Up With Muni
As incredible as it sounds," says the regally named Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., SFMTA's Executive Director, in this morning's glowing press release, "preliminary ridership reports show that Muni had over 117,000 additional boardings this weekend, which included three Giants games at AT&T Park and the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park on opposite ends of The City."
Over 117,000 additional boardings? Oh my.
Anyway, Muni is patting itself on the back for the allegedly stupendous job they did over the weekend. The Muni love, you see, started on Friday when baseball and music fans were whisked away to their respective areas of concern, culminating on Sunday when drivers performed fellatio on each and every passenger. Or something like that.
But we're thrilled to hear that Muni is stepping up efforts - especially since no one, except a Getty, can afford a cab these days. But what say you readers, did Muni do a bang up job this weekend?
The full press release, for those of you who simply must, is after the jump.
***PRESS RELEASE***MUNI RIDERSHIP UP FOR WEEKEND EVENTS
Taking their cue from The City's Transit First policy, people rode the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) Muni system this weekend as The City by the Bay became the locus of mega events drawing more than 100,000 fans. "As incredible as it sounds," said Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., SFMTA Executive Director, "preliminary ridership reports show that Muni had over 117,000 additional boardings this weekend, which included three Giants games at AT&T Park and the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park on opposite ends of The City."
The avalanche of Muni customers began Friday afternoon as baseball and festival fans headed to their respective venues as regular commuters were boarding Muni for the ride home from work. "The weekend was a confluence of green-conscious travelers," Ford said, noting that the Giants hosted San Diego Padres Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday afternoons, "at the same time that more than 100,000 music revelers were heading for the three-day music festival at Golden Gate Park."
The SFMTA dispatched extra buses and trains serving both Giants stadium and Golden Gate Park throughout the weekend. A cadre of 162 Parking Control Officers, Transit Fare Inspectors and other enforcement staff was fielded to assist with pedestrian safety, traffic flow and parking. SFMTA revenue staff were also on hand to sell round-trip tickets to speed boarding on Muni vehicles.
"Legions of SFMTA employees worked the weekend to get people to these events—and home again," Ford said, "and I want to acknowledge their tireless efforts. While the buses and trains were crowded and traffic conditions after the concerts slowed service, we kept sending the buses and trains back to Golden Gate Park until the crowds were cleared."
SFMTA also coordinated with other transit agencies in the Bay Area, most notably BART and Caltrain, to ensure connections to Muni for customers traveling into The City from the East Bay and The Peninsula.
"San Francisco is one of the greenest cities on the planet," Ford said, "and we congratulate the people who chose transit, and other green modes such as walking and bicycles, to enjoy the offerings of this world class city rather than fill the air we breathe with emissions. It was our privilege to be the mode of choice."
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Established by voter proposition in 1999, the SFMTA, a department of the City and County of San Francisco, oversees both the Municipal Railway (Muni) and the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT). With five modes of transit, Muni has nearly 700,000 passenger boardings each day. Over 35,000 extra vehicles enter San Francisco on any given business day, and rely on DPT to keep the flow of cars, transit vehicles, delivery trucks, pedestrians, and bicycles moving smoothly through the streets.