Friday, June 25, 2021

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery
By Jason Hyde

Photo of two powered scooter riders, a skateboard user, and pedestrians

The SFMTA is releasing its next round of Powered Scooter Share permits on July 1.

Scooters remain a sustainable mode of travel and a complement to Muni and public transit service as the city recovers from the pandemic and San Franciscans begin to travel more. The SFMTA’s Powered Scooter Share Program is essential in ensuring that shared scooter operations support the city’s economic recovery in a safe, sustainable, and equitable way. 

The SFMTA received four submittals for the permit program and will issue permits to two operators: Spin and Lime. Permits will be in effect for a one-year term, with the option to extend for another year at the discretion of the SFMTA based on compliance with various program metrics.

While the new permit program does not set a limit on the number of scooters each operator may deploy, it does limit the overall citywide fleet size at 10,000. Starting at a base of 2,000 scooters per operator, permittees will be encouraged to apply for permission add scooters in 500 increments every several months. Fleet size increases will be predicated on compliance with SFMTA defined metrics and policy outcomes, including those focused on equity, access, and sustainability.

Allowable Scooter Fleet Size at Permit Launch

Lime      2,000

Spin       2,000

The SFMTA also received an application for the 2021 Powered Scooter Share Permit Program from Scoot. The Agency recently learned of revelations, confirmed by Scoot, that the company has been using unauthorized subcontractors in violation of the terms and conditions of the 2019 permit program. The SFMTA takes these issues very seriously, and will defer a decision on 2021 permit issuance to Scoot to allow time for full investigation and complete its evaluation. Scoot service will pause on July 1st during this time.  

New Permit Highlights

The 2021 Powered Scooter Share Permit program builds on the lessons learned from current permit program with the goal of creating a more useful, safe, and equitable program. It establishes new guidance and requirements in these areas:

Accessibility

Adaptive scooters will become a permanent part of the citywide scooter fleet. Additionally, operators will continue their on-demand adaptive programs.

Community Engagement

Permits include new outreach requirements and programs with Community-Based Organizations and local small businesses to expand to a more diverse and equitable ridership.

Labor Harmony

The new permit applications prioritized operators who more frequently hire employees rather than use outside staffing agencies or independent contractors.

Safety

Permittees must implement an escalating penalty structure for unsafe or illegal riding or parking behavior. Furthermore, safety-related scooter charging requirements have been strengthened per feedback from the San Francisco Fire Department.

Equitable Access to Scooters and Distribution Requirements

The program emphasizes service to all neighborhoods in San Francisco. This includes ensuring that everyone in the city is within walking distance of a scooter, particularly in Communities of Concern and outlying areas.

Scooter Parking

The SFMTA will increase the bike rack fee paid by operators from $75 to $100 per scooter to ensure adequate scooter parking throughout the city.

Next Steps – Permitting

The Agency plans to closely monitor permittees’ compliance with the permit terms and conditions once the new permits launch on July 1st. The Agency also looks forward to further stakeholder collaboration as it continues to evolve the Powered Scooter Share Program.



Published June 26, 2021 at 01:30AM
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New Transbay Rail Crossing Virtual Workshop

New Transbay Rail Crossing Virtual Workshop
By Stephen Chun

Photo of Capitol Corridor train and BART train travelling in East Bay

SFMTA and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) will be co-hosting a virtual public workshop recognizing the need for a new transbay rail crossing between San Francisco and Oakland on Monday, June 28th at 6:30 pm.  To watch the live event, please visit the program website.

The workshop is hosted by Link21, a long-range transportation program sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (Capitol Corridor). Link21 is committed to a faster, more connected system, providing safe, efficient, and affordable travel for everyone throughout the Northern California Megaregion that encompasses the San Francisco Bay Area, the Monterey Bay area, the Sacramento area, and the Northern San Joaquin Valley. To participate in a preliminary survey and submit your feedback, please visit the program comment form.

SFMTA Director of Transportation, Jeffrey Tumlin and SFCTA Executive Director, Tilly Chang will introduce the proposal for a new transbay crossing as a solution to the challenges of increased travel demands, overcrowding and congestion on our regional transportation system. Link21 aims to increase connections between affordable housing and high-quality jobs. Additional goals and objectives are to support ongoing SFMTA projects, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and create viable alternatives to driving.

The existing transbay corridor which includes BART, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, buses, and ferry service is currently the most congested in the Northern California Megaregion, and one of the most congested corridors in the United States.  As such, Link21  proposes a new transbay rail crossing project to provide additional service across the Bay and improve Northern California's livability, economic competitiveness, and environment.

The workshop will feature live, interactive surveys where viewers can provide live feedback on what is most important to their transit wants and needs. Link21 will be providing additional surveys after the event as well as a second workshop this Fall 2021. For more information on Link21, please visit their website.

You're invited! 6/28 6:30 PM PST, Link21 Virtual Public Workshop for San Francisco. Co-hosted by: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco County Transportation Authority. For more information visit Line21Program.org/events. Logos: Link21, BART, Capitol Corridor



Published June 25, 2021 at 10:20PM
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Thursday, June 24, 2021

More Muni Service Coming in August

More Muni Service Coming in August
By Julie Kirschbaum

Photo of 36/52 special service bus

The SFMTA is updating and expanding our next big service change targeted for August 14. These adjustments take into account stakeholder feedback and changes in COVID-19 regulations like physical distancing and our ability to switch operators in the field rather than having to return vehicles to their yards first for cleaning. Enhancements to our previously announced plan include expanding evening service and restoring Muni Owl All-nighter service, adding back four more routes and restoring or adjusting segments on several others.

Expanded Evening Service

As San Francisco reopens, people are traveling later for work, shopping and dining. To help workers and shoppers get around town we plan to expand service hours on 16 key routes. Instead of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., these routes will operate from 5 a.m. to midnight.

Muni’s full late-night Owl network is scheduled to be restored in August, providing service from midnight to 5 a.m. by adding back the 5 Fulton Owl and 48 Quintara/24th Street Owl. The frequency on the late-night routes will remain approximately 30 minutes. We also plan to extend Metro Bus hours to cover the time span between Owl and rail service.

Muni service hours would be extended in August to midnight on 16 key routes to help people traveling later as the city reopens from the pandemic. For those who need to get around after midnight, we will bring back Muni’s full late-night Owl network, including the 5 Fulton Owl and the 48 Quintara/24th Street Owl, providing service from midnight to 5 a.m. (except for the L Owl, which would continue to run from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.).

Visit our Muni Owl All-Nighter Service page for the full list of current Owl routes and service information.

New and Adjusted Routes

Based on public input, we will also add the following service:

28 19th Avenue: The full route between Daly City BART and Aquatic Park in the Marina (via Lombard)

57 Parkmerced: The final 57 Parkmerced stop from Stonestown to the intersection of Junipero Serra Boulevard and Ocean Avenue for improved downtown connections via the KT Ingleside-Third Street.

58 Lake Merced: Will travel along John Muir Drive and Sloat Boulevard, serving communities west of the lake and connecting to shopping destinations, Daly City BART and Muni’s 14 Mission.

35 Eureka: Restored with a modification to go northbound on Hoffman and southbound on Douglass, providing Muni access to hilly areas of Noe Valley.

48 Quintara/24th Street: To reduce delays, will reroute service westbound via Castro to Clipper Street while eastbound service would continue to travel on Diamond between Clipper and 24th streets.

Further details can be found on the August 2021 Service Change Updates webpage and on the COVID-19 Muni Core Service Plan



Published June 25, 2021 at 05:17AM
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Extended Service Hours for the F Market & Wharves

Extended Service Hours for the F Market & Wharves
By Enrique Aguilar

Photo of SFMTA Staff holding "F Line Takes You There" sign

Beginning June 26, the hours of operation for F Market & Wharves historic streetcars will be extended daily to run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in order to support San Francisco’s economic recovery and reopening.

Trips from Castro to Fisherman’s Wharf will run approximately from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and return trips from Fisherman’s Wharf will run approximately 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

This increase in service is based on feedback from streetcar operators and key stakeholders who worked closely with the SFMTA earlier this year to determine initial hours of operation that would support small businesses along Market Street and the Embarcadero.

Last May, the F Wharves-Market was welcomed back by Mayor London Breed, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the SFMTA Board of Directors at a small celebration near the Ferry Building. Director Tumlin was in attendance to make the announcement about the return of historical streetcars and other May 15 service changes, including the reopening of Muni Metro stations.

While Better Market Street construction is still under review, the project team has been developing a plan to run the F Market & Wharves full route. A combination of historic streetcar and bus shuttle service would limit impacts once construction begins.  

San Francisco lifted most COVID-19 restrictions on June 15 and SFMTA staff will continue to support our economic recovery as businesses reopen, tourists, office workers and regional visitors return. The F Market & Wharves is a popular city attraction and extended service hours will allow Muni customers more opportunities to ride historical streetcars this summer.



Published June 25, 2021 at 12:32AM
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Wednesday, June 23, 2021

A Look Back at Muni's Original Headquarters

A Look Back at Muni's Original Headquarters
By Jeremy Menzies

Located on the corner of Geary Boulevard and Presidio Avenue is a historically significant yet frequently overlooked public transit facility. Known today as Presidio Division, this massive building was home to Muni's headquarters for nearly 100 years. Here’s a quick look back through time at the history of this 109-year-old property.

 In-progress construction of Muni’s headquarters in October 1912, two months prior to the opening of the city’s publicly owned streetcar line in December. This photo was taken from Calvary Cemetery, the present-day location of a shopping center.
In-progress construction of Muni’s headquarters in October 1912, two months prior to the opening of the city’s publicly owned streetcar line in December. This photo was taken from Calvary Cemetery, the present-day location of a shopping center.

Constructed in 1912 and known then as “Geary Car House”, this building was the operations hub of the San Francisco Municipal Railway, the nation’s first publicly owned transit agency in a major US city.  Built on bedrock from reinforced concrete, the original building had a shops and storage garages for streetcar operations, a three-story office tower, and an Art-Deco style relief sculpture above the bronze entrance doors on 949 Presidio Avenue.

 Inside the shops at Geary Car House, two mechanics work on a truck (the combined wheels, suspension, and motor of the streetcar) pulled from a K Line streetcar in this 1936 photo.
Inside the shops at Geary Car House, two mechanics work on a truck (the combined wheels, suspension, and motor of the streetcar) pulled from a K Line streetcar in this 1936 photo.

In 1915, the rapidly expanding Muni system required more staff and more room, so a second story of offices was added above the streetcar storage and maintenance tracks along Geary. Inside the shops, staff did everything from repairing collision damage to overhauling electric motors and major mechanical parts.  

Following World War II, as many rail lines across the city were converted to bus operations, the days of streetcars at Geary came to an end.  In the late 1940s, a major project was undertaken to construct a yard and garages on the north end of the building for Muni’s growing fleet of electric trolley buses. After this renovation, the facility became known as Presidio Division.

 This 1972 view was taken just one year prior to the construction of an underpass for Geary Boulevard that would allow traffic to bypass this area.
This 1972 view was taken just one year prior to the construction of an underpass for Geary Boulevard that would allow traffic to bypass this area.

In the years following the construction of the bus yard, the building saw various remodels to alter and update interior workspaces to meet the organization’s changing needs. The streetcar maintenance bays along Geary were even used to store the city’s voting machines.

Presidio remained Muni headquarters until the early 2000s, when most offices were moved to the Civic Center area to co-locate many of the functions of the fledgling SFMTA (formed by voter mandate in 1999). Following the move, Presidio has continued to serve as an operations and maintenance division for most of our 40-foot trolley buses as well as the primary offices for operator training and the Peer Assistance program.

 Typewriters, paperwork, and file cabinets abound in this view inside one of the offices at Presidio Division in the late 1970s
Typewriters, paperwork, and file cabinets abound in this view inside one of the offices at Presidio Division in the late 1970s. 

Today, the building shows its age from years of use and is outdated compared to modern transit maintenance facilities, slowing down bus repairs.  Though repairs and remodels have been done to keep things operational, the Building Progress Program is seeking to completely revamp Presidio to help support reliable Muni service as part of the SFMTA’s long-term facilities plan.  

Typewriters, paperwork, and file cabinets abound in this view inside one of the offices at Presidio Division in the late 1970s

Today, 60-foot buses for the 38 and 38R routes are maintained at Presidio.

Check out more photos of Presidio Division through the years in our Historic Photos collection.
 



Published June 24, 2021 at 04:33AM
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