Rescue Muni

An arbitrator will now decide what the contract terms will be between the SFMTA and the Transport Workers Union Local 250A (transit operators), now that the TWU membership has rejected the proposed memorandum of understanding arrived at last week with the SFMTA. The SF Appeal and SF Weekly also have coverage.

We look forward to hearing the arbitrator’s decision. Under Prop G, the arbitrator must consider the impact of any decisions on the quality of service – a provision the union has bitterly fought. In addition to cost savings, the proposed contract contained provisions that should help service, specifically the option to add part-time operators to cover rush hour service; we shall see if the arbitrator agrees that these provisions are needed for more reliable transportation in SF.

Update: Rumors of labor action are already starting.

On June 13th, the SFMTA will begin express service for the N-Judah to supplement existing street car service during rush hour. During our May 23rd board meeting, we decided that while we applaud the MTA’s attempt to address over-crowding and early turn-backs, the $1.8m annual cost to run the express bus service is not the best use of money during a fiscal crisis.

We voted to recommend that instead of using the funds for additional service, Muni couple 3 car trains along the N-Judah line and run the existing service, which would increase capacity for a trivial additional cost. With the $1.8m that would have gone to the Nx bus, Muni could install and implement signal priority between Duboce & Church all the way to Carl & Cole, along with a signal at the UCSF garage and 19th Ave. All these changes could be made for less than $1.8m, and provide a long-term solution to the N’s on-time rate and capacity issues.

While Muni is going ahead with the Nx bus, SFMTA’s Transit Director John Haley will go ahead and pilot 3 car trains, which could be a small future victory for N-Judah riders.

The Transport Workers Union has submitted a letter to the Department of Labor demanding that federal funding for SFMTA projects be suspended, based on the claim that Proposition G illegally requires an arbitrator to prioritize “the public interest in efficient and reliable transit.”

This is clearly a negotiating tactic, but it could lead the feds to suspend over $4 billion in capital funding for Central Subway and major maintenance projects.

The Examiner reports that SFMTA management is negotiating with the TWU250A on how to fix the disciplinary process for operators. As it stands, operators who rack up too many citations in one particular area, such as accidents or drunk driving, are the only ones who are likely to get terminated. However, if an operator gets various citations in different kinds of violations, then the operator can slide under the radar and continue to drive.

One proposed cost-cutting measure is to eliminate leave-with-pay while the operator is under investigation. SFMTA consultant Charles Goodyear says that while the two sides have not agreed on a solution, talks are progressing well.

Riders on the 6 and 71 know how slow the inbound Haight Street commute is now, thanks to the multi-block detour inbound to avoid the one-way section of Haight. Today, the SFMTA is holding a community meeting (at 6pm-7:30pm at Caffe Trieste, 1667 Market) to discuss an obvious fix: restore two-way traffic on Haight, and bring the inbound buses back to that street. Details here. This is a no-brainer for improved transit – please express your support if you attend the meeting!

One suggested improvement: make the intersection at Haight and Octavia no turns from Haight in either direction. This would eliminate conflicts between freeway traffic and the buses.