Join Genesis Saturday, Feb. 28, from 2-5 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church,

322 St. James Drive, Piedmont, in the campaign to persuade the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to spend a tiny portion of its multi-billion dollar budget on a free Youth Bus Pass for Bay Area students.

The Problem: California law does not require school districts to provide
yellow school bus transportation for middle- and high-school students. In
many districts, this means our children must buy a monthly bus pass on
public transit or pay a fare for every ride. In San Jose, a monthly youth
pass costs $45 per child. In Oakland and Berkeley, 60% of students surveyed
reported sometimes spending their lunch money on bus fare. In 2001, MTC was
asked to give a 3-year pilot program a chance, but refused to provide enough
funding for even one year.

The Solution: At relatively small cost, MTC can ensure that our students
have the means to get to school, extracurricular activities and after-school
jobs. That will not only help our kids learn, it will make them healthier,
improve our public schools, reduce carbon emissions, and make our whole
region stronger.

Healthier Kids: Mobile children are active children who are less likely to
suffer from obesity and other health risks. Youth with access to
after-school activities and jobs learn more, and have lower crime rates.
And kids who ride the bus form a healthy lifelong habit of riding transit.
Better Schools: Last year, Oakland schools lost $30 million in state
funding due to absences. By getting our kids to school, all our students
and teachers will enjoy the benefits of greater funding. Reducing Traffic
and Carbon Emissions: A lot of morning traffic results from parents driving
their children to school. A free Youth Bus Pass will give our communities
the benefit of reduced pollution and gridlock.

We Can Do It. Joining hands across the region, with strong support from
many of our elected leaders, congregations, business and labor, we can
finally force MTC to get on board with our values and our kids. Join us for
a Youth Bus Pass Summit meeting on February 28, 2010, and make a commitment
to work with us for a more just, healthier and more connected region.

Visit Genesis at http://www.genesis-ca.org

Corpus Christi Catholic Church
322 St. James Drive
Piedmont, CA 94611
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Public Transit: AC Transit Route 18