identify key decision-makers:

  • Mayors of big cities (SF, Oakland, San Jose)

  • Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

  • County supervisors and transit boards

  • Regional agencies like BAAQMD (Bay Area Air Quality Management District)

We find allies inside government who are already supportive -progressive city council members or transit board reps.

We Build a Coalition of Justice & Climate Groups

  • TransForm

  • SPUR

  • Urban Habitat

  • East Bay Transit Riders Union

  • Labor unions

  • Youth groups

  • Disability rights orgs

  • Environmental orgs

We Provide Persuasive Messages with our values and vision:

  • General public - "Everyone deserves the freedom to move without paying a toll on life."

  • Climate voters - "Cars are the #1 polluter in California. Free transit is climate action."

  • Businesses - "Better transit = better workers = better economy."

  • Officials - "This is a bold, popular, legacy-defining move."

Our stories feature low-wage workers, students, or elders who struggle with fares.

We Find the Funding

  • A tax on billionaires?

  • Regional sales tax measure

  • Employer surcharges (similar to the Muni Equity Strategy)

  • Congestion pricing revenue

  • State or federal transportation grants

  • We redirect existing fare enforcement budgets, pointing out collecting fares is inefficient: Muni spends 17–20% of fare revenue just to collect it.

We Push for Pilot Programs

  • Free fares for youth, seniors, or low-income riders (some cities already offer this).

  • Free transit on high-traffic days or during smog events.

  • Free transit in targeted zones (e.g. downtown shuttles, city-to-city routes).

After that we use data from pilots to push for expansion.

We Engage the Public

  • We attend MTC, SFMTA, AC Transit, VTA board meetings

  • We make public comments with stories + data

  • We meet with city council members and staffers

  • We organize riders to testify and sign petitions

  • We use SpeakOut, ActionNetwork, and Instagram Reels/TikTok to rally support.

Our Resources

  • Free Public Transit Toolkit – TransitCenter

  • Fare-Free Transit Guide – Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung

  • Equity & Free Transit – Urban Habitat

  • Example Campaigns - Kansas City, MO (first major U.S. city to go fare-free) & International examples