The T-Third S-Staggers to L-Life
This is the first official week of service on the T line. And it's not all roses and rainbows -- this weekend saw delays, bunching, and nice long waits. At one point, the wait at Embarcadero for a T was 108 minutes -- yikes. We sure hope that'll all be cleared up for Muni's launch party on the 14th; we're sure that Nancy Pelosi, the guest of honor, has better things to do with her time than wait on the platform for nearly two hours.
The main problem seems to be a lack of trains -- or maybe a lack of drivers? More likely, it's both, as Muni's perpetually plagued by funding shortages. They still haven't been able to send out as many trains as they've scheduled, so trainless gaps in service persist. A reader sent in some data that he collected on the line, showing 7 missing trains on Monday and 5 missing trains today. Those numbers appear after the jump.
Yesterday we created the above-embedded stop-motion video of the day's service. And it proves ... hmm ... something. We're not totally sure how to interpret it. The trains sure do seem to bunch up at 4th and King, and they definitely seem to slow down at Embarcadero, and service on the whole downtown stretch seems awfully spotty. What are your thoughts? You can read some comments on the mess over at the Chron's blog: as usual, the Chron's readers prove to be a mixed bag, with some smart insight such as comparing Muni's treatment of riders to software beta-testers; and also some lower-value comments arguing that only Bayview residents should be allowed to discuss the line, and that Muni's at least better for the handicapped than dragging yourself down the sidewalk. Well put.
Also:
Schedule is on the left, actual times are on the right.
Mondaycarroll evans king carroll evans king
--:-- --:-- 5:31a 5:33
5:32a 5:38a 5:51a 5:35 5:41 5:52
5:41a 5:47a 6:00a
5:49a 5:55a 6:08a
5:58a 6:04a 6:17a
6:08a 6:14a 6:27a 6:07 6:15 6:24
6:17a 6:23a 6:36a 6:24 6:33 6:44
6:26a 6:32a 6:45a 6:28 6:39 6:49
6:35a 6:41a 6:54a 6:39 6:47 6:58
6:43a 6:49a 7:02a 6:46 6:54 7:04
6:51a 6:57a 7:10a 6:50 6:59 7:10
7:01a 7:07a 7:20a 7:07 7:19
7:10a 7:16a 7:29a 7:11 7:18 7:32
7:19a 7:25a 7:38a 7:17 7:23 7:36
7:28a 7:34a 7:47a 7:26 7:32 7:43
7:37a 7:43a 7:56a
7:46a 7:52a 8:05a
7:55a 8:01a 8:14a 7:53 8:00 8:14
8:04a 8:10a 8:23a 8:09 8:16 8:28
8:13a 8:19a 8:32a
8:23a 8:29a 8:41a 8:24 8:30 8:42
8:32a 8:38a 8:50a 8:30 8:37 8:52
8:42a 8:48a 9:00a 8:35 8:42 8:55
8:52a 8:58a 9:10a 8:48 8:54 9:04
9:02a 9:08a 9:20a 8:56 9:01Tuesday
carroll evans king carroll evans king
5:32a 5:38a 5:51a 533 539 550
5:41a 5:47a 6:00a 541 547 557
5:49a 5:55a 6:08a 549 555 605
5:58a 6:04a 6:17a 559 606 617
6:08a 6:14a 6:27a 612 618 627
6:17a 6:23a 6:36a 620 627 638
6:26a 6:32a 6:45a 627 635 647
6:35a 6:41a 6:54a 634 639 650
6:43a 6:49a 7:02a
6:51a 6:57a 7:10a 657 703 712
7:01a 7:07a 7:20a 702 708 720
7:10a 7:16a 7:29a 715 723 737
7:19a 7:25a 7:38a 720 727 740
7:28a 7:34a 7:47a 732 739 750
7:37a 7:43a 7:56a 742 749 759
7:46a 7:52a 8:05a
7:55a 8:01a 8:14a
8:04a 8:10a 8:23a 802 809 826
8:13a 8:19a 8:32a 814 822 832
8:23a 8:29a 8:41a 819 830 843
8:32a 8:38a 8:50a 823 835 848
8:42a 8:48a 9:00a 848 900
8:52a 8:58a 9:10a
9:02a 9:08a 9:20a 901 908 919
9:12a 9:18a 9:30a 907 915 925