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Archived Headlines (2001)

These are some recent headlines from the RESCUE MUNI home page. Follow the links for good info.

Muni Expansion Makes the Headlines
12/12/01: Muni's service expansion draft plan was profiled by Matt Smith in last week's SF Weekly - "visionary thinking," he says. We will publish the draft when it's available.
Also, the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit program has been discussed at length (and not sympathetically) by the Chronicle's John King (articles 1, 2, 3) with very little input from actual Van Ness transit riders. Rescue Muni members Andrew Sullivan and Donald Robertson responded with letters to the editor (scroll halfway down) on 12/12/01.
We will shortly be asking transit riders to show support for Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit. To show support or volunteer in this effort, please email us at board at rescuemuni.org .

2001 Muni Riders' Survey Results
11/3/01: The results of our 2001 Muni Riders' Survey, previously available only in the August newsletter, are now available in html format. Muni improved again from 2000 to 2001, with 18.7% of riders delayed.

Metro and Service Expansion Committees Meet Today
12/12/01: A joint meeting of the Metro and Service Expansion committees is today, December 12, at 6 p.m. at SPUR (312 Sutter). Come for a discussion of Bus Rapid Transit on Geary and Van Ness.

General Membership Meeting 11/8/01
Interested in Muni's expansion plans? Come to our next General Meeting, on Thursday, 11/8/01, at 6 pm (at SPUR). Sue Olive of Muni Capital Planning will speak about Muni's plans for the new Central Subway (connecting Third Street to Chinatown) and the Geary light-rail project, as well as the Third Street Light Rail/Metro East project now under construction.

Help the 9/11/01 Victims and Survivors
If you haven't donated yet, please donate to the Red Cross at Amazon.com or Yahoo.

Don't Forget Your TRANSFER
8/20/01: The August newsletter is out, including 2001 survey results and our draft Service Expansion plan. Print out and read at your leisure (it's in adobe pdf).

Help the Transbay Terminal Project:
RM Urges Gov. Davis to SIGN AB1419!
9/19/01: Thanks to everyone's help, AB1419 (to help fund the new Transbay Terminal and Caltrain Downtown Extension) has passed the Senate. (Info is on Peninsula Rail 2000's site; Rescue Muni's steering committee has voted to support this bill.) It still needs a signature from the Governor - write Gov. Davis to ask him to support it!

Rescue Muni submitted a letter to the Governor this week - if you haven't yet, please fax a letter ASAP to 916/445-4633.

7/3/01: The project to replace the Transbay Terminal with a new, multi-modal bus and rail station (incl. Muni and Caltrain Downtown Extension) is in trouble unless AB1419 is passed. Write your State Senator to urge a YES vote on this crucial bill! Details are on the Peninsula Rail 2000 website.

Updated 8/20/01: Rescue Muni also submitted a letter to the Senate Transportation Committee advocating passage of this important bill.

Urgent: Comment Again on the Draft RTP
The SF County Transportation Authority is currently seeking public comment on the draft Regional Transportation Plan, an important document recently published by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. This is the region's master plan for transportation improvements; it contains the region's top priorities for major transportation improvements that might receive federal or state funding over the next 25 years. Rescue Muni has a critical stake in this process. For Muni to be able to maintain and expand its network, it is very important that Muni riders be represented in plan development.

9/28/01: Deadline for public comment was 10/3/01. Rescue Muni's Steering Committee voted to submit a new letter on our priorities for the RTP, following our previous letter sent in April.

9/19/01: A public meeting will be held on the draft on Thursday, September 2, at 6 p.m. at the SF County Transportation Authority (100 Van Ness). The Service Expansion Committee is replaced its regular meeting with this important event.

Rescue Muni submitted a detailed letter on the RTP draft earlier this year, advocating maintenance of the existing system, enhanced Bus Rapid Transit, and Geary Rail, among other important projects. Some of these ideas are reflected in the draft RTP (notably Bus Rapid Transit), but we plan to advocate for Geary (the top priority project in the Service Expansion Committee draft plan) and other projects Thursday night.

4/25/01: We submitted our comments at a public meeting on 4/25. (Thank you to everyone who attended!) Additional opportunities to provide comments are on the SFCTA web site.

Fifth Anniversary Party 9/22/01
Can you believe it? Rescue Muni is five years old this year. Weíre celebrating with a fun Saturday afternoon on Muniís original streetcar, and drinks / food with your fellow Rescue Muni members!

11:15 am ó 3:00 pm: Historic Streetcar Excursion
Weíll tour the City on ìCar One,î the first car introduced by Muni in 1912.
Join the trolley ride at any of the stops below (you can disembark at any time):

11:15 am St. Francis Circle (on the K, M lines west of West Portal) 12:00 pm SF Zoo (on the L line at 48th Ave) 12:45 pm Balboa Park station (accessible via BART) 01:45 pm Ferry Terminal (Mission and Steuart, near Embarcadero Station)
3 pm ó 5pm: Drinks and hors díoeuvres at Fattoush Restaurant
1361 Church St. (between Clipper and 26th Street)
The trolley ride concludes here - or you can join us here via the J-Church at any time until 5 pm.

RSVP Now!
We need to know how many people are coming. Confirm your spot with a check for $10 per person, sent to: Rescue Muni, P.O. Box 190966 San Francisco, CA 94119-0966. You can also send us email to reserve your spot (you can pay at the event). This event is for members and guests - if your membership has lapsed, please also include $15 dues renewal. Thanks!

(You can download a pdf version of the invitation here, if you'd like to see the pretty printed version with a Dan Siegler cartoon.)

Free Streetcar Rides 7/13-14
7/13/01: The Market Street Railway, the nonprofit group that promotes historic streetcar service in SF, is sponsoring free excursion rides on Embarcadero from Steuart Street to the Caltrain Depot, as a demonstration of the planned E-Embarcadero historic service. Come to Steuart and Embarcadero between 11am and 2 pm Friday 7/13, or between 11 am and 4 pm Saturday 7/14 to give this new service a try!

Cable Car Reliability Up
6/5/01: Cable car reliability is up to 65% on time - meeting this year's Prop. E service standards. Read the Chron article. Note, however, that this was achieved by reducing service from a 6 minute to an 8 minute headway.

Chamber: Muni Satisfaction Up to 58%
6/5/01: The Chamber of Commerce just released the results of their public opinion poll on Muni customer satisfaction: now 58% are satisfied (somewhat or very) with Muni service, up 10 percentage points from last year. (33% were dissatisfied.) Read the details at the Chamber's web site or the Chron articles: news and editorial.

Are you more satisfied? Comment to our discussion group.

2001 Survey: Submit Your Data! [Submission Form]
3/5/01: The survey period is completed. Please use the submission form to submit your data as soon as possible. (Don't worry if it's a few days after the deadline printed on your form.)

The form has been updated to accommodate 24-hour time, buses that are clean (or not), and buses thet never arrived. If you have a bug to report, please email Andrew.

Volunteer! We need your help compiling the data. Email the Steering Committee if you'd like to help - particularly if you're a good writer or familiar with Excel.

(Last year, Muni service improved to B-minus, with 18.9% of riders delayed.)

Supes Vote to Buy 95 Clean Diesel Buses
3/5/01: The Board of Supervisors, acting as the SF County Transportation Authority, voted 8-3 to acquire 95 diesel buses and defer the purchase of 80 until the conclusion of an alternative fuel (compressed natural gas and diesel-electric hybrid) trial this year. This was a compromise proposal put together by Supervisor Ammiano based on significant input from Muni staff, Rescue Muni, and others. Rescue Muni's Steering Committee has endorsed this decision; read our press release on its behalf.

RM Vice Chair Daniel Murphy represented the organization in the negotiations and spoke at the hearing; his remarks are available here.

Previously: We submitted two letters and a press release on behalf of Muni's plan to purchase 175 diesel buses. [ 1/26/01 letter | 1/26/01 press release | 2/21/01 letter ]

Press Here for TRANSFER
1/19/01: Our not-quite-quarterly newsletter is out. Read and enjoy!
Note the articles on clean diesel vs. CNG buses and Muni's service standards report. (It's in pdf - easier to read if you print it out.)

Embarcadero Station, Powered by PG&E?
1/23/01: Muni board member Jose Cisneros suggested yesterday that Muni sell naming rights to subway stations. What do you think? Comment to us.

2001 Muni Riders' Survey
2/26/01: Extended until 3/4/01! Those of you who got the survey in the mail have a few more days. Everyone else - don't quit yet! Take the survey until the end of the week if you can. We need everyone's help to make the survey a success - so please download the form and record your experience.

We've also updated the submission form to include the "clean" category, 24 hour submissions, and dates up to 3/4/01 (it was accidentally left off the form initially). If you previously submitted data, or if you have a bug to report, please email Andrew before you resubmit.

2/1/01: How's Muni doing? Rescue Muni is once again conducting our annual survey of Muni reliability. The survey is on now and lasts all month. We need your help to see how Muni is doing!

Download your form (pdf) now, and register on our web site to get survey info.
When you've completed a form, you can submit your data on the web.
(Last year, Muni service improved to B-minus, with 18.9% of riders delayed.)

Rescue Muni: Buy the Clean Diesel Buses
2/21/01: We submitted a second letter on behalf of Muni's plan to purchase 175 diesel buses. From the letter:

Muni's choice this month is really diesel or nothing. If Muni doesn't extend the Neoplan bus contract, we will have a minimum of 2-3 more years of poor service from some of the oldest buses in use
anywhere in the United States. We feel very strongly that this would be an unacceptable choice - that it would "un-rescue" Muni by making service much worse (and contribute severely to air pollution). We urge you to choose better transit - and cleaner air - over more delays.

Email your Supervisor if you agree that Muni cannot afford to compromise service quality on expensive, unreliable compressed natural gas buses!

1/26/01: We submitted a letter and issued a press release urging the SF County Transportation Authority (Board of Supervisors) to select the "diesel path" of clean air compliance with CARB and approve the purchase of 175 new buses. We support the clean diesel choice because it's much better for service reliability and clean air. The vote is scheduled for 1/29/01.

New Website Launched!
After almost 5 years, we're redesigning our website. Tell us what you think.
The old index is available in archived form (last updated 1/25/01).

Rider Alert: J-Church Construction
Muni is substituting buses for the J-Church line between Church Street Station and Balboa Park from November 25 to February 2. For alternate routes, see our Muni Metro Alternatives list.

Service Expansion Workshop 2/10/01

The Service Expansion Committee is planning a Saturday morning workshop on potential service enhancements on February 10 at 10 a.m. at SPUR (312 Sutter, 5th floor). We will be mapping out
proposed routes and service expansion concepts and brainstorming new ideas. If YOU have an idea for new transit service, come prepared to discuss it!

We will provide blank city maps, colored markers, current Muni service plans, detailed service plans that we've already put together, and coffee. GOOD coffee.

Start 2001 with Free Muni Service
Muni ran free service from 8 pm to 6 am New Year's Eve - with subway service until 4 am.
Read all about it on their web site.
Kudos to Supervisor (and RM member) Gavin Newsom for making this happen!