Free senior transit passes: eligibility for state funding.

Existing law declares that the fostering, continuance, and development of public transportation systems are a matter of state concern. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to administer various programs and allocates moneys for various public transportation purposes. This bill would require transit agencies to offer free senior transit passes to persons over 65 years of age in order to be eligible for state funding under the Mills-Deddeh Transit Development Act, the State Transit Assistance Program, and the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. The bill would require those free senior transit passes to count as full price fares for purposes of calculating the ratio of fare revenues to operating costs.