Rescue Muni

Do you think Muni wastes taxpayer money? They have nothing on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which at a time of severe budget cuts has spent half a million of your hard-earned dollars, not to add service, not to improve the 511.org website, not even to put up more ads encouraging riders to take mass transit, but to rebrand the Translink card. Someone they paid good money to thought it would make sense to replace all of the logos and advertisements for the (finally mostly functional) card with new ones with a new name – Clipper.

Is it too late to cut this item from the regional budget and spend it on – here’s an idea – better service instead?

Update: Hey SF Appeal, you got us on this one. Apparently they reported this in the last decade - and the total’s $1 million. Still, it’s a big waste.

Update 2: SFist has a long commentary on all things Translink today.

The Mercury News has a special report on revenue shortfalls and service cuts in Bay Area mass transit – not news for anyone who follows it closely but still very serious stuff. Especially devastating is a graphic showing just how slow and expensive common regional commutes are on transit. (This is one reason we support expanded bus rapid transit service – faster service for lower cost, as LA MTA has done very successfully.)

Muni’s not the only regional transit system facing a fiscal emergency due to the economy. Caltrain (run by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board) is also facing deep cuts in funding and is considering various options to address its $10M deficit, including possibly cancelling service on weekends. This isn’t likely to be approved, nor should it be – thousands of SF and regional riders count on Caltrain during “non-commute” hours to get to work, shopping, and entertainment, and the loss of weekend service would mean a huge inconvenience for these riders. (The Giants might have something to say about this too.) Fare increases are also on the table, as is a proposed $1 fee for bike commuters.

Public hearings are scheduled for Wednesday, June 4, at 10 am, at Caltrain headquarters, 1250 San Carlos Ave, San Carlos (near the San Carlos train station).

Regional commuters on BART are likely to see fares and fees go up this year due to budget shortfalls, today’s Chronicle reports. Among the options being considered are reduced frequency on weekends (from a frequency that is already quite low), higher parking fees at peak demand times, and deferred maintenance.

Other regional systems are facing similar shortfalls, mainly due to lower tax revenues in the slowing economy, despite increased ridership. Caltrain just increased fares at the beginning of the year, and although SFMTA is in the middle of a two year budget cycle, it too is facing higher costs and lower revenues.

SF Bay Area transit operators are hoping for new mass transit investment from the feds as part of the upcoming stimulus package as well as reauthorized transportation spending bills. Among the proposed projects are big BART expansions, Caltrain electrification, and Muni projects as small as upgraded fare gates and as large as the Central Subway. But will the new secretary of transportation share these goals? We shall see.