Peskin: Remove Muni Operator Wage Limit?

April 15th, 2007

Update: The Examiner has a story about this proposal today including skeptical comments from TWU Local 250A director Irwin Lum.

Supervisor Peskin is circulating a draft of a charter amendment to make some changes to Proposition E, which governs the Municipal Transportation Agency. In particular he is proposing to remove the section in the charter that specifies a wage limit for Muni operators. This section states in relevant part:

“The board of supervisors shall thereupon fix a wage schedule for each classification of platform employees and coach and bus operators of the municipal railway which shall not be in excess of the average of the two highest wage schedules so certified by the civil service commission for each such classification.”

The purpose is to allow Muni management and labor to more effectively trade off work rules for wage increases. Also included in this is measure is a proposal to dedicate more garage and parking fees to Muni.

Rescue Muni hasn’t seen this proposal yet but we will comment on it as soon as we see it. In general we like the idea to dedicate more funding to Muni, but it’s always risky to re-open Proposition E, as the previous proposal to do so was a bad idea that we worked to defeat.

(See SFist for additional discussion of this.)

Take the SFTEP Survey

April 13th, 2007

The San Francisco Transit Effectiveness Project wants your opinions and comments on your experiences with mass transit in San Francisco. Take their online survey! (Several Rescue Muni board members are on the SFTEP Citizens’ Advisory Council.)

Friday the 13th trouble with T-Third and/or Muni Metro? Try These Alternate Routes

April 13th, 2007

Back in 1998 we posted a list of Muni Metro Alternatives for riders having difficulty during the “Metro meltdown.” Since there are problems again this week, we have an update. Please feel free to add your own:

Read the rest of this entry »

More on T-Third and Muni Metro

April 13th, 2007

T-ThirdFriday’s Chronicle has an update on the T-Third / Muni Metro story. Muni is prioritizing I-280 traffic ahead of transit riders:

Officials have decided not to use a special traffic-signaling system that gives streetcars priority to move through the Fourth and King intersection. They fear that would create a major tie-up for vehicles heading off of and onto Interstate 280 down the block, said Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch.

But I-280 traffic or not, are the efforts to speed the trains through Fourth and King, Embarcadero, Castro, etc. making a difference? Comment here.

If you’re planning to ride, check NextMuni before you go to your stop.

What’s your experience with the T-Third and related Muni service this week?

April 12th, 2007

T-ThirdToday’s Chronicle has a detailed article on T-Third delays and how they are affecting commuters. The Examiner also has an article on this.

See also:

  • T-Third schedule
  • NextBus Google map
  • SFist Muni archives with lots of comments on T service.)
  • Comments on SF Gate “Two Cents” blog
  • Are delays affecting you? Post your comments here. We are particularly interested in hearing from ex 15-Third riders who now need to ride the 9X lines.

    (Note that you will need to register to comment – not to worry, we won’t spam you, though we might ask you later if you would like to get announcements.)