WHEREAS, More than 30,000 children in grades seven through twelve ride public transportation to and from school in the City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Only one-third of these students ride for free and two-thirds use discounted tokens; and
WHEREAS, This cost to the students works out to $9 per week and $36 per month; and
WHEREAS, For low- and moderate-income students this $36 per month may create a hardship which makes transportation prohibitively or onerously expensive; and
WHEREAS, This financial burden may contribute to poor attendance and high truancy rates among the City's present school children; now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY O F PHILADELPHIA, That the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities is hereby authorized to conduct hearings into student transportation costs.
End