SFist: Today in Transportation

marc

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:06:28 -0800

Urban Habitat's response (published March 1 in the Examiner): Supervisor Ed Jew’s commentary implies that concern for young adults is mutually exclusive with advocating for working people with families [“Fast Pass to a budget deficit for Muni,” Feb. 27]. Urban Habitat supports better access to transportation for all citizens — regardless of age, race or economic status. This measure increases Muni ridership and revenue collection in the long-term by creating lifelong riders through better access at a younger age. The $5.7 million cost could easily be paid for if Muni received its fair share of regional transit money. Muni ridership makes up over 50 percent of all public transit ridership in the Bay Area, yet receives the lowest subsidies of all the agencies. Urban Habitat welcomes Supervisor Jew to advocate for Muni’s fair share of regional money. We would gladly work with him to make access to transportation easier for all — regardless of age or income. Until then, a young adult Fast Pass is the first step in making quality affordable public transportation for all. Juliet Ellis Executive Director, Urban Habitat The City

fastrak

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:46:23 -0800

I think it's better to increase toll fare for non-fastrak users. :)

cyg

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 10:11:50 -0800

I agree with Mike and QandA. $45 is an absolute bargain for an all-you-can-ride monthly pass, and, AFAIK, cheaper than monthly passes for most other metropolitan public transit systems around the world. How the heck do people expect MUNI to improve its efficiency and reliability if we keep taking revenue from them?

A.G.

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:24:14 -0800

So...I don't read Ken Garcia often. But last time I did, his secret police sources were telling him that the Yalie Acapellists had started the New Year's rumble and they were armed with switchblades like in West Side Story and the truth would come out real soon. Any sign of that? What gives with Garcia? He really thinks he's above the law. And his kids. The rest of the old ethnic SF residents' club too. What a complete wanker.

dantc

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:39:49 -0800

Since January 1,2007 in the state of Califorina,fare evading has been "de-criminalized".The so called"fare inspectotrs"are now NOT allowed to give out tickets in ANY city in this state! Incorrect. MUNI and other California transit agencies were in favor of decriminalization because it actually makes it easier for them to write tickets and fine fare evaders, using resources other than deputized law enforcement officers and the criminal court system. It's called administrative review; it's something that parking violators are familiar with since 1993, when their transgressions were decriminalized in SF. In other words, MUNI now gets to run its own transit court. True, you won't face the possibility of jail time, but they're now free to set debt collectors on your case for non-payment and won't that be a fun thing to see on your credit report for the next seven to eleven years?

Mike

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:31:14 -0800

I think $45/month to travel anywhere in town is very reasonable, whether you are 24 or 54. Where is the huge need for a discount? I ride Translink in Vancouver regularly, and it is so much more dependable than our beloved Muni. Many of the buses are heavily used at all hours of the day. The B-lines run 7 days a week until late in the evening. They have been expanding late night service and reconfiguring lines to give better coverage. They are building a new LRV line between the airport and downtown. And yes, it costs more to ride, but it is worth it.

QandA

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:56:06 -0800

Let me get this straight, Muni is facing a huge deficit next year and the BoS want to further reduce their revenue by lowering fares for young adults? If we want a decent muni system folks we need to PAY for it! Fare in my hometown of Vancouver is $2.25/adults and going up all the time. People don't complain so much b/c it's a fantastic system. Here we complain but don't want to pay for anything. Puhleez, every 18-24 year old with an ipod/cellphone/latest gadget can afford a regular fare.

fizzandpop

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:35:11 -0800

Let's just say you're 18 and making $8.75 an hour. To the absolutely naive you are right at the botom of the economic pile and therefore deserve a break. But if you use your brain just a little, you realize that 18 year olds have absolutely no financial commitments what so ever; no loans, mortgages, credit card debt, child support, court fines, pensions, gambling debts, legal retainers, tax liens, and all the associated costs that go with keeping a top-flight mistress in the style that she has become accustomed to. So $8.75 and hour to them is like $87.50 to a working stiff. Subsidize transport for them and all you're doing is giving the money right to BIG COMIC BOOK. They all get on using the back door anyway.

Happy Chandler

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:41:10 -0800

If the "Class Pass" is done as it is in Berkeley, then every student pays for it and is eligible, whether they ride the bus or not. This is a win-win situation -- the students get cheap passes ($58.50 a semester) and AC Transit gets a huge steady cashflow.

Bob

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:30:34 -0800

T.E. Lawrence

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:28:44 -0800

What about the Lifeline pass? Who qualifies for it?

Marc

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:21:39 -0800

T.E. : (again, unofficially...) Yes- that is one alternative posed by opponents this program. There are many 18-24 year olds who are not in college who would benefit from this program. If Sup. Jew's opposition to this program is due to it being 'unfair' to 25-59 year olds, then why limit it solely to College Students? Why should someone enrolled in a college be more eligible for affordable transit than a non-college student? The irony of using the phrase 'CLASS Pass' seems to escape the proponents of this narrow idea...

T.E. Lawrence

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:09:37 -0800

Many people are not aware that Muni has a pass program for college students, and it appears as though there is not much of a push within the MTA to implement it in other schools. Students attending the Univ. of San Francisco and the Conservatory of Music can get a Class Pass, for about $18-20 a month, every semester. Students pay for the pass when they pay for their tuition. The pass is simply a sticker that they place on their student id (similar to San Jose State Univ.) and it allows students to ride on all Muni lines, but cannont be used on BART (major bummer).

Stephen La Croix

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:00:59 -0800

When the kids go to Mc Donald's, do you think that the kids would get a kiddy meal special on the house because they left the cash at home or at school where their backpacks are? Where is the responsibility and accountability, people? What are you teaching your kids? That the world will make up for your lack of responsibility? Will these kids be ready for adulthood? The real world is a dog-eat-dog kind of world. What kind of lessons will they learn as far as ethics and moral fiber? All this reflect back on the parents as well. Hypocrites!

Elizabeth

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:52:37 -0800

How does Portland manage to make the bus service in their downtown area free? Why can't we do that?

fizzandpop

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:42:36 -0800

When I was 15 I was physically assaulted on more than one occasion for being a fare dodger. Back then you gat a smack around the head or would be dragged the length of the bus by your ear. It was all part of growing up, and didn't turn me into a raging sociopath with anger management issues at all. Oh, and that comment about helping the 18-24 year olds transition into adulthood was pant-wettingly funny. "Dear Son, I know you're fighting an unjust war in Iraq and all that, but you'll be heartened to know that your peers back home are finally having the burden of full-fare payment lifted from their shoulders."

jt wright

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:41:43 -0800

The idea behind transitional youth Muni discounts was to aid the many 18-24 year olds in San Francisco who don't get to rely on mommy and daddy's Amex, who don't have loads of disposable income, who are struggling to pay for daily expenses - not to mention rent! Supervisor Jew insinuating that 18-24 year olds in the City are so economically privileged that they are, in fact, stealing food from the mouths of 50 year old working single mothers by asking for a Muni discount is absurd. There is more to SF youth than upper middle-class kids from the burbs moving here and earning six figures. Ever been to the Excelsior, OMI, or Bayview? Plenty of hard-working young adults there who need a little help. And why not get the kids hooked on Muni in their transitional years so that when they get older and more financially independent, they will continue to use Muni rather than drive a car? Sounds good to me.

marc

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:41:37 -0800

Greg: "...to give allegedly po' folk a break ..." ??? There is not an economic requirement in this resolution- that would be Lifeline and it already exists.

Marc

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:39:35 -0800

As a regular SFist reader and a spokesperson for Urban Habitat, I'm commenting unofficially. If Ed Jew wants to work with us to make transportation more affordable to 25-59 year olds, great! It would be wonderful if he would join with us in calling for this- we have been doing so for years. Young adult Fast Passes are a step in that direction and we applaud Sup. McGoldrick's efforts. Sup. Jew's belief that 18-24 or 25-59 year olds are mutually exclusive seems a little unreasonable. We have submitted a response to the Examiner which will hopefully appear tomorrow which explains where the $5.7 million (and a lot more) could easily come from (without raising fares, parking tickets or meters or taxes) and calls on Supervisor Jew to help us with this cause to make transportation more affordable for everyone- 1 to 100.

Marc

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:38:04 -0800

Greg

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:34:34 -0800

I actually delayed my posting on these issues this morning as I decided to go to the BoS meeting and see for myself Jake's half-baked plan to give allegedly po' folk a break on the bus pass. Because he rammed it through and bypassed standard procedure, the board voted to delay voting on a nonbinding resolution for a week. But it was clear when Jake got hot under the collar that he's on a mission, and well, you really don't want that guy mad at you, is all I can say. During the deliberations ironically it was Sup. Daly who provided some background and some sanity on the issue, as it IS just a stupid resolution.

Adam

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:21:18 -0800

Lulu, to play devil's advocate: You get a break every time you buy a pass, because you only pay a fraction of the costs. The rest is made up by the city. Prius owners get a break through a tax credit, you get a break through lower fares. Regarding Fastrak, I love mine and use it whenever I cross the Bay Bridge (though I take BART more often). The biggest problem is that there aren't enough lanes coming from 580 or 80, and they do not start soon enough. The Fastrack lanes should go at least 1/2 mile through the Maze, with one lane per Fastrak booth, rather than splitting last second as they do now. And, the lights need to cycle faster for Fastrak lanes because they back up sometimes further than non-Fastrak. A little engineering will make them go much faster, and entice more people to get them. Oh, and a plug for BART EZRider (currently in the pilot program, and not accepting new applications). You get a smart card, and touch it to the disk on top of the fare gates. It recharges from your credit card like the Fastrak does -- $45 for a $48 credit. I never have to go back to a ticket machine! Happy Chandler Berkeleyfarms.blogspot.com

MattyMatt

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:19:29 -0800

You can write off your Fastpasses, in a sense, if your employer participates in the Commuter Check program. On the last paycheck of the month, $45 is deducted for a Commuter Check -- so that's $45 less to pay income tax on. Why, over the course of several years, you could save up to dozens of dollars!

WestAdd

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:10:55 -0800

Good point, Lulu... we should be able to write off fast passes... absolutely. Though i have to say discounted tickets to anyone over 18 is ridiculous. If you are old enough to spend the night out getting blotto at bars and looking for blow jobs, you are old enough to pay your own way.

Lulu Meyer

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:02:26 -0800

How about some friggin' tax breaks for those of us that shill out money for fast passes? Prius owners get them, why not public transportation riders who don't and never have owned a car?

T.E. Lawrence

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:48:42 -0800

Oh god, Ken Garcia is an ass. What a one sided column. He wasn't even there when his daughter got a ticket, doesn't interview any of the officers who issued the citations, and then has the gall to claim the fare inspectors have a "lack of decorum, judgment and training." Then he contrasts the "nice" judge with the "evil" fare inspectors... Thankfully, in Laura’s case, a judge put it all to rest. When I made a joke about bad parenting in the courtroom, hearing officer Adrienne Jacobs Miller adroitly countered, “No, it’s not about that. Things just happen with teenagers.’’ Miller was kind and intelligent and thankfully nonjudgmental. Is Garcia insinuating that the fare inspectors are mean, stupid and judgmental people because his poor little angel got a citation? God forbid that they should actually enforce the law! I think the fare inspectors are doing a bang up job, and if they're mean, it is because they are tired of hearing bullshit excuses day in, day out.