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Showing posts from September, 2020

The First Step to Battery Electric Muni Buses

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The First Step to Battery Electric Muni Buses By Bradley Dunn Starting in early October, the SFMTA will take a big leap forward in implementing its Sustainability and Climate Action Program by installing nine new charging stations at Muni Woods Division to power the agency’s first battery electric buses after significant progress in battery technology in recent years. The project will kick off the pilot program  to determine the SFMTA’s future charging methods for new zero-emission e-buses. A battery-electric bus turns from Mission on to South Van Ness To find out if battery electric bus technology is ready for San Francisco, the SFMTA is implementing an 18-month battery-electric bus pilot program. The SFMTA will procure three 40-foot buses each from three different manufacturers to test their performance in revenue service for 18 months. The first three battery electric buses are expected to arrive in spring 2021 as part of the pilot program . Questions remain about whethe
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The First Step to Battery Electric Muni Buses

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The First Step to Battery Electric Muni Buses By Jay Lu Starting in early October, the SFMTA will take a big leap forward in implementing its Sustainability and Climate Action Program by installing nine new charging stations at Muni Woods Division to power the agency’s first battery electric buses after significant progress in battery technology in recent years. The project will kick off the pilot program  to determine the SFMTA’s future charging methods for new zero-emission e-buses. A battery-electric bus turns from Mission on to South Van Ness To find out if battery electric bus technology is ready for San Francisco, the SFMTA is implementing an 18-month battery-electric bus pilot program. The SFMTA will procure three 40-foot buses each from three different manufacturers to test their performance in revenue service for 18 months. The first three battery electric buses are expected to arrive in spring 2021 as part of the pilot program . Questions remain about whether batt
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Unclog Fog City

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Unclog Fog City By Bradley Dunn Congestion has increased between March 2020 and September 2020. Find out more about congestion with the  San Francisco Congestion Tracker Before the pandemic, congestion in San Francisco was the worst it has ever been.  As the economy has been reopening, traffic congestion has begun to climb. Our partner agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), has released a digital game where you can help manage this traffic congestion by pricing it.  Curbing congestion  As congestion returns, commutes get longer and severe and fatal collisions and climate emissions increase. Low-income communities and communities of color- with high use of public transit, and living in areas with high rates of traffic collisions and air pollution-bear the brunt of the burden of congestion’s impact.    In 2019, the city started to investigate how reduce congestion and congestion’s unwanted and inequitable outcomes by using pricing . Congestion pricing i
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Let's Hit the Beach!

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Let's Hit the Beach! By Benjamin Barnett Last week, the Golden Gate Park Slow Streets Expansion opened to the public. People walking, biking, running and skating can now enjoy a nearly car-free route from the Panhandle all to the way to Ocean Beach. Connecting the City  Golden Gate Park Slow Streets are a collaboration between the SFMTA and the Recreation and Park Department. These new Slow Streets provide the last link in a route prioritized for people on bikes stretching from the Ferry Building to the ocean by connecting to the network of bikeways, Slow Streets, and streets previously closed during the health emergency. Starting from the Ferry Building you may now head down a  Car-Free Market Street , then up the hill on the  Page Slow Street  connecting you to  Golden Gate Park's newly expanded network .   Golden Gate Park Slow Streets will begin at Stanyan Street and John F. Kennedy Drive East on the park’s eastern edge and connect with the stretch of JFK from Kezar D
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September 24th: Bike to Work Day is now Bike to Wherever Day

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September 24th: Bike to Work Day is now Bike to Wherever Day By Sophia Scherr Many things are different in 2020, including Bike to Work Day. With fewer people going into work, September 24 is now Bike to Wherever Day reminding people that bicycle trips aren’t just for commuting. Thanks to our new Shared Spaces program you can go to even more places. Riding your bike helps the environment, reduces traffic congestion and is a green way to see San Francisco. As Muni is still only for essential trips, adopting alternate modes of transportation as biking helps. To get involved with this event, on September 24th, share why bike to wherever is special to you and reward yourself with a free Bike to Wherever tote bag at one of many curbside pickup locations . Here are the details: Grab a FREE canvas tote bag via curbside pickup : pedal by the Bike to Wherever Day curbside pickup or stop by a participating bike shop to grab the classic #BTWD tote bag.  Volunteer to flyer your neighbo
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Fare Inspection Reimagined

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Fare Inspection Reimagined By Kimberly Burrus As Muni’s Transit Fare Inspectors return to service, the SFMTA is excited to share a new approach that we have for how we will check for fare payment and interact with our customers. Rather than focusing solely on enforcement, the priority will shift to helping customers comply with fare policies. To support this new approach, our Transit Fare Inspectors will be returning over multiple phases this fall and they will have a new look. At the beginning of the public health emergency, Muni fare inspectors took on disaster service worker duties, but Muni never stopped collecting fares. Muni customer fares provide approximately 20% of our revenue and we depend on fares to provide transit service. A Transit Fare Inspector models their new uniform. Phased-in Return This week Muni fare inspectors have joined SFMTA’s larger ambassador program to provide customer assistance throughout the system. This is the start of the phased-in process for M
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Need help riding Muni? We’ve got TIPs!

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Need help riding Muni? We’ve got TIPs! By Mariana Maguire In April 2020, as part of our emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched the COVID-19 SFMTA Ambassador program along Market Street – one of the city’s busiest Muni corridors where multiple core transit routes overlap and connect. As we have restored more Muni service and increased frequency on routes, demand has grown for ambassadors to serve additional high ridership locations and support ongoing Muni public health and customer information needs. To meet this public need, we are expanding the program beyond Market Street and are renaming it the Transit Information Program (TIP). Photo: Former COVID-19 Ambassadors, now known as Transit Information Program staff (TIPs) TIP staff (TIPs) come from many of our existing customer facing programs and staff divisions whose jobs changed because of the shifts to our system due to COVID-19. For example, you might meet a cable car or historic streetcar operator handing ou
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Muni Transit Recovery and Measuring the Transportation Recovery Plan’s Progress

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Muni Transit Recovery and Measuring the Transportation Recovery Plan’s Progress By Bradley Dunn As the economy takes further steps to reopen this month, the SFMTA remains committed to transparency. Today, we are releasing our Muni: Transit Recovery   ( Recuperación de Muni Transit , 恢復公交服務 , and Pagbawi ng Muni Transit ) report along with new data dashboards that help us evaluate the SFMTA’s overall response during COVID-19. Taken together, these reports give a window into what we are doing and how we plan to move forward. Muni: Transit Recovery Report   ( Recuperación de Muni Transit , 恢復公交服務 , and Pagbawi ng Muni Transit ) This report explains how we are adapting to meet San Francisco’s changing transportation needs and what our customers and the public can expect from Muni. It also reminds our customers of both what they need to do to ride Muni and what we’re doing to minimize the risk of transmission while getting essential workers where they need to go.  Examples include: W
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Muni Transit Recovery and Measuring the Transportation Recovery Plan’s Progress

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Muni Transit Recovery and Measuring the Transportation Recovery Plan’s Progress By Emily Stefiuk As the economy takes further steps to reopen this month, the SFMTA remains committed to transparency. Today, we are releasing our Muni: Transit Recovery   ( Recuperación de Muni Transit , 恢復公交服務 , and Pagbawi ng Muni Transit ) report along with new data dashboards that help us evaluate the SFMTA’s overall response during COVID-19. Taken together, these reports give a window into what we are doing and how we plan to move forward. Muni: Transit Recovery Report   ( Recuperación de Muni Transit , 恢復公交服務 , and Pagbawi ng Muni Transit ) This report explains how we are adapting to meet San Francisco’s changing transportation needs and what our customers and the public can expect from Muni. It also reminds our customers of both what they need to do to ride Muni and what we’re doing to minimize the risk of transmission while getting essential workers where they need to go.  Examples include:
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Scooters to Fill Transportation Gaps in More Neighborhoods

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Scooters to Fill Transportation Gaps in More Neighborhoods By Bradley Dunn Recent SFMTA authorization enables scooter companies to deploy more scooters and expand into new neighborhoods across San Francisco. Scooters can help by offering an efficient travel choice that is environmentally friendly and fills transportation gaps, especially for shorter trips. With reduced Muni service and returning traffic congestion, the city is focused on promoting sustainable efficient modes of transportation, such as scooters, that do not contribute to congestion or pollution.  More Scooters and Areas Served To make the scooters   more available, the SFMTA recently updated the process and criteria for scooter permittees to request a fleet increase.  To be eligible for expansion, they must meet key service, compliance and equity goals like a low-income access program. The companies must also serve new neighborhoods and show an increase in users and/or trips using the Adaptive Scooter Pilot, an effo
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Traffic Changes on Van Ness Begin September 14

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Traffic Changes on Van Ness Begin September 14 By Nehama Rogozen If you travel on Van Ness Avenue, get ready for your travel lane to shift starting next week. Beginning on the evening of Monday, September 14, the Van Ness Improvement Project will begin shifting lanes on Van Ness Avenue so that work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system can continue in the middle of the street. This summer, the project reached a significant milestone by completing the utilities phase and moving into the BRT buildout phase. The utilities phase focused on updating essential services that San Franciscans rely on, such as water and sewer systems, a firefighting system and street lighting. The new BRT buildout phase will include building out red transit lanes, putting in new medians and bus boarding islands, connecting new traffic signal lights,  installing plants and adding an irrigation system. On the evening of Monday, September 14, southbound lanes between Pacific and Lombard streets will move over
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Virtual Open House for the Bayview Quick Build Project

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Virtual Open House for the Bayview Quick Build Project By Benjamin Barnett Live on Monday - Click Here to Access the Virtual Open House The SFMTA will be holding a Virtual Open House on the Bayview Hunters Point Quick-Build Project for Evans Avenue, Hunters Point Boulevard, and Innes Avenue. This project is an effort to improve pedestrian and cyclist visibility while reducing opportunities for reckless driving by implementing cost-effective and temporary design treatments that can be installed quickly. At the event you can learn more about the proposed changes, ask questions or make official public comments.  Virtual Open House Details  Join us online starting September 7- September 21. The interactive, online event can be accessed at any time during the two-week period. Like the SFMTA’s in-person project open houses, when you access the event you will be able to learn more about the project such as the schedule, project background, and other aspects through virtual informational
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Enforcement in Residential Parking Permit Areas to Resume September 14th

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Enforcement in Residential Parking Permit Areas to Resume September 14th By Phillip Pierce To make more parking available to neighborhood residents as more businesses open, enforcement of parking time limits in all Residential Parking Permit (RPP) areas is set to resume September 14, 2020. Vehicles with a valid permit for their area, those displaying a disabled placard or vehicles with disabled license plate are exempt from the time limits. If you don’t have a valid RPP for an area, you will be required to move your vehicle a minimum of one block before the time limit expires. A picture of a residential parking sign. At the start of shelter in place earlier this year, enforcement within RPP areas was temporarily suspended. As more of the city reopens to activity, parking rules are restarting to be sure the limited supply of curbside parking is available for residents, customers of local business and visitors. SFMTA Parking Control Officers have begun placing warnings on vehicles w
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Enforcement in Residential Parking Permit Areas to Resume September 14th

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Enforcement in Residential Parking Permit Areas to Resume September 14th By Kathryn Studwell To make more parking available to neighborhood residents as more businesses open, enforcement of parking time limits in all Residential Parking Permit (RPP) areas is set to resume September 14, 2020. Vehicles with a valid permit for their area, those displaying a disabled placard or vehicles with disabled license plate are exempt from the time limits. If you don’t have a valid RPP for an area, you will be required to move your vehicle a minimum of one block before the time limit expires. A picture of a residential parking sign. At the start of shelter in place earlier this year, enforcement within RPP areas was temporarily suspended. As more of the city reopens to activity, parking rules are restarting to be sure the limited supply of curbside parking is available for residents, customers of local business and visitors. SFMTA Parking Control Officers have begun placing warnings on vehicles
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