Behind the Scenes: Making Muni Service Changes

Behind the Scenes: Making Muni Service Changes
By Sean Kennedy

Have you ever wondered what it takes to modify or add Muni service? Customers often ask if we can bring back or make changes to their routes. Making Muni service changes usually takes many steps over several months. In a typical year, the SFMTA conducts three major service changes: in spring, late summer and winter. Each of these requires months of work and many different SFMTA teams to get implemented.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been anything but typical, and we adapted our service change process to quickly prioritize public health guidance, support essential travel and steadily bringing back routes for communities who depend on transit the most. By August 2021, SFMTA staff will have implemented 12 service changes in 18 months --up to five times faster than usual! With each change, we worked to bring back Muni better. The speed and operational dynamics required to deliver a service change process that typically takes months in a matter of weeks has meant temporarily adjusting how we make service changes. This pace has meant a significantly reduced ability to do pre-implementation public outreach.

We’ve launched a web page that explains the process in detail, before and during COVID. There you can learn about the steps involved in each phase of a typical Muni service change, and how COVID-19 Muni Core Service changes have been different.

Non-COVID Service Change Process

Historically, the process for making service changes consists of the following phases and takes about six months or more:

1. Developing a service change plan
2. Vetting the service change plan
3. Legislating the service change plan
4. Scheduling operator shifts
5. Union approval of the operator shifts
6. Operator sign-ups for shifts
7. Implementation, when the changes go into effect

COVID-19 Muni Core Service Plan Changes

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, demands for Muni service and resource constraints changed quickly. The service change process was compressed to speed up the restoration of service, with significant cuts to steps in almost every phase.

Learn more about what changed and how the dedicated SFMTA Transit Planning team have worked to prioritize service restoration.

Looking Ahead

As of January 2021, 100% of neighborhoods identified by SFMTA’s Muni Service Equity Strategy are within two to three blocks of a Muni stop. By August 2021, in time for school to restart, 98% of all San Franciscans will have Muni access within two to three blocks of their home or work.

Published June 18, 2021 at 09:28PM
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SFMTA Street Changes Improve Safety in the Tenderloin

SFMTA Street Changes Improve Safety in the Tenderloin
By Samantha Serafica

 

Protected bike lane and active flex space along the 300 block of Golden Gate

Between 2015-2019, the average rate of a person getting hit by a vehicle while walking or biking along the Tenderloin stretch of Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street was every nine days. The Tenderloin is a densely populated and diverse community located in the heart of San Francisco. It is home to high concentrations of seniors, children, people of color, people experiencing homelessness and people with limited-English proficiency – many of whom live below the poverty line. These groups are most at risk of dying or being severely injured in traffic collisions.

Because of these concerns, the SFMTA launched two quick-build projects on Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street with preliminary design phases in February 2020. Considering their similar traffic calming goals, physical proximity and shared audience, we pursued a joint outreach campaign for both projects. SFMTA staff began this outreach through door-to-door canvassing, walkalongs, in-person meetings and emails to engage directly with stakeholders and collect project feedback before starting design.

Facing the Pandemic

Unfortunately, public health restrictions associated with the emerging COVID-19 healthy emergency led to a hold on both projects so that staff could allocate resources to address other critical issues that began to arise. To address immediate social distancing and physical space needs in the Tenderloin, the SFMTA worked with community organizations like St. Anthony’s, GLIDE and Tenderloin Community Benefit District (TLCBD) to implement several street improvements such as block closures, physical distancing lanes and temporary vehicle restrictions.

When the projects resumed in fall 2020, COVID-19 health and safety protocols were still in effect and pushed many meetings, typically held in-person, to online formats. We also partnered with the Tenderloin People’s Congress to hold virtual toolkit forums, community workshops and other conversations.

In place of a traditional, one-time, in-person event, staff created a virtual open house with interactive features and information about the projects. Published in seven different languages, the site remained open over a five-week period, allowing greater flexibility for people to view the information and provide feedback. Staff also hosted virtual office hours to provide space for questions and additional comments. Following the virtual open house, both projects held a public hearing in April 2021 and were cleared to start construction in May.

Impact

Every street in the Tenderloin is on the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network, the 13% of city streets where 75% of severe and fatal collision occur. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the challenges of addressing the safety needs of the neighborhood. Now, our recently constructed quick-builds on Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street are helping to address the unsafe vehicle speeds and failures to yield that have made up the majority of traffic incidents in the Tenderloin.  

The relationships built from the Safer Taylor project provided a foundation to continue conversations with the community about traffic safety improvements in the neighborhood. Staff began outreach through door-to-door canvassing, walkalongs, in-person meetings and emails to engage directly with stakeholders and collect project feedback before starting design.

Throughout construction, SFMTA staff continued to collaborate with local partners such as Code Tenderloin and TLCBD to provide construction notifications to businesses and residents on the corridors. Both Golden Gate and Leavenworth street changes brought innovative quick-build improvements to the Tenderloin, such as an active flex space, and bringing these projects to life under COVID-19 required creativity, flexibility and strong community support.

What’s Next

Partnering with community organizations allows SFMTA staff to engage with stakeholders that would have otherwise been unreachable due to public safety concerns. While quick-build construction is complete, our work in the Tenderloin will continue. Some next steps include evaluating the quick-builds, exploring potential future projects and transitioning some of our COVID-19 emergency streets to quick-build improvements. Community partnerships with local groups and individual residents will continue to sustain and strengthen our work in the Tenderloin.

 

 

Published June 18, 2021 at 04:23AM
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Geary Transit Lanes Proving Their Worth

Geary Transit Lanes Proving Their Worth
By Amy Fowler

The verdict is in: transit lanes on Geary Boulevard are keeping riders moving apace, despite citywide trends of increasing traffic.

Muni has remained critical for San Franciscans making essential trips throughout the pandemic. The Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes program quickly installed temporary transit lanes on key routes across San Francisco to help preserve the travel time gains we saw during the early days of the pandemic. Since emergency transit lanes were installed in the Richmond neighborhood last winter, we have been able to lock in 50-75% of those travel time savings for 38 Geary customers where transit lanes were added.

Emergency transit lanes and other transit improvements were installed along segments of Geary Boulevard between 33rd Avenue and Stanyan Street.

Geary is one of the busiest bus corridors in North America. The new transit lanes are building on the success of the Geary Rapid Project, which is making much-needed transit and safety improvements between Market and Stanyan streets and is now close to wrapping up construction --on time and on budget. Combined with the emergency transit lanes in the Richmond, 75% of the Geary corridor now has transit lanes.

The Geary corridor also features new wooden sidewalk extensions at some of the 38R Geary Rapid’s busiest bus stops. These temporary extensions allow buses to stay in the transit lane when picking up and dropping off passengers, making them more accessible and reliable.

Passengers board a 38R Geary Rapid in the Richmond District with the help of a temporary wooden "bus bulb."

After the temporary emergency transit lanes were installed, they were evaluated using several criteria, including recommendations we heard from the community to ensure that the improvements aren’t creating unintended problems. Metrics we looked at included bus travel times, bus crowding and effects on vehicle traffic.

Some of the key takeaways are:

• Transit lanes have improved 38 Geary bus performance despite increasing traffic. In spring 2021, after transit lanes were installed, 38/38R Geary travel times were up to 4% quicker than in fall 2020 just before the lanes were installed, and up to 13% quicker compared with pre-COVID levels.
• Minimal traffic impacts to Geary Boulevard or parallel streets. While we did see reduced traffic speeds on Geary Boulevard between fall 2020 (before the lanes were installed) and spring 2021 (after lanes were installed), those reductions were similar to speed changes we observed on control streets 25th Avenue and Arguello Boulevard. Notably, streets parallel to Geary Boulevard experienced even smaller speed reductions, indicating that diversions to other streets have likely been minimal.
• A majority of people who took our evaluation survey support making the transit lanes permanent. 52% of the over 700 people surveyed supported maintaining the lanes; 15% were neutral or unsure; while 33% were opposed.

Considering the positive evaluation findings and support for maintaining the transit lanes,  we are proposing to make them permanent. The legislation for doing so will be presented to the SFMTA Board of Directors, likely in July 2021.

Learn more about the evaluation results and next steps on the project webpage.

Project staff will also host a “Virtual Office Hours” session on Wednesday, June 30 between 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to answer questions about the evaluation results and next steps.

Revised Geary Boulevard Improvement Project design

The Geary Boulevard Improvement Project (Phase 2 of Geary BRT) had previously envisioned transit lanes in the center of the street between Arguello Boulevard and 28th Avenue. In light of the emergency transit lane evaluation results and other factors, the SFMTA is now pursuing a revised side-running design, which could include additional transit lanes, bus stop modifications and safety improvements. Outreach to seek input on these changes is planned for later this year.

Published June 17, 2021 at 02:01AM
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SFMTA Community Survey: We Asked and You Answered

SFMTA Community Survey: We Asked and You Answered
By Benjamin Barnett

 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the SFMTA has been looking for ways to strengthen our system and improve our efficiency. We are using this opportunity to come back as a better version of ourselves. A big part of making transportation improvements is to hear from the public about what works and what we can do better. Earlier this spring we completed a community survey of over a thousand San Franciscans asking for your thoughts about public transportation in San Francisco and here is what you had to say:

Muni is Essential for Social Equity

Muni service is essential to making San Francisco a socially equitable and just city. Seven of ten people surveyed describe Muni as an affordable transportation option, and more than two-thirds also support expanding our existing reduced fare programs for youth, seniors, and low-income residents. Seniors, people with disabilities, people of color and low-income San Franciscans have the fewest transportation options and rely on Muni. We are committed to removing any and all barriers to access, including income.

Overall, having more frequent and reliable service was a higher priority (68%) than lowering fares for everyone (28%). At the same time, for those households with incomes under $35,000, lowering fares was the higher priority. We want to ensure that the cost of a Muni fare isn’t a barrier to transportation, and the SFMTA is working to identify funding to expand free and discounted fares without sacrificing Muni service. As San Franciscans recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Muni service is essential to ensuring everyone in the city can access jobs, health care, schools and groceries, regardless of their income or neighborhood.

Need for More Transportation Funding

Over the last twenty years the demands on San Francisco’s transportation system have increased while revenues haven’t kept up, and the pandemic has only made these problems worse. Recent federal aid helped prevent steep cuts to Muni service but these one-time funds were only a stop-gap measure.

We are encouraged that San Franciscans have heard our message about the agency’s need to rethink funding for the future. Approximately three-quarters of survey respondents see a need for additional funds to improve Muni and back the concept of potential funding proposals to provide it. Seven out of ten people are concerned about a lack of funding leading to service reductions.

Improving on Environmental Goals

Public transit is one of the most important tools we have in the fight against climate change. Eight of ten people describe Muni as good for the environment. By investing in electric buses, improving the reliability and speed of Muni service and making the city a safer place to walk and bike, we are making transit more environmentally sustainable. We already have one of the greenest fleets in the world, but we are committed to transitioning to an all-electric fleet in the years to come.

Muni Service and Facility Upgrades 

One interesting note, a majority of people surveyed rate Muni service as “good.” More frequent Muni riders were even more positive about Muni’s service (75% rated it excellent/good). However, improving the speed, frequency and reliability of buses and trains is a top priority for San Franciscans. Key improvements residents want prioritized include:

• Providing quick, convenient transit access to all parts of San Francisco
• Repairing and maintaining Muni equipment and facilities to ensure vehicles’ safety, frequency and reliability
• Increasing and improving Muni service for the communities most dependent on transit
• Ensuring Muni service is inclusive and accessible to all
• Reducing delays to make Muni more reliable

Next Steps

We are continuing to gather feedback from the public and from SFMTA staff to ensure our transportation projects and programs reflect our community’s priorities and values. Your feedback will be the focus of our planning and guide us in making tough choices with limited resources. We will be using survey research to better understand the pandemic’s impact on transportation in the community. In the coming months, we will be fielding our bi-annual travel decision and Muni Rider surveys, as well soliciting more feedback about community transportation priorities. We want to thank you for your input and are working hard to bring you the service that you deserve. For more information, read the detailed report of our survey results.

 

Published June 16, 2021 at 07:32AM
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Cable Cars are Returning this Summer!

Cable Cars are Returning this Summer!
By

Restored Cable Car 8 being readied for return to service

Nothing says “San Francisco” quite like our historic cable cars--and they’ll soon be gracing our streets once more. As the city intensifies its focus to supporting economic recovery, residents, regional visitors and tourists will see the return of the iconic cable cars and hear their chiming bells from Union Square to Fisherman’s Wharf. Today, the SFMTA, along with Mayor London N. Breed, announced that cable cars will be gliding down the city’s picturesque hilltops this summer as downtown economic activity returns.

SFMTA staff will conduct mechanical inspections of the historic vehicles and operator retraining in mid-July. By the first week of August, we will test the system by inviting passengers aboard for the duration of a “mock service" trial, riding the lines where cable cars are operating and making stops. This mock service will be irregular, not following a particular schedule, as we work out any kinks in the system that might arise.

By early September, cable car service will return - first to the Powell-Hyde line from about 7:30 a.m. until about 10 p.m. (though cars returning to the cable car barn after 10 p.m. will continue to take ride to Chinatown). Service on the Powell-Mason and California routes will then follow.

Last March, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SFMTA temporarily halted cable car service as part of the city’s emergency response. This decision was made to best protect operators and the public. Muni resources were then shifted to a core network --a  limited number of the most in-demand routes--to serve essential workers and accommodate physical distancing on San Francisco’s most utilized lines. The result was the longest cable car shutdown since the full system reconstruction in the 1980s. Now, to reboot the system requires significant work. Leading up to the return of San Francisco's cable cars, the SFMTA will recertify operators, hire line inspectors and prepare our infrastructure to accommodate service.

Stay tuned for more details in the coming months!

Anyone interested in cable car service updates is encouraged to subscribe to text or e-mail updates for more information.

Published June 16, 2021 at 03:36AM
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Celebrity Voice Announcements Welcome Back Muni Riders

Celebrity Voice Announcements Welcome Back Muni Riders
By Stephen Chun

 In case the folks announcing “Welcome back Muni riders!” and “Thanks for riding Muni!” when you ride our buses or trains sound familiar, you’re not mistaken. Those are INDEED celebrity voices!

Since the SFMTA’s Muni Service Restoration on May 15th, riders have been entertained with welcome back greetings and thank you announcements from local legends in our Metro subway stations and on various rail and bus routes all around the city.   

Celebrities providing voiceovers as a fun way to welcome back riders include San Francisco Mayor London Breed, celebrity chef Martin Yan, Forty Niners legend and wide receiver Jerry Rice, award winning actor and SF native BD Wong , voice of the San Francisco Giants Renel Brooks-Moon, play-by-play announcer of the San Francisco Giants Dave Flemming, and San Francisco’s queer and trans non-profit community service and performance order, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. With many more to come!

By the way, did we miss anyone? Which local San Franciscan or celebrity would you like to hear?

To our riders: we thank and appreciate you for choosing Muni after such a tough year. We hope this campaign brings some joy to your trip. The SFMTA is dedicated to helping you reach your destination anywhere in San Francisco as the city reopens.

Looking ahead to August, pending pandemic protocols, more than a dozen bus routes that were temporarily suspended due to pandemic-related service reductions will be restored. With this effort we plan to bring 98% of San Francisco within two to three blocks of a Muni stop.

The SFMTA would like to thank our celebrities for lending their voices as we connect San Francisco through a safe, equitable, and sustainable transportation system. We look forward to seeing you onboard! As Mayor London Breed says, “We're so happy to have you back on Muni!”

 

Published June 14, 2021 at 11:01PM
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