Comments on: Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise

By: NoeValleyJim

NoeValleyJim — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:20:02 +0000

What does TEP have to do with the Glen Park J stop? TEP has only been around for a few years, that stop has been there much longer.

By: Evan

Evan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:44:44 +0000

For the record, take the 48 all the time and live right on one of the corners that will no longer see 48 service in Potrero Hill. I emailed Muni to suggest a slightly different route (one that would continue to serve the heart of Potrero but not result in windy, time-wasting route.

My suggestion? From 25th, go up Wisconsin to 23rd, then take Missouri to Sierra to Texas St/22nd, continuing on the new route.

Of course, I never heard back.

By: LearnEnglish

LearnEnglish — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:55:57 +0000

Why do these folks assume that all materials related to route changes, etc. will be made available to them in Chinese, or any language other than English for that matter? How long have they lived in this country? Stop kowtowing to those who immigrate to this nation and assume that they can get by without learning English. Such political correctness measures have led only to the Balkanization of the U.S.

By: mattymatt

mattymatt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:26:49 +0000

What exactly does Judson do?

By: Peter Smith

Peter Smith — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:28:39 +0000

i have an idea — how about take advantage of technology and a captive audience by putting an electronic billboard on every bus? many buses already have some type of electronic display for street names. can it be updated with standard service messages?

By: Peter M

Peter M — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:35:15 +0000

Exactly what outreach are they even claiming to have done? All of the changes except the 2 Clement terminal were decided on months ago (In what, April?) and they’re not putting the brochures on the buses until TWO WEEKS before the changes? Are there any notices up yet on stops along the affected routes? There definitely weren’t any at the 21 Hayes stops that are going to be eliminated that had their bus shelters removed today.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:44:55 +0000

These must be the dark days of transit in SF. I was hoping to be sharpie-marking in some new bike lanes on my bike map by this time of the year. Instead I’ll be crossing out routes on my MUNI map.

By: Whit

Whit — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:39:26 +0000

From a Muni rider standpoint, I think I was waiting for details about eliminated stops and such, but talking with my fellow bus stopmates, it was obvious that if they didn’t read the proposed changes signs taped to the telephone poles (which faded and bled via rain and fog within a week of posting), they had no idea what was going on. Maybe it’s because more and more people self-select the news they want to read/hear? I don’t know… But I wrote to my supervisor and Muni, and it seems to have done no good.

By: mikesonn

mikesonn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:47:25 +0000

Why don’t they use the same speed and lack of notice for the parking meeter changes?

By: Akit

Akit — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:45:49 +0000

Muni’s outreach is really terrible for all these massive changes and hardly any media agency gave any real coverage (this should have been front page material or first story of the night on the TV).

How can they notify the public with just a little more than a month’s notice about route changes?

Even I was shocked that there was little reaction to the changes in a blog posting I did 13 days ago:
http://www.akit.org/2009/11/why-are-citizens-not-angry-at-munis.html

By: Whit

Whit — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:44:46 +0000

It would be nice if these colorful MTA brochures actually told us which stops were getting cut and if some are getting moved, where to!

By: jamie

jamie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:37:26 +0000

I can’t help but bristle every time I see the words “extensive outreach” associated with the current MTA folks. I’m hopeful about the Entrips thing …

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:10:16 +0000

This is what happens when you do 1/2 a plan. We’re basically implementing cuts from the TEP, but NOT the improvements that were part of the whole plan. So of course there are going to be problems.

That’s what happens when you rely on cuts only to balance a budget made unbalanced by other agencies and the state stealing your income, and not finding a local replacement for it.

By: John Murphy

John Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:43:14 +0000

My comment should not have (but did) imply that they knew what they were doing. I doubt you could get an answer from MTA about how that route is used. The 48 isn’t as interesting as the 22, but riding it from West Portal to Caltrain is enlightening. People get on in WP and travel either to Noe Valley or to BART. Noe Valley ships people to BART or (very few to) Caltrain. The Mission sends people to SF General. The bus practically empties out at SF General and I expect a quick ride, but we pick up parents with kids on the bottom of Potrero Hill and take them up the hill. Finally we dump off people at Caltrain. A few people from PoHill stay on, I think they are transfering to the T at 3rd St.

What’s ironic is that the service “cut” really kicks ass for rich people in Noe Valley who take the Caltrain (though a lot of peninsula workers in Noe Valley are already on the Google/Apple Bus). We also suffer no cuts on the 24 or the J, only minor reduction in the 35, and increased service on the 44 which I take to the Academy of Sciences.

The 35 is in large part a redundancy of the 24. Yet the 26 goes away. Granted there are spots on the 35 route where even stout young folks would not want to walk from the Castro to Diamond.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:10:18 +0000

Well, let’s not be too quick to give MTA credit. If you do all of your transit planning while you’re looking at a map in a central office and you never actually visit the route, you still might get something right every once in a while. But as anybody who’s been to the Glen Park J stop can tell you, it’s clear that the TEP people have no idea what they’re doing.

And let’s not forget that the MTA sets a very low threshold for rapid transit projects that benefit suburban users (10000 daily riders gets you $100M) while imposing different standards on urban users (>30000 is insufficient for funding.)

By: John Murphy

John Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:05:52 +0000

The change to the 10/48 lines is pure brilliance. The 48 was useless as a trip from Noe/Mission to Caltrain because it completely bogged down on Potrero Hill. The section on Wisconsin served as an “elevator” for people living on the lower slopes of Potrero, who would take the bus up one block. This repeated itself block by block. It was freaky – people got on/off the 48 at a constant rate all the way from SF General to 20th/Connecticut. Brutal.

The 10 now serves this same section, but since this chunk of the route is near the end, it doesn’t impact “through passengers” to Caltrain, a destination where a minute delay could cost you 30 minutes or more. Someone taking the 10 from the North to/from the Hospital will suffer this delay, but that’s a route that never existed before, and isn’t to a transfer point. The 48 might very well operate as an express from 25th/Wisconsin to Caltrain, probably saving 10 minutes. Seriously. Of course, it takes 12 minutes for me to ride my bike all the way from Noe Valley to Caltrain

By: Jeez

Jeez — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:01:47 +0000

Increase service on the 9, and what does MTA get? Blasted! — for not doing enough outreach!

It’s never enough. Must be tough to run an agency that everyone loves to kick around.

By: mikesonn

mikesonn — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:59:17 +0000

While I understand their concerns and feel the MTA should do a much better job, they are receiving increased service. Along with this, the MTA is going to be dumping some $1.5 billion into the central subway to service these same neighbors at the expense of overall MUNI operation.

I must be missing something.