Muni

Could the bleakest budget in the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's history force its directors to finally get creative in funding Muni?

Transit supporters and representatives from over 60 organizations from across the city will gather tomorrow to discuss Muni's future, and try to identify solutions and strategies to improve the city's transit system and help it survive the current budget crisis.

Last minute legislation to send some State Transit Assistance (STA) funds back to local transit agencies could prove a huge boon for Muni if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approves it.

According to eyewitness statements reported by the SF Weekly and the Chronicle, a 5-Fulton bus collided with a cyclist this morning on Market Street and the driver refused to stop, despite pleas by passengers to stay at the scene of the crash.

If today's MTA Board meeting was any indication, Muni's governing body has no appetite for additional service cuts, and charging for transfers is an idea dead on arrival.

Facing deficits of $56.4 million and $45 million in the next two fiscal years, the MTA will present ideas today to close yet another budget gap, including extending parking meter hours, eliminating transfers and cutting service by an additional 5 percent.

While AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit and transbay ferries already accept Translink, in the coming years, nearly every Bay Area transit agency is expected to adopt the payment cards.

Widespread outrage at the MTA Board, so visibly on display at today's meeting on Muni service cuts and fare increases, appears to be driving a growing surge of organizing that transit supporters hope might finally create a sustained movement with the potential to pressure the MTA into developing long-term fixes for Muni.

At one of the most heavily attended MTA Board meetings in recent memory, the MTA's directors voted 4-3 today to cut Muni service by 10 percent and require $70 premium Fast Passes for express routes and cable cars, but jettisoned a proposal to increase the price of the senior, youth and disabled discount Fast Pass to $30.