Some say yes. Many say no. According to an op-ed piece in Thursday's Chronicle, the good-intentioned plan, sparked by Supervisor David Campos, stands as "an appealing idea that City Hall is all but certain to adopt." While the plan would help kids get to school, ease parents' drop-off schedules, and possibly alleviate traffic congestion, it would also add another $4 million to $7.9 million dent "for the under-funded transit system facing a $23 million deficit." more ›

At around 6 a.m. today, a car drove into the Duboce Portal tunnel. Said automobile is now stuck inside the tunnel, effectively shutting down all underground Muni metro lines. SF Muni shuttle buses are in place between West Portal and Embarcadero until further notice. more ›

Commuters will not be able drive on the upper deck towards San Francisco during Presidents' Day Weekend due to construction. The closure will start at 8 p.m. Friday, February 17 and last through 5 a.m. Tuesday, February 21. What this means is that drivers won't be able to drive into San Francisco via the Bay Bridge. People can use a sundry of assorted options including BART, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, and the Dumbarton Bridge. Ferry service is another option. more ›

Before you take off for the holidays, remember that come New Year's Eve, you can ride Muni for free. For free? For free. Muni travel, including cable cars, is free of charge from 8 p.m. New Year's Eve until 6 a.m. New Year's Day. And who in their sane mind would want to ride Muni on New Year's Eve? Not us. Because we don't like harrowing train and/or bus rides. But many of you will have to rely on San Francisco's semi-reliable public transportation, so... have at it. more ›

A computer SNAFU of sorts halted all BART service this evening. As of 8:05 pm, BART reports: "BART is experiencing computer problems in the Operations Control Center and service is currently stopped. The problem began at around 7:30 pm Monday evening. BART staff is working to assess and resolve the issue as quickly as possible, however there currently is no word on when service will resume. We will continue updates until the situation is resolved." more ›

Citing "quicker bus service" as the main reason, a portion of McAllister Street between Hyde and Market will go into two-way traffic mode "after previously only allowing westbound traffic." The change will go into effect on Thursday morning. more ›

Nancy Ho, the 25-year-old helmetless cyclist who was crashed into a truck at Fremont and Mission on Tuesday morning, succumbed to her injuries and died. If you recall, "Nancy Ho, of San Francisco, was traveling east on Mission Street when she was struck by a westbound Berkeley Farms truck as she turned left onto Fremont street around 8 a.m." Even though Ho and the driver saw a green lights ahead of them, "she was making an illegal left turn." [SFAppeal] more ›

A cyclist was killed injured this morning after colliding with a truck at the intersection of Fremont and Mission. The incident happened a little after 8 a.m. Update: SFPD issued a correction, saying, "The victim's status is currently life threatening at the hospital. Earlier we reported the victim was deceased. Our apologies for the misinformation. It is important that we correct the status." more ›

UPDATE: Strike is off! Ferry service is on. Chon reports: "Golden Gate Ferry service will run on its regular schedule [Friday], transit officials announced." more ›

Cyclists have even more reason to relish perceived victimization today -- oh, we kid! -- after the SFMTA stripped plans for bike lanes on busy Cesar Chavez. What? Mission Local reports: "The cause of the abrupt change of plan, said David Beaupre, planner for the Port of San Francisco, was lack of communication between groups working on different transportation plans for the city. 'We realized as a city family we weren't communicating with each other,' Beaupre said, addressing a group of planners and community members. 'This may be kind of confusing to the public, but we're one city.' " In addition to being a major inconvenience for cyclists? It was a major waste of money. Ugh. Read all about it. [via SFGate] more ›

After a six-month shutdown due to repairs, the California cable car line will return today to its former glory. According to BCN (via KTVU), "The project replaced electrical and mechanical components that support the cable car system, reconstructed streets, installed curb ramps, repaired sidewalk curbs and replaced sewers." more ›

The Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde, and California cable car lines will be shut down today through Sunday for "repairs and upgrades" as part of the SFMTA Cable Car Improvement Project. SF Appeal notes: "Muni shuttle buses will operate along the cable car routes with all regular, accessible stops available for passengers." Please be advised. more ›

The yellow "Access OK" Clean Air Vehicle sticker your hybrid car has been sporting since 2005 is set to expire on July 1st, meaning you and 85,000 other Prius owners will no longer have breezy free rides through the carpool lane. (Yes, we're assuming everyone in the audience drives a Prius.) After June of this year, hybrid drivers caught flying solo in the diamond lane will get ticketed just like every other clunker on the road. more ›

While you binge on margaritas, Tecate, and body shots tonight, please remember a few things. For starters, do not drink and drive. Ever. AAA Northern California will offer free tows to drivers who drink too much while celebrating Mexican heritage and pride. The offer, according to SF Appeal, "is valid within 10 miles of the driver's home, is offered between 6 p.m. this evening and 6 a.m. Friday. Call 800-AAA-HELP and tell the operator you need a "tipsy tow." Or, better yet, take a free cab home. more ›

While it's only available in pilot neighborhoods equipped with the new smart parking meters and sensors at the moment, SFPark started pushing out real-time parking availability data today. A brief look at the Google map mashup the SFMTA put together on SFPark.org shows that now would be a terrible time to look for parking in the Financial District, but if you're headed out to the Mission for lunch, there should be plenty of spaces for you bus-averse, petrol sippers to park your vehicles along Valencia. Ed Lee and other city officials reportedly debuted the corresponding iPhone app [iTunes link] this morning at City Hall, so vehicle owners with iPhones will want to snag that before circling the block in Hayes Valley a third time. Better yet, have the guy riding shotgun handle that. You're distracted as it is. [KRON4] more ›

ABC7 broadcast this rather shocking video that was posted on YouTube of an outbound L train being driven with the door wide open at the Van Ness station for almost a full minute on Friday evening. What we find more shocking is how none of the passengers seemed fazed by the situation, and no one hit the emergency brake. Luckily the operator finally noticed the error and shut the doors. Also, isn't that Scott Wiener in the foreground? See the video below. more ›

This just in: Two northbound lanes and 3 southbound lanes of Highway 101 are closed in Millbrae due to problems with nearby power lines. No word yet on when the problem will be resolved. Please be advised. [via KPIX 5 breaking report during People's Court] more ›

In southern Brazil last week, around 100 cycling activists were mowed down by an angry driver. Associated Press reports: "Cyclists in the Critical Mass ride tell the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that the man argued with some riders, who had taken over all lanes of the street on Friday." more ›

Now that Ed Lee has gotten a couple breakfasts with Willie Brown out of the way he had a moment to sit down with the bike/walk/train activists over at Streetsblog and discuss some hot button issues that he will definitely have time to handle in his remaining 10 months in office and won't get caught up in City Hall's bureaucracy at all: things like completing the SFBC's Connecting the City project and a trial run of a protected bike lane on that problematic section of Fell Street. more ›

Back in September, rumors went around that Nat Ford had a pretty good chance of landing a top position with the the DC Metro - of course, that didn't amount to anything. Nat Ford is still here, we still have plenty of complaints about the transit agency and there is a finite number of times we can describe Muni as "beleaguered" before we start to feel like we need a new thesaurus. more ›

We've heard plenty of complaints about what a harrowing experience the downhill commute from Russian Hill and Nob Hill can be along the city's legendary 30-Stockton line. Recently, however, one local man (and a reporter for the Examiner no less) decided to take matters in to his own hands by challenging the 30 bus to a sort of John Henry, man-versus-machine challenge of physical prowess. Basically he walked 12 blocks to work instead of trying to cram on a crowded bus in Chinatown. more ›

Bay Area public transportation options often leave much to be desired. Mostly, our various agencies just leave us with the desire to take a different form of transportation. But still we wonder: is there a better way for a transit system to operate, or are we just prone to complaint? For some perspective, our urban studies correspondent from the Tenderloin Geographic Society paid a visit to our nation's capital to see how BART's closest cousin, the Washington Metro, stacks up against the rapid transit system we all know and loathe. more ›

A cyclist collided with a car on Sunday morning at around 9:45 a.m. The accident occurred at Duboce and Mission. According to reports, "A 30-year-old woman from San Francisco was driving a Toyota sedan through the intersection when she struck a 24-year-old man on a bike." The bicyclist, who apparently "entered the intersection against a red light," is expected to survive his injuries. [SF Appeal] more ›

As part of the Doyle Drive replacement, parts of Highway 1 at the Highway 101 interchange will close tonight and tomorrow. The Chronicle reports: "From 10 p.m. today until 10 a.m. Saturday, the ramp from northbound Highway 1 to northbound Highway 101 will be closed. The southbound Highway 101 to southbound Highway 1 ramp will shut down from 10 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday." [Chron] more ›

The Examiner came out with some handy tips on catching that elusive cab tomorrow night, or any busy night, for that matter. The biggest suggestion is to learn the city's traffic patterns and look for cabs on major arteries heading toward downtown, such as Geary or 19th Ave -- regardless of whether you're actually going that way, or look for a queue of cabs at the nearest hotel. more ›

The Chronicle came out with an article this morning with data stating that 800 pedestrians get hit by cars in San Francisco each year, about two per day, which is a higher ratio than in other big walking cities, such as New York, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. more ›

As expected, the fury-inducing plan to charge up to $6 to vehicularly commute into certain parts of San Francisco was nixed yesterday. "The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, acting as the city's transportation authority, have voted 9-2 to scrap a controversial proposal to charge a toll to motorists entering San Francisco from the south during peak commute hours." more ›

If you've ever been tossed from a taxi for necking with a same-sex paramour, sporting leather and chains en route to the San Francisco Armory, or harassed by your cabbie for donning drag designs, a smart new option will now safely whisk you around San Francisco. It's called Homobiles, a 24/7 queer car service that caters to LGBT folks around the city. (However, you don't have to be gay to use it; all kindhearted souls are welcome.) more ›

Opponents of the proposed high speed rail, which would extend from the Bay Area to Los Angeles have brandished their latest weapon: a tree. It seems that Stanford’s iconic Redwood, “El Palo Alto,” is directly along the route of the system. more ›