Rescue Muni

$3.7M BART cars likely to be built overseas

Andrew — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:29:51 +0000

BART is about to begin replacing its rail cars with 775 new ones – a necessary step for reliable service and a state of good repair. Matier and Ross report today that none of the five vendors who responded to the bid are based in the US – so despite “Buy American” rules, it’s likely [...]

Daly City at last

Daniel Murphy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:38:57 +0000

The 14L-Mission Limited buses that used to stop tantalizingly close to the Daly City BART station finally will take people the rest of the way during AM and PM commute hours. Temporarily, the morning runs will be connected by a shuttle between Daly City BART and the 14L at Goethe Street, though eventually the 14L [...]

Metro service disrupted by SUV in tunnel

Daniel Murphy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:01:28 +0000

Yesterday morning, a SUV drove into the Muni Metro tunnel at the Duboce and Church portal, delaying AM commute service for more than two and a half hours as police worked to extract the vehicle and Muni workers made minor repairs to the tunnel. This is the second private automobile driver to enter the Duboce [...]

America’s Cup: more transit service?

Andrew — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:11:21 +0000

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.

SFMTA: 1 in 2 trips by car before 2020

markballew — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:25:18 +0000

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 [...]

Oakland airport connector construction proceeds

Andrew — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:34:37 +0000

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.

Commuters save big by taking mass transit – APTA

Andrew — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:36:55 +0000

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 [...]

Supervisors blast SFMTA for excessive work orders, overtime

Andrew — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:35:06 +0000

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 [...]

SFMTA CFO, Prop A Revenue bonds for critical upgrades approved

markballew — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:34:44 +0000

“We’re not going to get a better deal than now,” SFMTA CFO Sonali Bose told reporters. 2007′s Prop A allows the SFMTA to issue revenue bonds for “shovel ready” infrastructure upgrades and repairs, and the low interest rates on the bond market make it a once in a lifetime chance for the agency to get [...]

New MTA police commander: Watch out fare cheats

markballew — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:23:37 +0000

In May, Lea Militello became the MTA’s new police commander. She has a novel idea: not only place fare inspectors at key evasion stops, but also place inspectors at random stops, so no matter where customers board, they will have the expectation of encountering a fare inspector. The plan is working, the number of citations [...]