Many cities around the US are following the lead of San Francisco and Portland in adding new streetcar systems downtown, according to today’s New York Times. If the experience is anything like San Francisco’s with the F-Market line, they should see big increases in ridership – so long as the streetcars go where riders want to go.
Muni often gets into fender benders, but this one was worse than usual. On Saturday, one LRV crashed into another on the section of the N/T line near the Caltrain depot and AT&T Park. Fortunately, no injuries were life threatening, but 16 people including both drivers were taken to the hospital.
This crash occurred in an area with a very low speed limit (3 MPH during games), with dedicated, fenced transit lanes and clear visibility of the track area, so we will be very interested in the results of the investigation. Muni safety rules require all vehicles to stop a minimum distance from vehicles ahead – what happened this time? (If you were there, post your experiences in the comments.)
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?
San Franciscans have known for decades that mass transit is the cure to high gas prices, but today’s NY Times reports that commuters nationwide are moving to transit with gasoline reaching $4/gallon in many areas. Of course, transit agencies including Muni are also facing higher fuel prices themselves, with diesel at all time highs, but SF is in better shape than most cities due to the ready source of electric power from Hetch Hetchy.
Here are some updates that we haven’t blogged yet:
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