Rescue Muni

If you haven’t been able to make the public meetings on the SF Transit Effectiveness Project, you can submit your comments online. SFTEP / MTA staff are particularly interested in your comments on the proposed service policy framework (standards for frequency, speed, and reliability), the proposed Rapid network (red lines on the map) as well as changes in local service.

Comment online here!

In our opinion the most important changes here are the expansions to Limited service on the proposed Rapid network. Riders on key lines like the 38-Geary, 14-Mission, 49-Van Ness, N-Judah, 5-Fulton, 28-19th Avenue, and others who are suffering today from crowded and extremely slow service should see big improvements if these proposals are adopted. The areas of the proposal that have gotten the most criticism (cuts in lightly used local lines) will probably see some changes in the next draft – we would encourage the TEP staff to focus on ways to maintain citywide coverage of the Muni system while not losing focus on the main purpose of the TEP, which is to make transit faster and more reliable, and therefore more attractive to SF commuters who are today choosing to drive.

Again, don’t miss your chance to have your voice heard on this proposal.

The SFMTA offers convenient online sales of the Fast Pass as well as parking cards (to pay those increasing meter fees and avoid nasty tickets), but inexplicably limits Fast Pass sales to just twelve days per month. So we thought we’d post a quick reminder that you can now (as of April 10) order your pass online, and it will be mailed to you.

Would you like monthly reminders, at least until the MTA offers auto-renewal? If so, comment below, we can post a comment like this every month.

Many Muni riders also ride bikes, or would like to, if it weren’t so dangerous. If this describes you, tonight’s Bike Plan Open House should be of interest to you. SFMTA has been working on a comprehensive Bike Plan for SF for some years now, and although it has been delayed by a lawsuit, it’s now ready for public input. Among the proposals: bike access to Muni light rail vehicles, as is available now in San Jose and Sacramento. (Our friends at the SF Bike Coalition have been deeply involved in this process.)

The open house is today, March 26, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the 101 Grove Street (Health Department) auditorium. Civic Center Muni/BART station is nearby, along with many other lines.

No more replacement buses, at least for a while: the Twin Peaks Tunnel project is done as of today, so Muni Metro service is back until 1 am (or close to it, check schedules and NextBus).

Also, plan now for a SFMTA hearing on fares and fines April 1, at the regularly scheduled MTA Board meeting. Due to budget shortfalls, the MTA is again considering fare and parking/traffic fine increases.

Today Mayor Newsom, MTA Director Nat Ford, SFTEP head Julie Kirschbaum, and others unveiled a highly detailed plan to revise Muni service citywide, to improve service quality and better match service to customer demand. This is easily the most extensive revision to Muni service proposed in a generation, since the crosstown routes were created in the 1970s. Highlights include:

The best way to review this is to look at the 8 page proposal summary (pdf) and service policy framework (pdf) and then go straight to the list of proposals by line.

Many of us at Rescue Muni have been participating in the SFTEP Citizen Advisory Committee, and the detailed proposal is quite consistent with the policy proposals discussed in these meetings. It’s very good news to see the MTA thinking about service as a whole and not just about specific point changes that can be made – after all, most riders use more than one line on a regular basis, so a faster, more reliable system is what is needed to increase ridership and get more San Franciscans out of their cars. And it’s also quite refreshing to see these proposals being made based on real world data on ridership and customer input, instead of just drawing lines on a map.

Of course we will have specific comments about many of the specific proposals, which we’ll post here soon, but we’re delighted to see Muni focusing here on what really matters – faster and more reliable service.
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