What's your story: Transit is Essential What we learned about People-Centered Transit Congress needs to #SaveTransit Keep Bay Area Transit Safe Transit News |
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What's your story: Transit is Essential |
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The pandemic has laid bare the need to plan our transit systems around those who rely most on public transportation, and around the essential workers we all rely on. Transit is - and always has been - essential. For Transit Week this year (September 21-25), we are collecting stories of the people currently riding and operating transit, or those who miss riding transit, or what it would mean to you personally if full service didn't return. |
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We also want to highlight people who have improved transit or made it work better for riders. Drivers who went the extra mile? A rider who helped someone out? A project or improvement that made Muni work better? Nominate someone for our Rider First Awards, so we can celebrate the people who put riders first! |
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What we learned from our People-Centered Transit Panelists |
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Last week, we asked a panel of community leaders what traveling around the city will feel like in ten years if we do everything right. Here's what we heard: - "It would be a dream come true if I could travel around the city in less than an hour - maybe 30 minutes." - Queena Chen
- "Accessible bikes at every bike share station. The central subway station open and running smoothly. Lots of red lanes. A robust ferry transit system." - Cristina Rubke
- "Communication about service changes that is accessible to people who are not literate. Seniors and people with disabilities feel safe using transit, and maybe have their own buses." - Queen Vanessa Banks
They also provided lots of great information about how the city can make its transit system work for communities of different cultural backgrounds, education levels, and physical abilities. Key themes were: communication, including through nontraditional sources like Chinese-language public radio and social media campaigns and partnering with organizations who don't ordinarily focus on transit. |
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Congress needs to save public transit |
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A coalition of non-profit organizations, labor unions, and transit agencies across the country are calling on Congress to #SaveTransit. Nationwide, our transit systems will need a stimulus of $32 billion just to stay afloat and continue serving riders through next year. Please reach out to your representatives in Congress and tell them why transit is important to you. We need to make sure public transportation is included in the next economic stimulus bill. |
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Keep Bay Area Transit Safe |
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Last month we asked you to show up for transit workers and riders, and thanks to supporters like you we made huge progress. Now, join the voices of hundreds of people across the Bay Area in demanding better health and safety, and better accountability for our region’s transit system. Next Wednesday, August 26th at 9:45 am, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is meeting to release their initial safety standards for Bay Area transit agencies in response to our campaign to hold the MTC accountable. We need hundreds of people to sign up to give public comment in support of keeping Bay Area transit safe for workers and riders! Voices for Public Transportation, a regional coalition which SFTR co-founded, is hosting a training this Thursday, August 20th, at 5:00 pm. Join us to get more details about the MTC meeting and prepare to raise your voice for rider and worker safety on public transit across the Bay Area. |
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- Covid shifts transit focus to riders without other options (Bloomberg)
- Transit cuts are felt most deeply by low-income neighborhoods (New York Times)
- Tenderloin residents demand return of the 27 and 31 bus lines (SF Examiner)
- What happens to viral particles in a Subway car (New York Times)
- Downtown Ferry expansion opens (SF Examiner)
- SFMTA begins first phase of 16th-Street improvement project (Mass Transit)
- SFMTA to collect late fees on fines starting September 1 (SF Examiner)
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