SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Some young San Diegans got a chance to have their voices heard Thursday by top transit officials in the area through a virtual town hall.
“So, there’s currently no public transportation in my area. Which means, if I have to travel a very long distance, I have to use car,” Keala Minna-Choe, a youth participant of the Transportation Town Hall, said.
Several members of local student-youth organizations spent their evening on Thursday discussing with SANDAG board members about the future of the agency’s Regional Plan.
The hope is to get more environmentally friendly, accessible, and equitable public transportation to San Diego, things some call the 10 transit lifelines.
One of those is hopefully no-cost transportation passes for the people who are 24 and under.
“A lot of them — this is a very equity issue — may not be able to afford that public transportation multiple times a day if they are using public transportation frequently,” Minna-Choe said.
“A lot of our community members are young people, they’re mothers, parents, single-family households. So, it’s a lot of folks that are advocating for these 10 transit lifelines,” Ariana Federico, a lead transit organizer for Mid City-CAN,
One the SANDAG board members, County Supervisor Terri Lawson-Remer, said the wants are one things finding the funding for them is another.
“But we have a problem, which is all of this cost a lot of money. So, if we’re going to get serious about investing in these kinds of transit solutions for our future, we need figure out how to raise the revenue,” Lawson-Remer said.
It may just have been conversation.
But there’s hope the youth’s word and thoughts on public transit could be reality down the road.
“There are students who right now are having difficulty of getting where they need to go,” Katie Meyer, a Campaign Coordinator San Diego 350, said.
“While I am pleased that many of the elected officials have the right ideas, it is crucial that we have that urgency and make sure that transit improvements happen now.”
SANDAG is set to vote on it’s regional plan on Dec. 10.
