#sfmta

School service is troublesome and buses often bunches up.

Teenagers swarm the sidewalks outside San Francisco’s Lowell High School after the final bell. They’re hoping to board the 29-Sunset, affectionately known as the city’s school bus — if they can catch a ride. Lowell junior Kaito Glaub watched as several packed buses came by and picked up a handful of students, leaving dozens behind. “A lot of people use the 29,” he said. “Sometimes it’ll take like 30 minutes before you can get on.”

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board gave final approval to redevelopment plans for the Potrero Division bus yard. 

The 110 year old maintenance and storage facility is being rebuilt as a four-story structure, with the rest of the property rebuilt as housing.

“Studio and three-bedroom apartments would be built along Bryant Street, reserved for households earning up to 80 percent of area median income, or $87,300 for a single person. But the plan no longer includes hundreds of additional units that would’ve been built on a reinforced podium above the facility. Several Mission District residents and advocates were disappointed Tuesday.”

The SFMTA is facing a $307 million deficit with no easy solutions. This week, agency staff presented the board of directors with a range of possible options.

For Muni riders, generating more revenue might mean the end of discounts and day passes, and raising the cable car fare from $9 to $15.

The SFMTA's already cut and consolidated Muni service.

For motorists, the SFMTA's bleak financial situation is a win.

Scofflaw drivers stand to benefit the most from the SFMTA’s plan. Tickets for not curbing one’s wheels ($73), parking outside the lines ($76), repairing a car on the street ($108), or placing a parking permit on a vehicle it doesn’t belong to ($108) would all drop to $48. The agency is suggesting this because those infractions generate only $500,000 annually but are the source of many customer complaints and cases contesting the citations. 

Between the end of service one night and the start of service in the morning, there are only a few hours for maintenance work.

A year ago, the SFMTA launched the Bayview Community Shuttle, an on-demand Muni service in a part of the city short on transit options. It's become a lifeline for thousands of riders, but maybe not for much longer.

Funding is provided by a $10 million grant from the California Air Resources Board, part of the California Climate Investments initiative that puts billions of cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening the economy — particularly in disadvantaged communities. … The Air Resources Board grant — which works to remedy historic inequities among youth, seniors, those with disabilities, or those with limited English proficiency — is scheduled to expire at the end of March. The SFMTA hopes to fund an extension through November 2027.