Muni

The grand jury issued a damning report on the planned Central Subway this morning, calling on the SFMTA to redesign the project "to better serve the San Francisco population," and hire an independent auditor to determine whether the $1.5 billion price tag is realistic, given the pattern of increasing estimates, and the fact that city will have to pick up any cost overruns.

Disappointed proponents of the thwarted Cesar Chavez East plan for a road diet between Kansas and Evans were at least spared the temptation of using cliché after a contentious meeting on June 27. They couldn’t say the city was throwing bicyclists and pedestrians under the bus because there is no bus.

A Muni bus that had stopped on Masonic and Haight streets at 7:50 this morning lost control, and rolled backwards, crashing into a parked car and a bicycle rack that had a bike locked to it in front of Coffee to the People Cafe. The 37-Corbett stopped on the sidewalk after colliding with the car, and fortunately, no one was injured.

Just about any of the roughly 20,000 regular Muni riders who take the 6 or 71 lines every day can tell you their bus can come to a crawl as they make the turns at Laguna Street. Decades ago, the easternmost block of Haight Street was turned into a one-way street in the opposite direction, forcing inbound buses onto a notoriously slow and unnecessary detour, often called the "dog leg".

Squeezing onto a packed N-Judah train during rush hour is an all too common challenge for many riders of Muni's busiest line. The SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), hoping to provide some relief, launched an express bus pilot program this week to supplement rail service. Dubbed the Nx Judah Express, it carries Outer Sunset commuters to the Financial District and back.

The idea of getting more private automobiles off Market Street is gaining serious traction at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Following the success of measures diverting cars off Market at 6th and 10th Streets, the SFMTA Board of Directors today showed a broad consensus favoring potential pilot projects that could further reduce the impacts of cars on and around Market.

The price of all monthly Muni Fast Passes will increase by $1 to $2 starting July 1, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) reminded riders today in a news release.

The SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) says it will save at least $21.3 million in labor costs over three years after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the union representing Muni operators, SFMTA spokesperson Charles Goodyear announced today.

San Franciscans are dreaming big as Market Street's transformation approaches in 2015, when the city's most important street is scheduled to be redesigned and repaved. City planners are engaging with citizens to answer a century-old question: How can we make Market Street the glorious thoroughfare that it needs to be?