Tag Archives: Muni

Bay Area, Southern California, Uncategorized

Review of 2024. Looking ahead to 2025

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Looking back, 2024 has been a year of significant change. The “face” of both BART and Caltrain transformed as BART fully retired its two-door legacy fleet, and Caltrain introduced electric trainsets while retiring its gallery cars. In Seattle, the Link system added a new line connecting Redmond and Bellevue and expanded northward from Northgate to Lynnwood, replacing many express buses serving Seattle from Snohomish County. In Los Angeles, Metro recently introduced new metro cars made by CRRC for the B and D lines, as the first phase of D line extensions further west is nearly complete. Many transit agencies saw improved ridership as more workers returned to the office, and more services were restored as additional transit workers were hired.

BART formally retired its legacy rail car in 2024, which served as BART’s icon for decades.

Next year, both Muni and BART will raise fares, and the tolls for Bay Area Toll Authority bridges will increase by $1. BART will begin installing the CBTC system, which will enhance capacity but requires service adjustments. As a result, Millbrae riders will need to transfer between trains at SFO in the evening. Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will open Petaluma North Station soon after the new year and extend northward to Windsor sometime in 2025.

In Sacramento, the SmaRT Ride microtransit will be transformed into a different program with fewer vehicles, a reduced budget, and limited eligibility.

In Seattle, Link Line 2 is expected to connect South Bellevue to Seattle across Lake Washington once the I-90 track re-work, which delayed the project, is complete.

LA Metro is also expected to open the LAX Metro Center and the first phase of the D Line extension to Wilshire/La Cienega sometime next year. The D Line extension is significant due to the high bus ridership on Wilshire and the speed improvements a new subway line will bring.

However, 2025 is worrisome, given the increasingly chaotic political climate and the hostility towards transit among elected and unelected decision-makers. Bay Area transit agencies will also face a fiscal cliff as ridership remains slow to return and one-time pandemic-era grants run out. Over the last few decades, Bay Area transit have seen fiscal cliffs with economic recessions (drop in tax revenues, and falling ridership with higher unemployment), but no recession has such a deep and lasting impact on transit service as COVID. Development in autonomous vehicles, backed by wealthy Silicon Valley tech bros, could impact the public’s attitude towards transit. Even if the technology is perfected, these vehicles can’t assist senior and disabled riders and do little to address traffic congestion due to the inefficiency of single-occupancy vehicles.

Bay Area, service updates

SFMTA’s new microtransit in Bayview-Hunters Point

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Source: SFMTA

Recently, SFMTA introduced an on-demand microtransit shuttle service covering Bayview-Hunters Point, one of several Equity Priority Communities designated by the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Although the T-Third Muni Metro, opened in 2007, serves as the area’s transit backbone, it is considered slow and unreliable. Connections to regional transit like BART and Caltrain are insufficient, and employment and shopping opportunities in the area are limited. While wealthier Bayview residents have higher rates of car ownership and solo auto commutes compared to the rest of San Francisco, poorer residents remain largely dependent on public transit. The microtransit service is a result of the Bayview’s Community Based Transportation Plan, completed in 2020.

This is the first microtransit service in the City of San Francisco. On-demand microtransit has already been established in some communities on the Peninsula, South Bay, and East Bay. The CBTP recommended community shuttles because the steep hills discourage seniors from walking to access existing transit. This is a grant funded project that is scheduled to continue until 2026, and it is operated by the contractor Via, which also runs microtransit in other cities across the United States.

Source: SFMTA

Riders can call or use the Bayview Shuttle App to request rides within the Bayview area, as well as between the Bayview and SF General Hospital, 24th/Mission BART, 22nd Street Caltrain, or Bayshore Caltrain. Service is available 7 days a week (7am – 7pm weekdays, 10am – 6pm weekend). Rides for the general public are “corner to corner,” with pickups and drop-offs at virtual bus stops. People with disabilities can request accessible vehicles and “door to door” service. The fare for the shuttle is the same as the fixed-route Muni and can be paid with the Muni Mobile App or Clipper Card. However, rides are free through December 11 of this year.

Generally, the operating cost per trip on microtransit is significantly higher than on fixed-route buses, but microtransit serves a need and clientele that are difficult to meet with fixed-route transit. Successful microtransit balances managing demand, maximizing productivity, and avoiding competition with existing fixed-route transit. If demand is too high and there aren’t enough drivers, wait times become excessive. Some cities have had to limit their microtransit programs, or even eliminate them entirely, due to their inability to meet demand and budget constraints.

As part of the CBTP, Muni also implemented the 15 Bayview/Hunters Point Express bus, using the same number 15 that ran along Third Street before the T line opened. This service supplements the T Third and provides direct service from the hills in Hunters Point.

Bay Area, service updates

L Taraval rail service to return

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After five years of construction, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is preparing to restore rail service on the L Taraval line, which serves the Parkside neighborhood and the San Francisco Zoo. Since 2020, buses have operated on the line. The start date of the restored rail service is September 28.

Similar to the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit project, the construction involved replacing underground water and sewer infrastructure, as well as tracks and overhead wires that power the trains. The project also installed boarding islands along Taraval, where L line passengers previously boarded and exited the train from the adjacent travel lane. Sidewalk bulbouts and traffic signals were built at various locations to improve pedestrian safety.

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