April 2022 Service Change Details

April 2022 Service Change Details
By Mariana Maguire

Photo showing an 8AX Bayshore Express articulated Muni bus on the road

The SFMTA is restoring the 8AX Bayshore Express and 8BX Bayshore Express buses on weekdays mornings and evenings, starting April 18, 2022, to provide quicker trips from Visitacion Valley to downtown and stronger connections between Visitacion Valley, Outer Mission, Ingleside, City College and Chinatown. Additional Muni service changes, beginning Saturday, April 16, 2022, include:

Extending the 56 Rutland to provide a more direct connection to Burton High School
Supplementing the 30 Stockton, with additional buses on a 30 Stockton “short” route to reduce crowding and wait times from about 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends
Changing the frequency of the 9R San Bruno Rapid from 10 to 12 minutes

These April service changes mark the second phase of implementation of the 2022 Muni Service Network plan.

In summer we expect to bring back additional routes that have been temporarily suspended since 2020 like the 2 Sutter (previously the 2 Clement), 10 Townsend and 21 Hayes, and modify existing routes like the 23 Monterey and 57 Parkmerced. See 2022 Muni Service Network for information. We will provide a more detailed description of the schedule as soon as it’s available.

Public feedback helped us prioritize bringing back routes and connections many communities rely on. Read more about what we heard from the public and how we incorporated feedback into the 2022 service plan.

What is keeping SFMTA from restoring more Muni service?

We want to restore Muni service as soon as possible. The key obstacle to restoring more Muni service is staff availability. Since fall 2021 the SFMTA has been hiring and training new cohorts of Muni operators to fill our staffing needs, and we continue to restore service at the pace of hiring.

We were short-staffed going into the pandemic and had to pause all hiring for 18 months. During that time some operators and key operations staff also left or retired, and more staff than usual have had to take time off to care for themselves or family members and loved ones impacted by the pandemic. We are also facing more retirements than previously anticipated.

Our hiring and training staff were also impacted and had to repeatedly postpone hiring and training activities. As a result of these and the related impacts of the Omicron surge, we’ve been bringing on new operators slower than we hoped, but we are still working to fill staffing gaps as quickly as possible.

We are committed to restoring pre-pandemic Muni service and are seeking new resources to help us restore, increase and improve service in 2023.

What do I need to know about riding Muni and COVID-19?

We’re excited to welcome you back to Muni, where the health of SFMTA employees and customers is a top priority. Since COVID-19 is primarily spread through the air, we understand the importance good air ventilation for protecting people’s health. The Muni fleet HVAC systems turn the air over once every minute. Fresh air is constantly being pulled in from the outside, and the air inside trains and buses is continuously filtered and recirculated. In addition, physical distancing is no longer required on Muni. On-vehicle capacity limits were officially lifted in June 2021.

When you ride Muni, there’s a high probability the person sitting next to you is vaccinated: 87% of San Francisco residents aged 5 and above are fully vaccinated. 68% of residents who are eligible for boosters (anyone age 12 and above) are boosted. Those are some of the highest vaccination rates in the U.S.

Even so, face masks are still required by federal law in Muni stations and vehicles, and Muni has a high mask compliance rate. Whenever the mask mandate on public transit is lifted, you can still wear a mask to protect yourself. One-way masking does work, especially when the mask is a surgical mask like the N95, KN95, KF94, FFP2, double mask or a cloth mask with a filter inside.

Looking Ahead

We expect to make our next round of service changes in the summer, when we continue implementing the approved 2022 Muni Service Network, restoring additional bus routes and increasing bus frequencies as we bring more operators onboard. Read more about the complete 2022 Muni Service Network plan.

Published April 12, 2022 at 12:06AM
https://ift.tt/wavpWkr

Comments

Vaccine nationalism will not shorten COVID pandemic, warns WHO chief https://ift.tt/3oqykEN

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for solidarity in the rollout of future coronavirus vaccines. In a video address at the opening of the three-day World Health Summit in Berlin, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that it was natural for the countries to want to protect their own citizens first but, he urged, "we must also use it effectively".

Bihar: Special family pension for dependents of govt staff who die of coronavirus https://ift.tt/32WpXZC

Family members, dependents of state government staff who die of coronavirus while on duty will receive a special family pension, the Bihar Cabinet took the decision on Saturday. According to an official release, the dependent of a government employee, who die of COVID-19 while on duty, will be given the benefit of compassionate ground, for getting a job, besides other existing benefits, informed Cabinet Secretariat Department's Special Secretary Mithilesh Kumar Singh. If the dependent doesn't want to avail the benefit of compassionate ground, then the family will be given full salary of the staff, who died due to COVID-19, as "special family pension" till the date retirement, he said. This decision will be effective from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Quick recap Bihar government agrees for a special family pension for state government employees dependents, family members who die of coronavirus on duty. Dependents will also have a benefit of compassionate grou...

FOX NEWS: Couple gets married at 'most beautiful' Taco Bell: 'It was the best of both worlds' Analicia Garcia, 24, and Kyle Howser, 25, from Sacramento, California, got married on Tuesday, Oct. 26 and had their reception at the famous Pacifica, California, Taco Bell.

Couple gets married at 'most beautiful' Taco Bell: 'It was the best of both worlds' Analicia Garcia, 24, and Kyle Howser, 25, from Sacramento, California, got married on Tuesday, Oct. 26 and had their reception at the famous Pacifica, California, Taco Bell. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/1G43ec8

New top story from Time: ‘Most Heinous Attack.’ Merrick Garland Pledges to Take on Domestic Terrorism as Attorney General

https://ift.tt/3dGuLHC As the federal government continues to grapple with the fallout of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol Building by pro-Trump rioters on Jan. 6, the Biden Administration has remained close-lipped about how it plans to confront the rising threat of domestic terrorism. This week, Americans got a first look into how that effort may unfold with the testimony of Merrick Garland, the nominee to be the next attorney general. In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday and Tuesday, Garland declared that investigating the Capitol insurrection was his “first priority” and promised to “do everything in the power of the Justice Department” to stop domestic terrorism. He also warned that the events of Jan. 6 were not a “one-off,” and that the U.S. is facing “a more dangerous period” than any in recent memory. Garland would know. More than 25 years ago, he led the Justice Department’s prosecution of the perpetrators of the 1995 Oklahoma Cit...

West Bengal to impose strict 7-day lockdown at 5 PM today: What's open and what's not https://ift.tt/3iJyjt1

In light of the deteriorating COVID-19 situation in the state, Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has decided to impose a strict 7-day lockdown across the state. The lockdown comes into place today, at 5 pm, and will be applicable for a period of 7 days, till July 16. from IndiaTV: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/3gEhXQh

New top story from Time: Pfizer-BioNTech Have Started Testing Their COVID-19 Vaccine in Children Under 12

https://ift.tt/3vWOQjL Alejandra and Marisol Gerardo are nine years old but already making a little bit of history. The twin sisters are among the first young children to get vaccinated with a COVID-19 shot in Pfizer-BioNTech’s study of its vaccine in kids under age 12. Alejandra and Marisol had their blood drawn in the morning on March 24, then got their first dose of the two-dose vaccine later that afternoon. “Their primary concern was, ‘is it going to hurt,’” says their father, Dr. Charles Gerardo, chief of emergency medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. “They’re not too worried about the long term side effects; they’re looking at the moment, not the future.” Testing the vaccine in younger children will answer critical questions about how much immunity the shots can provide, and potentially give parents and education officials more confidence in re-opening schools. While it appears that younger children don’t get as sick with COVID-19 as older teens and adult...

New top story from Time: March Madness Exploits Black Athletes. The Supreme Court Should End This Injustice Now

https://ift.tt/3rC4ttJ The NCAA basketball tournament—commonly referred to as March Madness —is a beloved ritual in college athletics and the capstone of the athletic year. “Bracketology” fuels water cooler conversations and on-line chat rooms, and when Barack Obama was President, White House predictions about who would win it all. After the final buzzer sounds, we impatiently wait for college football season to start. As fans consume action on the field or hardwood, a different reality exists for the so-called “student-athletes” who generate billions for the NCAA and are paid in “scholarships.” The NCAA’s Athletic Industrial Complex that exists for Division 1 football and basketball is built on commercial exploitation that we, as Americans, would find unacceptable elsewhere. That edifice is before the Supreme Court in an academic antitrust case which will be argued on March 31. But the Court should not overlook that real players’ lives are impacted; and real harms occur ea...

New top story from Time: The Heartbreak and Horror of Being an EMT During the Pandemic—and Why I’m Still Working

https://ift.tt/3cC9fTO When COVID-19 erupted in New York City last spring , it forced me to make a decision as to whether or not I would work the disaster as an emergency medical technician. Unlike the thousands of New York City EMTs and paramedics who ride on ambulances for the city, private transport companies and hospitals, as a volunteer EMT I rode for free, so I had a choice about what part I would play in the pandemic. When calls for “sick-fever-cough” patients started to infiltrate the city’s 911 system last March, every first responder I know was terrified. I was, too. One night my EMT partner and I sat in my car after a tour and had a long existential conversation. Was volunteering to work as EMTs during a lethal contagion the stupidest thing we could do? Or was it the most self-sacrificing? In the end I decided to ride. I was far from the only rescuer who wanted to be of service when crisis struck. An army of almost 90,000 health care workers volunteered to ste...

New top story from Time: ‘Garbage Freaking Everywhere’ as Americans Venture Outdoors After a Year of Lockdowns

https://ift.tt/31mr3M8 Across the country, as the weather improved and pandemic lockdowns were lifted, Americans ventured outside and noticed that their neighborhoods looked a little different. A little. . . dirtier. They saw mattresses piled outside cemeteries and disposable masks clogging the gutters. Vacuum cleaners left in the woods, fast food wrappers blowing on the highway, piles of tires. Neighborhoods that had been relatively clean before the pandemic were now full of litter. “There is garbage freaking everywhere,” says David Biderman, the executive director and CEO of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). In Portland, Ore., the city picked up more garbage in 2020 than any other year on record: 3,000 tons, 50% more than the previous year. Additionally, requests to clean up trash and remove graffiti were up 300% over 2019. Norfolk, Va., is seeing “historic highs” in litter and illegal dumping, according to Sarah Sterzing, the program manager of Ke...

PM Modi to speak on farm laws' benefits in address to Madhya Pradesh farmers https://ift.tt/2IYghpE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the farmers of Madhya Pradesh via video conferencing on Friday during a Kisan Kalyan Sammelan (farmers welfare programme) as part of a state-level programme. The Prime Minister is likely to speak about the beneficial provisions of the new farm laws during his virtual address.

My precise view

Search This Blog