Health And Fitness

Help Make Muni Safe for Everyone By Mariana Maguire New Muni “no harassment” symbol The safety of our customers and staff is a top priority for the SFMTA. That is why we are launching MuniSafe – a campaign to increase reporting of gender-based harassment through recently expanded incident reporting options. If you experience or witness an incident, help us make MuniSafe by reporting it using the Muni Feedback form at SFMTA.com/MuniFeedback, the 311 mobile app or by calling 311. Non-English speakers should call 311 for language-assisted reporting. Gender-based harassment takes many forms, affects many people and is absolutely not tolerated on Muni. Survivors should report incidents to the San Francisco Police Department if they feel comfortable doing so. By also reporting incidents directly to the SFMTA, you will help us track events that occur in our system so we can build better safety responses and direct resources to reduce gender-based harassment. New car cards that will be...

Published on August 18, 2022 at 10:00PM View on website

How Improving Muni Also Makes Life Better for Drivers By Andrea Buffa Photo credit: We Ride Australia If you mostly drive to get around San Francisco, you may be wondering, “what has the SFMTA done for me lately?” San Francisco is a “ transit first ” city, so at the SFMTA we focus our resources on making it easier for San Franciscans to get around by public transit as well as by biking, walking and personal mobility device. While it may seem like adding transit lanes and protected bike lanes doesn’t have anything to do with driving, in fact, it does.  Since San Francisco doesn’t have room to give more space to roads, we have to change the way we use the limited space on our existing streets. (Not that adding more roads reduces traffic anyway – check out this article .) City Traffic Engineer Ricardo Oleo puts it this way: “When you have a city like San Francisco that was built with density in mind, having everyone drive is not a viable option. There’s not enough room to have th...

Keeping Muni Riders Safe By Andrea Buffa After several years without a major violent incident on Muni, we’ve recently experienced two tragic shootings. On June 22, two passengers got into an altercation, and one of the passengers fatally shot another passenger and injured a bystander. The shooter was quickly apprehended by the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) thanks to our collaboration and use of clear, state-of-the-art surveillance cameras on board our vehicles. On August 3, there was a targeted shooting on a Muni vehicle driving through the Sunnydale neighborhood; one passenger was killed, and a bystander sustained a minor injury. SFPD’s Homicide Detail is investigating the incident, and we are fully cooperating by providing the SFPD with onboard and street-facing video data.  We offer our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families who are suffering right now.   While these recent incidents appear to be an anomaly and instances of isolated, targeted conf...

Published on August 01, 2022 at 10:00PM View on website

Muni is Ready to Take Kids Back to School By Shalon Rogers Photo caption: Every SFUSD elementary, middle and high school is served by at least one Muni route and are within a five-minute walk of a Muni stop  As the first day of school for San Francisco students approaches, the SFMTA wants to ensure that families have reliable, efficient transportation to get them to and from school.   To help determine which bus your child can take to school, the SFMTA has put together a list of  Muni routes that serve SFUSD schools . This resource shows the closest transit options for all San Francisco public elementary, middle and high schools. You can also plan your student’s door-to-door trip on Muni, biking or walking with the SFMTA’s trip planner .  Service changes implemented in July , including the restoration of the 2 Sutter , 6 Parnassus and 21 Hayes , as well as the extension of the 23 Monterey down Sloat Boulevard and the 43 Masonic to the Marina, have ensured that at...

Published on July 30, 2022 at 10:00PM View on website

Six Generations of Pint-Sized Buses Serve Muni’s Toughest Routes By Jeremy Menzies For over 80 years, special fleets of shorter than usual buses have been reserved for some of the City’s toughest routes. Winding through tight bends and climbing up steep grades, these pint-sized coaches ensure access to transit in neighborhoods where standard-length buses cannot go. As the SFMTA phases in a brand-new batch of shorter buses, here’s a look at all six generations of Muni’s “mini” fleet. “Baby White” Buses: 1938-1975 The first generation of short-length buses was intended for regular use on all Muni bus routes. Made by the White Motor Company in Cleveland, Ohio, this fleet came to SF in 1938. The buses were nicknamed “Baby Whites” after a group of longer White Co. buses arrived in 1947. In the mid 1950s, all but three of these buses were retired. The three saved continued to run on the 39 Coit Tower route until 1975—in service longer than any other bus before or after.   This bus ...

Midyear Check-In: SFMTA Milestones in 2022 By Erica Kato Despite the ups and downs of COVID-19 in 2022, the SFMTA has been highly productive so far this year, keeping everyone moving and supporting San Francisco’s recovery from the pandemic. We increased Muni service in February and April, completed the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit corridor and have moved forward with our quick-build program that help us reap the benefits of safe street design faster than ever, among other accomplishments. As we head in to the second half of the year, we continue to think creatively and expedite processes and practices that have traditionally required long lead times. We’re proud to give an update on some of our projects with significant milestones happening before year’s end. There’s a lot to look forward to. Muni riders in the subway   Here's a snapshot of what we’re currently working on: Muni Service: July 9, 2022 : Muni service changes, including the restoration of the 2 Sutter (m...

SFMTA Receives $116 Million Award from CalSTA By A Snapshot from our most recent round of service changes Back in June, we published a blog about the loss of Proposition A , the Muni Reliability and Street Safety Bond, and what it would mean for our infrastructure projects going forward. In the post, we reaffirmed our commitment to find alternative sources for these funds. We know that improving Muni and making streets safer remain priorities for our community—and we’re dedicated to making that a reality. We’ve also committed to being transparent about our financial situation and budget, and we have good news to share on that front. Last week, the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) awarded us $116 million for SFMTA Core Capacity projects as part of the fifth cycle of the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) . This historic investment will be used to directly fund projects that will make Muni more reliable and dependable. Speeding up Muni and maki...

The Lasting Legacy of the 1913 Bion Arnold Report By Jeremy Menzies Looking back at San Francisco’s transportation history, one study from 1913 has impacted the city’s transit system for over 100 years. Commissioned by city officials, the “ Report on the Improvement and Development of the Transportation Facilities of San Francisco ” by engineer Bion J. Arnold , is a comprehensive study of transit in the city. The 450-page report covers everything from rush hour congestion to plans for a Market Street subway. This document is essential to understanding our city’s transportation history and some of its recommendations are still in use today. This 1910 view of Market and Sutter streets shows just some of the complex issues that the Arnold report addressed.   Building Muni One section of the report is entirely dedicated to specifications for building and improving the city’s cable and street cars. Muni’s very first streetcars, frequently called “Arnold” cars, were specified bas...

Details on Expanded Bus Service Coming July 9 By Mariana Maguire Photo caption: The 6 Haight-Parnassus is one of the Muni bus routes that will be brought back into service July 9, 2022 after being temporarily suspended since March 2020. On July 9, the next phase of the 2022 Muni Service Network plan will go into effect, focused on expanding bus service including the return of the 2 Sutter, 6 Haight-Parnassus and 21 Hayes (with some route changes), as well as other route extensions and modifications. Public feedback helped us prioritize bringing back routes and connections many communities rely on. Read more about what we heard from the public and how we incorporated feedback into the 2022 service proposal. As resources allow, our service changes will continue prioritizing service linking neighborhoods identified by our Muni Service Equity Strategy to essential destinations like hospitals and neighborhood commercial corridors, accommodate changing travel patterns and getting...

What’s next after the loss of Prop A? By Andrea Buffa On Tuesday, June 17, the San Francisco Department of Election posted the final results of the June 7 election. Proposition A, the Muni Reliability and Street Safety Bond, received 65.11%, well over 50%, but short of the 66.67% share of the vote that’s required for passage.  If passed, the bond measure would have provided $400 million for transportation infrastructure projects, including: $250 million on the repair and renovation of SFMTA bus yards, facilities, and equipment $26 million on traffic improvements, such as new traffic signals, wider sidewalks at bus stops and dedicated traffic lanes $10 million on improvements to the Muni train system, including the train communication and control systems $42 million on traffic signal and street crossing improvements, such as more visible traffic and pedestrian signals, curb ramps and signs $42 million on street redesigns that include wider sidewalks, raised crosswalks, pro...

Golden Gate Park: Spring 2022 Update By Eillie Anzilotti Credit: Lauren White Since the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to keep three miles of roadway through Golden Gate Park—including the JFK Promenade—free of cars, the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department and the SFMTA project team have been hard at work implementing the over 40 programmatic efforts to support safety, equity, accessibility, and mobility in the Park. Curious about what we’ve been working on? Read on for recent highlights: New accessible parking options in the Bandshell lot At the end of May, the new Bandshell lot was officially completed and opened for use! The renovation opened up 20 new accessible parking spaces and four spaces for accessible vans, along with new curb ramps and direct, accessible paths of travel to the Japanese Tea Garden and Music Concourse. Credit: Chava Kronenberg The community shuttle program rolls on Since February 2022, Rec & Park has been running a commu...

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In-Person Pride Parade & Celebrations Return This Month! By Pamela Johnson The SFMTA is happy to join San Francisco Pride celebrations when they return to in-person events this month as the city continues its recovery from the pandemic. This year’s theme is “Love will Keep Us Together.” The Trans March is happening on Friday, June 24 and the Pride Parade is on Sunday, June 26. SFMTA staff are, of course, an important part of the LGBTQIA+ community that keeps SF moving with Pride. Pride is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our continued support of the LGBTQIA+ community, promoting our core values of respect, inclusivity and integrity.  History/Background of SF Pride   San Francisco had its first Pride celebration in 1970. For more than three decades the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies have been moving San Francisco forward to become a better, safer, and more equitable world for the LGBTQIA+ community and the city a better place for people to live, work and ...

Improving Safety on 16th Street By John Gravener Construction on Phase 2 of the 16th Street Improvement Project began May 9, 2022. 16th Street is part of the city’s High Injury Network , where 75% of the city’s severe and fatal traffic incidents occur on just 12% of the city’s streets. This project, in addition to improving reliability of the 22 Fillmore line, has several pedestrian safety features that will make 16th Street a safer place for all modes of transportation. For people who walk on 16th Street: One of these safety elements is the installation of 2 new pedestrian bulbs at Guerrero Street and South Van Ness Avenue. These bulbs shorten the crossing distance between the corners of an intersection and make people who are about to cross the street more visible to drivers. The bulbs also require vehicles to slow down when making right-hand turns. High-visibility crosswalks will be installed. These make it easier for people driving to see people crossing the street, and als...

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Muni Metro Fix It! Week Improves Rail Service, Safety and Reliability By Jessie Liang Overhead Line Department replacing wire and custodians cleaning metro station during Fix It! Week, April 19, 2022 A new quarterly effort to increase work time to accomplish necessary Muni Metro system maintenance in April 2022 was a resounding success. Here is a behind-the-scenes video recap . The maintenance initiatives aimed at making subway operations more reliable and preventing feature breakdowns. The maintenance teams were able to perform an entire month of work within the 10 days when subway service was substituted by bus service to provide SFMTA workers the extended Fix It! Week work window.  Every night after Muni Metro subway service hours, SFMTA maintenance crews work to maintain the tracks and equipment underground. On most nights, this gives our teams only about two hours to get work done. During the first Fix It! Week, from April 14 to April 23, 2022, buses provided substitute s...

Muni Adding More Service July 9 By Mariana Maguire The 6 Haight/Parnassus was temporarily suspended in March 2020 and will be brought back into service July 9, 2022, along with the 2 Sutter and 21 Hayes.  As the SFMTA prioritizes service equity and responds to changing travel patterns, we are planning to bring back additional routes that have been temporarily suspended since March 2020: The 2 Sutter (formerly 2 Clement), 6 Haight/Parnassus and 21 Hayes. The 6 Haight/Parnassus will return to its full pre-pandemic route, while the 2 Sutter and 21 Hayes will return in response to community feedback with changes to make the most of limited resources. System improvements like transit-only lanes and subway upgrades have helped us make transit service more reliable overall as we keep restoring routes.   These changes are part of the 2022 Muni Service Network plan . Read more about what we heard from the public and how we incorporated feedback into the 2022 service proposal....