Rescue Muni

SFWeekly has a detailed article on the deteriorating state of the SFMTA’s bus and rail fleet. Duct taped buses, garbage bags covering high voltage pantograph wiring, and rubber bands holding up roof ladders are discussed. According to the article, it takes as many as 5 workers to change a part on a bus, and there are no modern inventory controls such as bar coding in place.  All these deferred maintenance problems cause delays, dangerous equipment malfunctions, and even fatal accidents.

Muni’s plan to hire 95  part-time drivers to save cash under Prop G hasn’t worked out as planned. The current operator attrition rate at 12 per month, and Muni hasn’t been able to hire new drivers fast enough with the current students  in the 8 week training course.   TWU-250A’s president Eric Williams says  a smeared reputation by SFMTA management and the media has made getting new operators difficult. Converting part-time drivers to full time has saved the agency money, $1.05m compared to running overtime drivers at $1.8m.

Under city law, Muni is  considered on-time if a bus or train is no more than one minute early or four minutes late. Due to rounding, any time after the minute is rounded down, so a bus or train could be measured as being 4 minutes and 59 seconds late, but still be considered “on-time”. Based on research from the Bay Citizen, the actual Q4 2011 on-time rate was 61.4%, not 71%.

The proposed 83X line will provide limited stop, rush hour service to 4th and King, Division and Townsend, and 9th and Market. The SFMTA estimates the the new line will cost $300k a year, with a ridership of 400k.

The board of supervisors will vote before July 1 to approve all door boarding on Muni’s buses. Riders will have to tag Clipper when boarding the rear of the bus,  provide proof of payment, or suffer a $100 citation. As part of the plan, 10 more fare inspectors will be hired, costing the agency $700k. The upside is big, however, since all door boarding could boost service speed by 1 mph, a savings of $76m a year.