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.

With Muni riders looking for somewhere to direct their frustration at potential service cuts and fare increases, and with the Mayor eager to frame the MTA's budget deficit as a choice between labor concessions and fare hikes, it's easy to view a proposed charter amendment that would change how Muni driver salaries are set as a shot at transit operators.

MTA Board Director Bruce Oka has confirmed to Streetsblog that a proposal to increase monthly Fast Pass prices for seniors, youth and the disabled will not be considered to help solve the MTA's budget crisis after the outcry from those communities.

Friday could be a dark day for San Francisco's public transit system: The MTA Board is set to vote on a ten percent cut in service and increases to several monthly passes in order to cover a $16.9 million budget deficit. But transit supporters are organizing in force to push the Board to consider other options for balancing the budget.

If the MTA Board approves budget solutions being presented by staff on Friday, the price of a youth monthly Fast Pass will go up to $30, regardless of family income. But members of San Francisco's Youth Commission say there are better ways to close the MTA's $16.9 million end-of-year budget gap.

It's official: The MTA Board will be voting on a ten percent cut to Muni service and a ten dollar increase in the senior/youth/disabled monthly Fast Pass price this Friday.

Muni operators may vote again on a package of concessions in time for Friday's MTA Board budget vote, just a week after resoundingly voting down such a measure.

The upcoming weeks hold several key events for Muni's future that transit supporters won't want to miss, including an MTA vote on service cuts, public hearings on the budget, and a summit of groups trying to save Muni.

An analysis by Streetsblog of daily Muni performance data for the four most recent weeks available on the MTA's website shows Muni has been missing 80 percent more runs compared to June, mostly due to a freeze on overtime.