This past Friday, the Rules Committee of the Board of Supervisors met to consider a proposed charter amendment that would, among other things, split the appointees to the MTA Board between the Mayor and Board (as has been done for several commissions including Planning and Police). Rescue Muni members urged a no vote at the hearing; Chair Andrew Sullivan submitted the following comment.
If Rescue Muni stands for anything, it stands for putting the interests of Muni riders first, ahead of ideological canards, ahead of entrenched interests, and ahead of the instincts of people—so numerous in this supposedly “progressive” city—who resist change just because change rubs them the wrong way. We believe our value is in our singular focus on making Muni better, a mission we follow wherever it leads, even when it annoys people on the right or the left, or anywhere in between. This, above all, is what Rescue Muni is for.
Right now, Muni operator pay is set by a formula: it can’t be any lower than the average of the two highest-paying transit systems in the US. Before Proposition A (2007), which we supported, the rule was it couldn’t be any higher than the average of the top two. The theory was that, by making it a floor instead of a ceiling, Muni could offer higher pay in exchange for less restrictive work rules. That was an interesting idea, but it didn’t work that way in the real world. Unions didn’t take the deal, and nothing changed – operators got higher pay by the formula, without any change in work rules.
Concerned about proposed service cuts? Do you agree with us that extended meter hours (including enforcing meters on Sundays) is far better than cutting mass transit? If so, please attend and comment at one of these SFMTA meetings:
Town Hall Meetings, One South Van Ness Ave. @ Market St., 2nd Floor Atrium
Saturday, Feb. 6 – 10 a.m. to noon
Tuesday, Feb. 9 – 6 to 8 p.m.
Transit: 6, 71, 47, 49, Metro to Van Ness
SFMTA Board Meeting, City Hall Room 400
Tuesday, Feb. 16 – 9 a.m. (public hearing and possible Board action)
Transit: 5, 6, 19, 21, 71, 47, 49, Metro, BART to Civic Center
Rescue Muni unequivocally opposes the proposed $5 fare for the F-Market historic streetcar line. We recognize that this is an extraordinarily difficult budget year, and that despite the recent fare increase, Muni is running short on money from other sources. But the F-Market is one of the most cost-effective lines in the city, and other, better revenue options exist, not least of which are extending parking meter hours into Sundays and evenings. We are unconvinced that these measures will hurt San Francisco’s economy. Many cities—including cities with fewer transit options than San Francisco—keep their parking meters running on Sundays and weekends, and seem to suffer no ill effects from it.
Singling out a single line for a fare increase—and eliminating 313,000 service hours per year—shouldn’t even be considered in a “Transit First” city until all other options are exhausted. They haven’t been.
We urge Rescue Muni members to attend today’s meeting of the MTA Board—2:00 p.m. at Room 400, City Hall—and let directors know that this plan is unacceptable, and that better options for closing the short-term revenue gap remain.
Update: Rick Laubscher of Market Street Railway has a very thoughtful letter in opposition to the $5 F-line.
Also: The Bike Coalition has a handy form to tell the Supervisors and the Mayor that you oppose higher fares and service cuts.
Don’t wait for the Culture Bus, because starting at 6PM today it will no longer be making its run between downtown and the museums. After 11 months and numerous service cuts, the Culture Bus line, known as the 74x, will finally go out of service, freeing valuable man power and bus resources to the cash-strapped SFMTA. Even cutting service to once and hour and raising fares to $10 for all day rides wasn’t enough to lure enough passengers.
Rescue Muni’s policy since this line’s inception was the immediate elimination of the 74x, and we’re glad to see it finally happen, but the loss of precious revenue to this program over these 11 months could have gone to stave off other Muni cuts.