D.C. Councilman Sekou Biddle must be seeking the kid vote in the upcoming special election next month.
The interim at-large councilman proposed legislation on Tuesday that would allow D.C. students to travel to school on Metro for free.
Students currently receive subsidized Metro rides on both the bus and rail system because the District doesn’t otherwise offer school buses to shuttle them to class.
But Biddle said even the amount they are asked to pay now – $30 for an unlimited monthly pass – is helping to encourage truancy.
“I have spoken to teachers who have expressed concern that some students are absent because their family just doesn’t have the money for bus fare at the end of the month,” Biddle said. “Families are choosing between a bus or Metro trip to school and other basic needs. The ride to school often doesn’t make the cut.”
Forty percent of the students who use the subsidy to travel outside of their own communities to school live in Wards 7 and 8. Another 34 percent of those receiving the subsidy are from Wards 4 and 5, he said.
But money is also tight in the District. The city is facing a $320 million gap for the next budget. And the District is already slated to pay Metro $5 million for the program in the coming year. The additional cost for Biddle’s bill isn’t clear.
His effort comes as the District is also considering a program to scale back the access student get with the farecards. The city might limit student trips with the cards to daytime hours during weekdays to help save money and reduce crime on the transit system. New technology also could allow them to suspend a student’s pass if the student gets in trouble on the transit system.
