Rescue Muni

If you haven’t been able to make the public meetings on the SF Transit Effectiveness Project, you can submit your comments online. SFTEP / MTA staff are particularly interested in your comments on the proposed service policy framework (standards for frequency, speed, and reliability), the proposed Rapid network (red lines on the map) as well as changes in local service.

Comment online here!

In our opinion the most important changes here are the expansions to Limited service on the proposed Rapid network. Riders on key lines like the 38-Geary, 14-Mission, 49-Van Ness, N-Judah, 5-Fulton, 28-19th Avenue, and others who are suffering today from crowded and extremely slow service should see big improvements if these proposals are adopted. The areas of the proposal that have gotten the most criticism (cuts in lightly used local lines) will probably see some changes in the next draft – we would encourage the TEP staff to focus on ways to maintain citywide coverage of the Muni system while not losing focus on the main purpose of the TEP, which is to make transit faster and more reliable, and therefore more attractive to SF commuters who are today choosing to drive.

Again, don’t miss your chance to have your voice heard on this proposal.

The MTA gave a briefing yesterday morning to its Board of Directors on what would need to be done to meet the Prop E mandated 85% on time standard, and it wasn’t pretty. According to staff, Muni would need an additional $150 million per year to achieve the standard mandated by voters in 1999, and it won’t happen until 2012, five years from now and thirteen years after it was passed.

Update: Detailed powerpoint on On Time Performance is at the MTA website. (pdf)

Couldn’t it happen faster than that, particularly if basic steps like expanding and enforcing transit lanes, consolidating stops, implementing Proof of Payment systemwide, using already installed signal pre-empts, and dispatching trains in order from Embarcadero were taken? The SF Transit Effectiveness Project is studying these proposals and others.