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Hey MUNI riders, that time we've all been dreading is finally here. Yep, starting Thursday, September 1st, those long rumored, oft-talked about fare hikes will start kicking in. That means it'll cost you an extra quarter to take a super-crowded, freak-filled, hour-long bus ride through the city. The cost to get on the bus? $1.50. Fast passes, however, will still remain at $45 a month and discounted tickets for seniors and kids will only be raised fifteen cents. The reason for the fare increase is to make up for huge budget shortfalls.
Of course, you could always not pay. To protest the fare increases, local activists have been calling for a fare strike. For the past several months, they've been handing out flyers, posting posters, and trying to spread the word about the idea of protesting the fare increases by not paying. Supposedly, they've even been talking to MUNI drivers about joining in and not collecting fares. We hear a few drivers were even going to attend a couple of rallies, but showed up fifteen minutes late and missed them. We kid! We kid! Anyways, despite the fact this city is known for protesting anything, the transit strike has been greeted with mainly ambivalence and the "what are you gonna do?" shrug.
Oh, for you BART people out there, there's news on that front too. To make up for all the fare increases and slashed service, management is thinking about instituting frequent rider award programs. So you might be paying more to commute and have to wait longer, but at least you’ll get a spiffy BART credit card for all your troubles. Yay!
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The hilarious thing about all this is that this all comes back to mismanagement in the end. If MUNI actually performed a rider audit and figured out how many people actually used each line, then they'd be able to (a) offer a realistic schedule to adhere to, (b) wouldn't have to pay out all that budget-sapping overtime to drivers and (c) would create a system in which both drivers and passengers were satisfied in some quasi-utopian way.
Ed, I think I've seen auditors on buses and trains, counting passengers and noting arrival times. But I agree, it's ridiculous that they have the nerve to raise fares by 50% in two years without improvement in service.
And $5 to ride the cable car now! Ouch.
Say, Eve, didya ever hear back from MUNI about that crazy N-Judah driver?
Yes, I did, but the results are not for publication.
Let's just say I am completely satisfied with how things turned out. Persistence truly pays when it comes to stuff like this, and I encourage anyone who has a conflict with a driver to complain until you get an answer.