Muni plans to launch a new bus line this month to beef up service along eastern 16th Street, connecting the BART station at Mission Street to the soon-to-open University of California SF hospital at Mission Bay. The 55-16th Street route would complement existing 22-Fillmore service on 16th, extending beyond the 22’s endpoint all the way to the east end of 16th and then north on Third Street towards its terminus at UCSF.

The line is a precursor for plans to add street upgrades, like transit-only lanes and bus bulb-outs, along 16th to speed up the 22-Fillmore. The SFMTA plans to hold its first community meeting for those plans on January 14, and says they will “reduce transit travel time along the length of the corridor by 25 percent.”

The plans are part of the Muni Forward program (previously known as the Transit Effectiveness Project), which calls for the 22 to be re-routed towards Mission Bay on its eastern leg, which the 55 will do. But an SFMTA report [PDF] says the re-route won’t happen for at least five years, since the 22 relies on overhead wires, which would have to be installed along eastern 16th and are impeded by a Caltrain crossing. Instead, diesel buses will be used on the 55 in the interim.

“After extensive evaluation, SFMTA confirmed that the overhead wire work associated with the proposed 22 Fillmore extension… could not be implemented by the anticipated opening date for the new UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital at Mission Bay on February 1, 2015,” the SFMTA report says.

The 55-16th Street is set to launch on January 31, and will be presented to the SFMTA Board of Directors for approval on Tuesday. See a map of the route and an overview of transit upgrades proposed for 16th Street after the break.