It feels like Muni is under a cloud of late. One of its own making. This week, Mission Local revealed that the agency’s new diesel-electric hybrid buses are operating without a pollution-control program that has been par for the municipal transit course since the 1980s. The buses’ onboard computers are not programmed to shut down the engine after several minutes of...
In 1987, the Board of Supervisors passed legislation urging Muni “to take certain steps to minimize air-pollutant emissions,” and get workers trained “in the latest emissions-reduction techniques.” Fine words. But, in 1996, representatives from the San Francisco budget analyst’s office staked out bus yards in the wee hours and observed Muni employees idling diesel coaches for up to four-and-a-half hours;...
A Muni bus heading east on 16th Street was struck by another vehicle at the Folsom Street intersection sometime around 4:40 p.m. this afternoon. It is unclear how many people were injured, though the driver of the bus said that five said they had been hurt but then told him they “didn’t feel anything.” Police were not immediately available to verify the...
Tech-based micro transit is trying to innovate solutions to San Francisco’s crowded public transportation system by taking cues from a ride system from the 1970s. While San Francisco’s transit agency is trying to streamline its services and hiking fares, entrepreneurial service providers are tapping into a new market to fill the gaps where public transit is lacking. Susan Shaheen,...
Christina Ochoa uses her smartphone to order take-out, pay bills, and for commuting to her job in the Mission District. She believes that adding a transit application to this list could improve her daily life. “I’m in the service industry, and when I get off work late, I want to get home quickly,” said Ochoa. She usually orders a ride through...
The city’s transit authority has put a contentious reroute of the 33-Ashbury on hold after concerned riders and riders with mobility restrictions voiced concerns that the change would limit accessibility to San Francisco General Hospital. The 33 Ashbury/18th Street currently travels from the Richmond through the Haight, Castro, and inner Mission, finally turning down Potrero Avenue to the hospital. A proposed...
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will be conducting a survey and focus group to study the controversial rerouting of the 33-Stanyon bus line away from San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), a SFMTA official says. The additional layer of input comes after more than 300 advocates signed a petition speaking out against the change. The new 33 line would...
A 10-inch section of broken rail wreaked havoc on BART this morning, causing delays that may well continue into the evening, SFGate reports. The track deformity is located somewhere between the Civic Center and 16th Street stations, prompting trains to be single-tracked through San Francisco and severely limiting East Bay bound service. Repairs are expected to take four to six...
Mission Street’s public transit is about to change – but not quickly. If you want to have a say, attend tonight’s meeting at the Women’s Building from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. or check out the website here and fill out an online survey. In its Muni Forward program, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is thinking of making at...
In yet another evening bus adventures, members and supporters of the San Francisco Transit Riders’ Union took to the 14 line last Thursday to migrate from bar to bar in a so-called “PUBlic Transit Crawl” to connect with fellow riders and celebrate Valentine’s Day. Transit Riders, whose goal is to “Make Muni Awesome” and push for improvements to San Francisco’s...
A public meeting to gather feedback on the Mission Street Public Life Plan’s proposals for the improvement of the Mission Street corridor was steered toward a discussion of gentrification and displacement by attendees whose main suggestion was not to implement any improvement program at all. “It took this meeting like a tidal wave,” said Tom Stolmer, a Mission resident and...
A group of transit enthusiasts, some police officers, and a handful of activists and journalists walk onto a bus. I don’t know the punchline, but when I joined them last Friday night, it certainly seemed like some kind of joke. But it was in fact an event meant to draw attention to an important addition to the public transit system: The bus...
The Board of Directors of SFMTA will vote today on a new bus line running from the 16th Street BART plaza to the new UCSF Mission Bay medical center, which opens Febuary 1. Buses will run every 15 minutes, reduced to every 20 minutes during evening and weekend hours. Bus service is expected to begin by the medical center’s opening day. The...
Muni’s 25 cent fare increase rolled out this week, leaving riders on Tuesday fumbling for an extra quarter as they boarded. And while for some the extra quarter was a nuisance, some were mad as hell. “F*** them. I’m on a low income. I’m stretched at $2 already,” said Keisha Jackson as she waited for her bus at 16th street....
BART and Muni records of catcalling, groping, rape and other types of sexual harassment on stations and vehicles indicate that this public nuisance is rare. Only 12 incidents have been recorded in the past two years. BART’s numbers are even more impressive, with no incidents whatsoever in the Mission since 2012, and only 20 incidents in all of San Francisco....
