Muni

Mayor Ed Lee held a press conference yesterday to mark a $48 million increase in transportation funding for Muni and safer streets. But the largest chunk of that increase, and the only one that resulted directly from political leadership, came from Supervisor Scott Wiener's Proposition B -- which Lee fervently opposed.

There's a reason Muni's 21-Hayes still stops twice on the block between Central and Masonic Avenues -- the owner of the cafe on the corner of Central demands it.

The SFMTA launched its "Muni Forward" wayfinding upgrades this weekend with new shelter features, sign posts, and changes to some bus route names. In the most sweeping change, the former "Limited" buses can now be seen rolling with the new "R" mark for "Rapid."

Six supervisors did not hesitate to commit to the SF Transit Riders Union's challenge to ride Muni for 22 days starting on June 1, but five supervisors and Mayor Ed Lee haven't signed on. The split is a good indicator of who supports transit at City Hall -- for the supervisors who have a record of legislating to improve transit, riding Muni every day is no biggie, and some do it already.

The days of Muni stops marked with no visual cue except a utility pole with yellow paint and black stenciled letters are coming to an end.

Muni is making major service improvements and shoring up the basics of running buses on schedule, and this time, officials say, the improvements will stick.

The ongoing delays for double-berthing in Muni Metro stations continue, as Muni waits for its training plan to be approved by the CA Public Utilities Commission.

Assemblymember David Chiu has proposed a bill to give Muni greater authority to keep transit-only lanes and bus stops clear of cars using the enforcement cameras that are now on every bus.

Muni has installed front-facing cameras on every Muni bus to ticket drivers who double-park in transit-only lanes.