Muni Improvements Draw Increased Ridership

Muni Improvements Draw Increased Ridership
By Kate McCarthy

Buses driving towards downtown on Geary Boulevard.

38 Geary buses zip downtown on new transit lanes that improve travel times for Muni riders.

As Earth Day approaches and we think about how to encourage more people to take non-car trips, recent Muni improvement projects are drawing increased ridership across the city. While Muni ridership downtown has not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, ridership has gone up on Muni lines where we have improved speed and frequency of Muni service.

Muni is a lifeline for many of our riders: 70% of Muni riders have an annual income of less than $50,000. As we restored and added Muni service after the start of the pandemic, we invested in the routes that serve people who rely on transit and need it most. For example, after we installed transit lanes, increased frequency and re-routed the 22 Fillmore to bring people to their jobs and medical appointments in Mission Bay, ridership increased to 107% of pre-pandemic levels on weekdays and 118% on weekends.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve implemented more than 21 miles of new transit priority lanes, growing our transit lane network (https://ift.tt/dyMYueI) to over 70 miles. These transit lanes are improving travel times for Muni riders across the city. After transit lanes were installed on Mission Street in downtown, travel times on the 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid are now 31% quicker.

Ridership numbers on the 49 Van Ness-Mission also blossomed to 109% of pre-pandemic ridership on weekdays and 114% on weekends after construction on the Van Ness BRT corridor was completed last April. With physically-separated transit lanes and transit signal priority that gives the green light to Muni and Golden Gate Transit buses, riders there are seeing travel times reduced by 35%.

A similar story has emerged on San Francisco’s busiest transit boulevard — Geary. Like other lines that serve downtown, the 38 Geary hasn’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic ridership levels. But the route did nab a spot in the top 10 highest recovered routes in the Muni system. The 38 Geary’s 36,000 daily riders have recently seen travel time savings of up to 18% since we installed three miles of new transit lanes, bus stop changes and other improvements as part of the Geary Rapid Project. We plan similar improvements on the western end of the corridor as part of the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project.   

Muni riders have noticed that improvements to our busiest Muni lines are making service faster and more reliable than it has been in decades. Two-thirds (66%) of Muni riders who took our Annual Muni Rider Survey last fall rated Muni service as “good” or “excellent” — a 9% increase from 2021 and the strongest increase since 2018.

These improvements can’t come soon enough. Most of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and trucks. As the urgency to address climate change mounts, so does the need to get the most out of our Muni system. To inspire riders to come back to Muni, we’re working hard to bring back the Muni system our city deserves: One that is thriving with the better frequency, improved reliability and better connections that these projects are delivering.

Published April 21, 2023 at 02:24AM
https://ift.tt/rKHxJ8v

Comments

New top story from Time: After ISIS-K’s Kabul Airport Attack, the U.S. Faces a New Terrorist Threat in Afghanistan

https://ift.tt/3BhBD78 Just days away from pulling its last troops out of Afghanistan following 20 years of protracted war, the U.S. faces a new terrorist threat: Islamic State-Khorasan Province. The group, abbreviated ISIS-K or ISKP, claimed responsibility for the coordinated bomb attack Thursday at the Abbey Gate of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport , where hundreds of Afghans and foreign citizens had been queuing up to get on the last evacuation flights out of the country. At least 90 people were killed, including 13 U.S. service members. It was the deadliest day for the U.S. military in Afghanistan in a decade. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] ISIS-K was labelled by the Institute of Economics and Peace’s Global Terrorism Index in 2019 as one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world, though many believed it had been decimated by U.S. and Afghan military counter-terrorism efforts. The attack raises questions about whether Islamist terro...

Boris Johnson greets India on Republic Day, says working together to eliminate COVID https://ift.tt/3qRBrGh

The UK and India are working side by side to free humanity from the coronavirus pandemic, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a special reference to the vaccine collaboration in his Republic Day message on Tuesday. Johnson was due to be in New Delhi as the chief guest at the annual parade to mark India’s 71st Republic Day but had to call off the visit to focus on the domestic crisis unleashed by the emergence of a new, deadlier variant of coronavirus in the UK at the end of last year.

FOX NEWS: Man loses 120 pounds, becomes triathlete after wife dies: ‘I wanted something more’ Bill Bowden, 52, from Burbank, California, has lost about 120 pounds since 2019 and is participating in his first triathlon on Saturday.

Man loses 120 pounds, becomes triathlete after wife dies: ‘I wanted something more’ Bill Bowden, 52, from Burbank, California, has lost about 120 pounds since 2019 and is participating in his first triathlon on Saturday. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3ERS6Bp

Biden speaks with Macron, seeks to cement US-France ties https://ift.tt/3694jSK

US President Joe Biden on Sunday spoke with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, expressing his desire to strengthen bilateral ties, the White House said. In a phone call, Biden also stressed his commitment to bolstering the transatlantic relationship, including through NATO and the United States’ partnership with the European Union, the White House said in a statement. “The leaders agreed on the need for close coordination, including through multilateral organisations, in tackling common challenges such as climate change, COVID-19, and the global economic recovery,” it said.

Time for Imran Khan government to go home: Asif Ali Zardari https://ift.tt/2Y98n0y

Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former president Asif Ali Zardari has lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying running a country is not the same as managing a cricket team. He said that the next few months are very important for the future of Pakistan's politics and predicted that "the government will collapse on its own".

Wealth amassed by 100 richest Indians during pandemic can give 13.8 cr poorest Rs 94k each: Oxfam https://ift.tt/3sSKZCS

India's 100 top billionaires have seen their fortunes increase by Rs 12,97,822 crore since March last year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and this amount is enough to give 13.8 crore poorest Indians a cheque for Rs 94,045 each. The latest India supplement of the Oxfam report 'The Inequality Virus' said it would take an unskilled worker 10,000 years to make what businessman Mukesh Ambani made in an hour during the pandemic and three years to make what he made in a second.

Biden Administration appoints Indian-Americans to key posts in Energy Department https://ift.tt/3ogcUJt

The Biden Administration has appointed four Indian-Americans to senior positions in the crucial Department of Energy. The administration appointed Tarak Shah as the Chief of Staff, making him the first Indian-American to serve in that position. Tanya Das has been named as the Chief of Staff to the Office of Science, Narayan Subramanian will occupy the position of Legal Adviser in the Office of General Counsel, and Shuchi Talati has been appointed as Chief of Staff in the Office of Fossil Energy.

Republic Day 2021 LIVE: All set for Rajpath parade; heavy security for farmers' tractor rally https://ift.tt/3pn0hOa

An unprecedented security cover has been put in place in and around Delhi for Republic Day. While the main traditional event will be at Rajpath where India's military might and cultural diversity will be on display, farmers' tractor rally across several routes in the national capital will keep the security forces on their toes. One of the major attractions at this year's Republic Day parade will be the flypast by Rafale fighter jets. Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets,T-90 tanks, the Samvijay electronic warfare system will also enthrall the audience. Total 32 tableaus -- 17 from states and union territories, six from the Defence ministry and nine from other Union ministries and paramilitary forces -- depicting the nation's rich cultural heritage, economic progress and defence prowess will roll down the Rajpath at the Republic Day parade. For the first time, 122-member contingent of the Bangladesh armed forces will also march on Rajpath.

Take Muni’s Safety Survey!

Take Muni’s Safety Survey! By Greer Cowan Everyone should feel safe on Muni. Help make Muni safer by taking the SFMTA’s survey about personal safety and harassment in the Muni system. As part of the MuniSafe Safety Equity Initiative launched in August 2022, the SFMTA has partnered with the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies to better understand Muni riders’ experiences and develop safety recommendations, tools and policies aimed at preventing harassment and assault on Muni. Take the 5-minute survey Survey information will also help the SFMTA understand Muni customers’ specific safety needs and challenges, and help us identify valuable trends and patterns so we know where, when and how harassment shows up in the Muni system. Incidents often go unreported, but the SFMTA is working to change that with new reporting options. As of October 2022, Muni customers can report incidents of harassment by calling 311, using the 311 mobile app or using t...

IRFC IPO allotment today: How to check status, grey market premium, listing date and more https://ift.tt/3qSCwOj

The Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) IPO allotment status will be made available on Monday (January 25). IRFC is the borrowing arm for the national transporter Indian Railways.

My precise view

Search This Blog