Transit advocates have begun mobilizing Muni riders to speak out against a new round of proposed service cuts at tomorrow's MTA Board meeting.
Writes Manish Champsee of Walk SF:
The SFMTA has just released revised budget projections for the currentfiscal year. Due to the Mayor's reluctance to raise money by extending parkingmeter hours, the proposals to close the budget gap are dire. This ontop of the hike in the Fastpass to $60 per month and $70 per month ifyou want to ride on BART and the service changes that took effect onDecember 5. The proposals include:
-Raising the cost to ride the F-line to $5-Requiring riders to buy the $70 Fastpass in order to ride the Cable Cars and Express Buses-Raising the fares for seniors, disabled and youth passes to $30/month. Triple what it was just 6 months ago-Reductions in service by reducing the frequency of buses along some lines as well as the operating hours.
Increased fares and reduced service means that people will choose todrive rather than take MUNI. This means increased greenhouse gas andcongestion, slowing down buses and endangering pedestrians and cyclists.
Tell the Mayor and SFMTA Board that enough is enough. If you canplease come out to the SFMTA Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 19th at2pm at City Hall Room 400. It is Item 11 on the agenda. If you can'tmake it to the meeting, please send an email to gavin.newsom@sfgov.org and mtaboard@sfmta.com telling them:
-How the fare increases and service changes have affected you-Riders should not bear the brunt of the current financial meltdown-Extending parking meter hours needs to be a part of any solution
We realize that many of you work during the day and we will try toinform you whether it's worth coming after work to testify.
Transit advocate Susan Vaughan has set up a Facebook page, urging people to attend the meeting. You can check out Streetsblog SF's Twitter feed and Facebook page for updates.
The Streetsblog SF crew is off today in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day but we'll be back in full force tomorrow.
