Budget woes mean dramatic changes for San Francisco transit

[marmar]

from the SF Chronicle:




CITY INSIDER
Muni ready for dramatic change

Michael Cabanatuan, Heather Knight, John Coté
Wednesday, November 25, 2009


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Muni's 38-Geary line was running like clockwork at Geary Boulevard and Masonic Avenue Tuesday afternoon. Along with the shiny bus stop - just painstakingly detailed by a Clear Channel crew - it provided a perfect backdrop for Mayor Gavin Newsom and Municipal Transportation Agency Executive Director Nathaniel Ford to remind riders that big changes are coming to the San Francisco Municipal Railway on Dec. 5.

More than half of Muni's bus routes, plus one light-rail line, will be altered as part of an effort to reduce a $129 million budget gap.

"We're about to experience the most dramatic change in a generation," said Newsom.

The service changes involve eliminating seven bus routes and several portions of lines with low ridership. The frequency with which buses run will be reduced on some routes, and service will end earlier on others. But service on some of Muni's busiest lines - including the 38-Geary - will increase.

A full list of the changes is available at links.sfgate.com/ZIUF.

Newsom acknowledged that the changes are likely to be controversial and said he expects to receive some angry calls and messages on Dec. 7, the first weekday the changes will be in force.

"Everybody should be prepared," he said. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/25/BAUN1APSDL.DTL

[nxylas]

1. Aw man, is nothing sacred?

If transit isn't safe in SF, it's not safe anywhere.