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Vote NO on Proposition I, March 2, 2004

Rescue Muni urges you to vote NO on Proposition I, "Replacement of Diesel Buses." It is BAD for service reliability, and may cause CUTS in service.

Why vote NO?

1. It forces Muni to remove 147 buses from service whether or not alternative fueled vehicles are available. According to Proposition I:

"Muni shall remove from active or reserve service and shall no longer operate any diesel bus that exceeds its 12 year useful life"

Except for a one-year extension, no guarantee is made to replace the buses! If alternative-fueled buses are not available, Muni will be forced to cut diesel bus service by up to 30 percent. The only alternative-fueled buses that work well on San Francisco’s streets, diesel-electric hybrids, have not yet been certified by CARB. If they have not been certified by the deadlines, Muni will be forced to cut service on busy lines such as 38 Geary, 47 Van Ness, 19 Polk, and others.

2. It forces Muni to scrap perfectly good reserve buses. Proposition I requires Muni to scrap its diesel reserve fleet, for which there is no federal or state money available for replacement, whether or not it can afford new vehicles. Unless Muni can come up with local funds to pay for all new reserve buses, service in emergencies such as earthquakes and blackouts will suffer badly.

3. It has NO funding provisions. This measure would force San Francisco to cut other programs, raise fares, or raid the 30-year bus replacement account in Proposition K to pay for replacement buses – many of which would sit idle in the yard except in emergencies.

4. It won’t clean the air. Loss in service reliability from the service reductions that will result from Proposition I will force Muni riders into their cars – which will cause more traffic and more pollution.

5. It’s terrible public policy to manage Muni at the ballot box. San Francisco voters passed Proposition E in 1999 to take Muni out of politics. Proposition I is a return to the bad old days of political meddling in every decision made by the Railway. This is particularly unnecessary because Muni has a clean air plan already! It has reduced bus emissions by 88% and already has a realistic and responsible four-year plan to reduce them further.

(See also our ballot argument, submitted in December.)

Who opposes Proposition I?

Rescue Muni (members and steering committee voted unanimously - with one abstention - to oppose!)
San Francisco Chronicle
SPUR - see ballot summary (pdf), page 21
City Democratic Club
Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club
San Francisco Labor Council
San Francisco Republican Party
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
Plan C San Francisco
San Francisco Cityscape says it "stinks"
Rail Passenger Association of California (RailPAC)

Rick Laubscher, President, Market Street Railway *

(* for identification only)

Does your organization oppose Proposition I? >Email us and let us know - we'll advertise it on this website.

What's in Proposition I?

We have the text of Proposition I on our website.

How can I help defeat this proposition?

1. Register to vote! If you're not registered, you can't vote. Download the registration form and mail it in - it must be postmarked by February 17. Too late! Hope you've registered.

2. Request a mail-in ballot. You can request one online. The deadline is February 24. Then don't forget to vote by mail. Too late! Vote by mail if you have the ballot, or you can vote in your precinct, or at City Hall.

3. Print out our No on I handout and give it to your friends and fellow Muni riders. Also print out and post our window sign.

4. Email us at board at rescuemuni.org to help further. We are planning various No on I events, including poster hanging, handouts, and more as the election approaches.

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