Rescue Muni

This time in Washington, DC, where ridership is up on all regional systems incluing Metro. Said Metro GM John Catoe this week, “There is a point at which we may see a massive move of commuters from driving to transit because of cost.”

Are Bay Area transit systems ready for big increases in ridership? Muni is working on the Transit Effectiveness Project, and BART and Caltrain are planning on expanded service, but if even 10% of auto drivers switch to transit due to gas prices, will our region be ready?

From our friend Dave Snyder at SPUR:

Today (Thursday) at 4:00 p.m. the Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee is hearing the MTA Budget. This budget is good for transit riders, but it’s run into some political difficulties. We need your help to get the necessary votes to avoid a rejection of this budget by the Board of Supervisors. (It requires seven votes to reject the budget; therefore, we need five to support it.)
Read the rest of this entry »

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (who brought us Translink) is looking for your input on their Regional Transportation Plan. They update this every three years, so once again we have a chance to comment on what projects are the top priority – this time stretching out to 2035. (The last one was adopted in 2005, with projects extending to 2030.) Details:

Transportation 2035: Public Input Sought in SF on May 22nd
MTC is seeking input on the next phase of the development of the Transportation 2035 Plan after extensive outreach last fall about the trade-offs among various options for investing the regions limited transportation resources. A series of nine workshops – one in each of the nine Bay Area counties – is scheduled for the public to participate in the debate. The new plan – due for adoption in early 2009 – will detail a comprehensive strategy to not only protect our existing transportation assets but also to accommodate future growth, alleviate congestion, reduce pollution and ensure mobility for all Bay Area residents, regardless of income.

There will be one session in San Francisco – come and join the discussion. Refreshments will be provided.

Thursday, May 22, 2008, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

City and County of San Francisco Transportation 2035 Workshop
San Francisco State Downtown Campus, Room E673
835 Market Street, San Francisco

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.

“Of all things that Muni should make easy for riders, paying the fare is right at the top of the list.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.