San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. unveils 'dramatic' plan to revamp Muni

[marmar]

S.F. unveils 'dramatic' plan to revamp Muni
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 27, 2008


SAN FRANCISCO -- City officials unveiled plans Tuesday for a major overhaul of San Francisco's Municipal Railway transit system that, if enacted, would eliminate some bus lines and truncate, expand or reroute many others.

The changes - aimed at improving reliability, speeding travel times and providing more frequent service - are based on an 18-month analysis of transit ridership trends and traffic patterns in San Francisco.

The plan would be the first significant restructuring of Muni routes in two decades and comes amid high public frustration with the system.

"Without dramatic changes we will not see dramatic improvements," Mayor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday at San Francisco State University, where he joined Muni officials to announce the package of recommendations.

Muni passengers from the Sunset District to the Bayview, from North Beach to the Mission District, would be affected.

And even if city officials dangle the prospect of better overall service, political blowback is all but guaranteed.

Moving a bus stop or changing a route has never come easy in San Francisco, where residents have a love-hate relationship with Muni, the Bay Area's busiest transit operation with nearly 700,000 boardings a day.

"It will be incumbent on us to make the case on why the changes are needed," Newsom said. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/27/BA0UV92LB.DTL&hw=MUNI&sn=001&sc=1000

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Here's how I would plan or revise a transit system:

Ten households, each living in a different section of the city, would be paid to give up their car keys for a year and would try to live their normal lives depending entirely on transit.

The weak points in the transit system would show up FAST.

[marmar]

2. Not a bad idea.....

And no doubt much cheaper than the countless consultants and focus group sessions I'm sure they've paid for to come up with this plan.