Additional Muni and Golden Gate Transit service, including the long-delayed E historic streetcar line, are planned for the America’s Cup. Will fans leave their cars at home and take mass transit (or bikes) to the event? This plan is designed to make it easy.
62% of all trips in the city are made with cars, a factor that the MTA would like to see shrink to 50% by the end of the decade, reports the Chronicle. This is one of the goals of the agency’s 6 year strategic plan, adopted on Tuesday. The cost of the changes will set the agency back $87m, a gap that is yet to find funding. “To have a world-class transportation system that people want to use, we have to be resourced adequately,” said SFMTA’s Ed Reiskin. This will be a challenging goal for the MTA, with a budget gap of $28 million this fiscal year, $34 million next year and $46 million after that.
Waste of money or critical connection for travelers? Whichever it is, the columns are now rising in the median of Hegenberger Road for the Oakland Airport Connector linking the Coliseum BART station to Oakland Airport. It’s projected to be completed in 2014.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently did a study of the cost savings from commuting by mass transit versus driving a car. The savings are major – San Franciscans can save thousands of dollars per year by riding Muni and BART. APTA estimates that a SF two-person household can save over $12,000 per year just by making the switch to mass transit.
At a hearing on Thursday, SFMTA officials appeared before the Supervisors to discuss upcoming budget issues. Supervisor David Campos and others expressed concern about work orders to other City departments (notably SFPD) and overtime far exceeding budgeted amounts. This will be a serious concern over the next budget cycle as fares and fees are once again likely to rise to cover increased costs.