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Supervisor Avalos, Advocates Call for More Equitable Muni Budget
Supervisor John Avalos, leading the charge for a Muni budget that is more equitably balanced between drivers and transit riders, was joined Monday by a broad coalition of advocates, including groups representing seniors and youth, in a rally designed to pressure the MTA into restoring about $15 million in revenue measures carved out of the original plan. It preceded a march to the MTA where Avalos and advocates demanded and got a meeting with MTA Chief Nat Ford (hear the audio below) on the eve of a Board of Supervisors meeting to consider another rejection motion.
May 19, 2009
Supervisors Vote 6-5 Against Rejecting MTA Budget
BOS Prez David Chiu gave quite a performance at last week's Budget and Finance Committee meeting, peppering MTA Chief Nat Ford with a series of hard-hitting questions about the agency's unpopular budget, and lining up the six necessary votes to reject the spending plan. Yesterday, though, at the full Board of Supervisors meeting, Chiu rescinded his motion, agreeing to what amounts to $10.3 million dollars in changes Ford can make at his own discretion, a "compromise" struck at the last minute.
May 13, 2009
Supes Committee Votes to Recommend Rejection of MTA Budget
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee voted 4-1, with Supervisor Carmen Chu dissenting, to recommend the rejection of the MTA's $778 million budget following a marathon meeting yesterday that featured some enrapturing political theater when BOS Prez David Chiu grilled MTA Chief Nat Ford.
May 7, 2009
Is It Time for Muni to Consolidate Bus Stops?
As the MTA Board considers solutions to reduce its enormous $129 million deficit, bus stop consolidation should be at the top of its agenda.
April 28, 2009
Where is the MTA Board’s Leadership on the Budget Crisis?
Aside from Malcolm Heinicke's proposal to tax rental cars at SFO -- which was apparently shot down by legal staff -- no member of the MTA Board of Directors has offered any ideas for generating new revenue, other than toying or saying yay or nay to recommendations presented by staff, to help the agency limp out of the red ink.
April 22, 2009
Streetscast: An Interview with MTA Chief Nat Ford, Part II
MTA Executive Director Nat Ford sat down with Streetsblog San Francisco last week for an hour-long interview. In today's segment, he addresses the funding crisis facing California transit agencies, the long-awaited implementation of the Bike Plan and the internal MTA battle over how to balance the different modes.
April 17, 2009
California Transit Association Recommends Long-Term Funding Ideas
The California Transit Association has submitted a list of recommendations (PDF) to the Commission of the 21st Century Economy, a "bipartisan" panel mostly appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger, that call for establishing a "stable, predictable source of long-term funding" for the state's public transit agencies.
April 16, 2009
Streetscast: An Interview with MTA Chief Nat Ford, Part 1
Municipal Transportation Agency Executive Director Nat Ford has been on the job for more than three years now and is a veteran public transportation manager. He began his career as a train conductor 26 years ago at New York's MTA before moving on to a number of managerial positions. He was an assistant chief transportation officer at BART before being named to oversee Atlanta's public transit system.
April 10, 2009
Calls For Greater 311, MTA Efficiency
While the list of budget problems facing the MTA is long, Supervisor Bevan Dufty believes he can save them a few million just by changing the way they do customer service.
April 9, 2009
Should Nat Ford Stay or Go?
At yesterday's Rules Committee meeting at City Hall, as first noted by the Examiner, there was some banter between Supervisor Chris Daly and MTA Board Chair Tom Nolan about MTA Executive Director Nat Ford. They seemed to indicate he was looking to leave the agency.
March 20, 2009