| | | | The Service Transit Riders Need Our Community Organizers, along with our awesome volunteers, have been getting out and talking to people at farmers' markets, at transit stops, and recently at Carnaval. We surveyed over 300 riders from Civic Center, through the Mission, and out to the Excelsior and heard some great feedback. People are loving the service where it exists! Riders have appreciated more buses coming more often along Mission Street, Geary, and on the 9 San Bruno. For the service that isn't running yet, it was great to learn that a lot of the routes riders want back are scheduled to return in August. Unfortunately, SFMTA hasn't yet released plans to bring back many other routes that riders need, particularly the 31 Balboa. Read our outreach summary to learn more about what riders are saying. | | | | | | | | | | | We're Winning Transit Lanes! | | | | SFMTA has started the process of converting Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes (a quick-build program to install transit lanes during the state of emergency) to permanent projects. We spoke up for the first project under this program, on Mission Street downtown (from 11th Street to 1st Street). Check out our letter to SFMTA. Thanks so much to all our members who called in and made sure it got approved - together we made transit history! The 14/14R Mission has some of the highest ridership in the city, both before and during the pandemic. During pre-pandemic peak periods, the buses were averaging just over 6 mph speeds through this section. The roadway simply wasn't wide enough for two lanes of traffic each way along with parking along both sides. The redesigned street removed parking on alternate sides of the street, which gives Muni a wide enough lane to travel without conflicts, and provides space for bus bulbs (widened boarding areas to be fully constructed later). This project also shows the benefits of using pilot projects as outreach. With this method, riders get benefits immediately while SFMTA assesses the project and makes alterations in real time. SFMTA did alter some elements for a final Mission Street project that was better for both riders and local businesses. Let's keep doing this across San Francisco! | | | | | | | | | Restoring Service: Bring Back the 31 | | | | On Thursday, we rallied with The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) to call for the return of the 31 Balboa. This route serves a densely populated, transit-dependent community, giving folks access to downtown and to points west - grocery stores, medical services, and open spaces. We're very concerned at the lack of plans to restore Muni service. If Muni isn't there for people soon, people will continue to be left behind. Our streets will be clogged with cars, getting no one anywhere fast, while degrading our air and climate. As we wrote to the SFMTA Board of Directors, we are focused on bringing back the 31 Balboa, the M Ocean View light rail, and more evening service as soon as possible. Our next steps will be to push for broader, sytem-wide return of service. | | | | | | | Members Get a Sneak Peak at Central Subway | | | | | | | | | September is Transit Month! | | | | Get ready for Transit Month in September! In addition to a ride-along with city leaders to City Hall and our annual Rider First Awards, we are bringing back the Muni Challenge! Six years ago, our Muni Challenge engaged the Board of Supervisors and brought needed attention to the daily challenge riding Muni can be. This year, we will be challenging city leaders, our members and partners, and everyone to ride Muni throughout September. We want to welcome people back on the bus as school returns, as folks head back to offices, and as more businesses open up. Muni is an essential part of San Francisco's recovery, and it's key to an equitable, accessible, sustainable future. As we celebrate its central role, let's talk about how we need to rebuild Muni for the future. So mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details on how you can get involved. If your employer or other organization wants to let the city know they care about great transit service, or wants to co-sponsor an event or Muni Challenge, we are always looking for more sponsors and partners - we'd love to hear from you! | | | | | | | New Transit Equity Dashboard | |  | Our partners at TransitCenter have put together an excellent tool for advocates and riders to explore the impacts of transit service (or lack thereof) on different communities. You can use the tool to evaluate access to jobs, education, medical services; compare transit access to driving; compare access by several demographic groups, and more. We found it interesting that SFMTA's equity-focused service plan in response to the pandemic in fact improved access for certain defined equity neighborhoods. As we work to rebuild Muni, we can use this tool to demonstrate, with data, where service needs to be prioritized to provide equitable access across San Francisco. | | | | | | | | | | | Hi John - Our records show you're not a member. Join today for access to member benefits, special access to events, opportunities to inform our priorities, and to support our work for awesome transit! | | | | | | | | | | | |
