February 27, 2008
Muni to Roll With the Changes
After months of studies, surveys, and community meetings, Gavin and Muni honchos finally unveiled new plans to solve everyone's issues with Muni. The proposed changes? Adding service to popular lines, decreasing service in less popular lines, and possibly eliminating service to those loser lines nobody likes and sit by themselves at lunchtime. Also in the proposed changes will be things like new bus-only lanes, rerouting some lines, going after lazy drivers, adding Express buses to other lines and adding a new first class service for frequent riders consisting of champagne cocktails and reclining seats.
The changes were based on rider feedback as well as a study of how many riders ride each lane. The study showed that 75% of the riders are found on 15 lines and so service should be pumped up on those lines. These lines include the 14 Mission line and the 38 Geary. Those lines should get more buses as well as more Express buses. On the chopping block are lines such as the 26 Valencia and the 37 Corbett. Among changes to routes are the 24 Divisadero which will now go to through the Bayview and the Mission through 24th Street.
Also mentioned as a possibility are fare increases but officials think all the changes will increase ridership and thus kill the need for fare increases.
Now, none of these changes will be easy. So far, any proposed change to any line has been fought tough and nail by all those affected (we personally believe all the current routes should be blown up and rebuilt from scratch) and Gavin has said that since he won't be running for reelection, he can take the heat. And before all this goes into effect, there will be the usual community hearings as well as an environmental report.
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Speaking as someone who has attempted to take the 26 Valencia on many occasions, I eventually came to the conclusion that it only runs once per week. How are people supposed to take the bus if it never comes? I shouldn't be able to walk from Little Star to Taqueria Can-Cun (Outer Mission) without being passed by a 26.
what about the free blow jobs and latte's they promised?
They did a pretty good job of assessing how people are using the system of Today, but I don't know that it can really predict the next 10-20 years of use that well.
Some of the reports are of the "no duh" variety (wow people want the buses to run on time! who knew) but some of the proposed changes, particularly for those served by the N, the 6, the 71 and such wouldn't be such bad ideas.
But, like all things MUNI, I fully expect the pressure groups, the unions, and associated hangers on to bloviate until they kill off any changes that might actually make things even slightly better. Watch for some of the Supervisors to lead some f*cking rally on City Hall's steps railing about some minor change that will be an "affront to the community." or something stupid like that.
The TEP numbers show 1,700 boardings for the 37? That has to be wrong...
I hope after the TEP changes start taking place that Muni starts making route "optimizations" on a regular basis much like ACTransit does. If changes are a normal occurrence, the level of whining will be lower since people will expect change.
the 38 geary seems to be the biggest joke in town. bus stops every friggin block. 5 buses all stacked on top of eachother in traffic. i don't know if this thing is salvageable.
And before all this goes into effect, there will be the usual community hearings as well as an environmental report.
Any wagers on whether this EIR finishes before the bike plan EIR?
They aren't planning to kill the 37, just change the routing and possibly send it to 16th and Mission (which would probably increase my usage significantly). The 37 is packed at commute times but pretty lightly used off peak. If I lived farther up the hill, I would take it often from Castro or Church Station. As it is, it serves mostly to get me home from Safeway when I buy a little more than planned.
I am very worried that all the people crying to save their favorite routing or stop will render the plan completely ineffective. Hey, I love the 3 and 4 lines when I need to get to Laurel Heights or the Inner Richmond from Union Square, but if those buses can be used to alleviate overcrowding on other routes, that is what we should do.
Oh, VTA (Santa Clara County) just did a major overhaul of its routes and schedules. I didn't follow it very closely, but the world didn't seem to end. They lowered the price of a day pass to $5. Single rides are still $1.75 (with no transfers allowed).
I wonder how many months (years?) it'll take to get the maps updated at the covered stops. That said, I applaud the approach and even have to give Gavin some props for being willing to take the heat on this.
My personal pet peeves are still the replacement of the 15 with the ultra-lame 20 (I wish the various 9_X variants took the 15's old route to Market) and my worry that the renaming of the 12 Folsom to the 12 Pacific means it won't be the sweet North Beach to Mission connection it is today.
My favorite proposal? The new 19 Polk circular route. Actually quite handy to people making connections from the northeast neighborhoods.
Constant adjustments would be a NIGHTMARE. Golden Gate Transit pulled that a few years back and it only reinforced my decision to own a car. You could never predict when a bus was going to run.
I think that stop reduction makes sense in some places (38, L, etc). However, it looks like they're doing away with the 28 in favour of the 28L? Ugh. The problem with the 28 is not that it stops too frequently, it's that they don't run a decent mix of limited and full service routes... and they simply don't run enough buses on that route. Simply restoring 28 service to the level it was four years ago would do wonders. The 28 can function without stop reduction.
Somehow, I don't have rosy predictions. Their reports calculated about half the missed run that the Chron did. Hmmmmm. Think about that. If they cut service with the expectation that there will be enough drivers... oh that would be fun. Reduced service and absent drivers.
I'm a bit miffed that they're going to axe the 66. It's not the most popular route, but there are almost always people on it... certainly it's got regular riders (many of whom seemed to know the morning driver very well).
As a whole I don't think that the proposals are that far off... but I bet all we'll see of it is hair gel and service cuts.