Kids ride free!

Great economic discussion in the SF Chronicle today about whether to let kids ride the local bus & train system for free. The pro's include educate kids about using the system, get them used to mass transit, get cars off the streets, help kids get jobs outside of their home neighborhoods.... The cons are also considerable, including loss of the $6-7 million that kids now pay in fares every year and the additional cost of around 11,000 extra daily riders who would hop on if rides were free. Total bill: around $13 billion. Are you willing to pay that much to cut back air pollution and congestion by some unclear amount? That's a high price tag. What else could you do with $13 billion?