Muni

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?

San Francisco could be headed on a course toward transportation sustainability, granted it's the politically popular thing to do.

For the last 16 years, Jon Rubin has served as the Mayor's appointee on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area's regional transportation planning and funding body, originally appointed by Frank Jordan in 1995. Last week, Rubin was forced to resign and turn over the seat to Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose four-year term begins May 1.