SaveMUNI meets on the third Monday of every month from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Until further notice we will meet on Zoom. To receive meeting announcements and Zoom instructions email: bobf@att.net

SaveMUNI’s next meeting is on Monday, June 19 at 5:30. We will discuss SFMTA’s pending fiscal cliff with the following transit experts: Tom Rubin, former CEO for two major transit agencies; Angelo Figone, former Assistant General Manager, SFMUNI; and, Larry Marso, financial budget analyst. We will also discuss ways to avoid the decimation of transit that seems likely to occur due to the pending fiscal cliff. Please join us.

Couple Light Rail Vehicles: Longer Trains and Better Service
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Restore all Pre-Pandemic Bus Lines: Keep Muni a Comprehensive System that Serves the Entire City
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Serve Seniors and Disabled Riders
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Promote Seamless Transit: Complete the Downtown Extension of Caltrain
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SaveMUNI recently wrote the following letter to the San Francisco County Transportation Association Commission and the SFMTA Board of Directors opposing a “Quick Build” project on Geary Boulevard that will eliminate parking and significantly impact the small businesses on Geary.

SaveMUNI, San Francisco’s only independent transit advocacy organization, is writing to oppose SFMTA’s Quick Build project on Geary Boulevard from 15th Avenue to 29th Avenue.

While dedicated lanes, where appropriate, can improve bus service, this project will do more harm than good. It should not go forward.

This project will remove up to 20 % of the parking on each block, which will have a devastating effect on small businesses along Geary which are still recovering from the impact of the Covid crisis. The harmful effect of this Quick Build on the Richmond district merchants far outweighs the minimal time savings for a small number of bus riders in the outer Richmond.

Instead of a misguided Quick Build project, SaveMUNI supports implementation of traffic signal prioritization for Muni buses which will improve transit times with minimal disruption to businesses along Geary Boulevard.

We look forward to a more collaborative public process to design for street safety, parking and bus lanes along Geary Boulevard in tandem with the extensive sewer and water line repairs that the San Francisco` Public Utilities Commission will be undertaking in the near future.

Sincerely,
Bob Feinbaum
President, SaveMUNI

A recent story in Wired magazine discusses the risks that driverless cars pose to San Francisco’s transit.  Videos obtained by Wired from public transit vehicles reveal self-driving cars causing delays and potential danger to buses, trains, and passengers.
SaveMUNI asks: “Why shouldn’t first responders have the codes to operating the cars so traffic snarls can be cleared faster?”
Read more here:   https://www.wired.com/story/dashcam-footage-shows-driverless-cars-cruise-waymo-clogging-san-francisco

Mass Transit magazine recently published an article entitled “SFMTA releases the Muni Metro Modernization program,”

Below is a letter from Kathy Setian, Coordinator, Restore the J Workgroup, challenging statements in the article regarding the success of the J-Church Surface-only Pilot. SaveMUNI supports the Restore the J group and calls for continuation of J-Church service through the tunnel to the Embarcadero.

May 24, 2022
Dear Ms. Wanek-Libman,

I am writing to you in regards to an article posted May 4, 2022 on the Mass Transit website, titled “SFMTA releases the Muni Metro Modernization program”. The article discusses SFMTA’s vision and framework for the future, partially based on the outcome of a pilot of the J Church surface-only route. The article describes this pilot as “successful”. This description is gravely inaccurate for the following reasons:

1. The community reacted to the pilot program with active, sustained, overwhelming opposition because the pilot forced riders to disembark from the J Church, cross two multi-lane city streets and make an arduous transfer at an intersection identified by the City of San Francisco as “High Injury”. Community opposition was demonstrated by:

Hundreds of letters to MTA, the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors opposing the forced transfer.

More than 700 petition signatures opposing the forced transfer.

Citizens’ attendance and public comment at dozens of meetings (SFMTA Board, SFMTA Citizens’ Advisory Council, San Francisco Board of Supervisors and committee hearings, etc.).

A resolution passed unanimously by the SFMTA Citizens’ Advisory Council calling on MTA to end their failed pilot study and forced transfer for J Church riders.

2.On Dec. 7, 2021, the SFMTA Board of Directors unanimously rejected MTA’s proposal to make the pilot’s forced transfer permanent because reduced downtown ridership had eliminated the subway congestion problem, perhaps permanently, and MTA’s own data demonstrated ample capacity for the J Church to return to the subway. This Board resolution also resulted in ending the ignominious pilot program.

If, as your article reports, SFMTA continues to experiment with approaches “such as the J Church Surface-only pilot”, SFMTA management would lose credibility with the SFMTA Board of Directors and the public ridership, and their competency would likely be called into question.

Given the seriousness of this matter, I would appreciate it if you would post this response online. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Kathy Setian, Coordinator
Restore the J Workgroup