Culture Bus On Its Way Out — Maybe?
Surprise, surprise. The 74X Culture Bus is up for a vote and might be doing its last run in September, reports the San Francisco Examiner. Charging a $7 adult fare when you can get to the same places for $1.50 in this economy seems like a bad idea from the beginning, as we reported back in January. According to the Examiner:
The transit agency spent $607,372 between Sept. 27 and Jan. 31to operate the new bus line, and collected only $59,927 in revenue, putting Muni in the red to the tune of $547,445 on the line’s operating costs.
It’s maddening to me to realize that we are facing service cuts and fare hikes, and in the mean time we’ve wasted so much money on some kind of VIP tourist bus that everyone knew was destined to fail anyway.
Muni’s board will vote April 30. Fingers crossed.
Photo by Flickr user paulkimo9.
Dang why can’t they get rid of it as soon as the plan is approved?!
Get rid of it! To get to the museums in the park from downtown is easy, there are multiple bus and streetcar lines that go there, and tourists can get a real feel of San Francisco while they ride on the 5 Fulton, 71 Haight Noriega or N Judah (etc.)
I would think most people wouldn’t mind a Muni adventure or, I know it’s a crazy idea, walking where they need to go (I’m thinking the downtown museums, which are all relatively close and easy to walk to/from).
Spend the money where it’s needed.
Gone baby, gone!
The 5-Fulton serves literally all the locations that the CultureBus stops. And people should just get some exercise and walk a little to Fulton.
Although a major waste of tax dollars, I’m curious to know how the cut will affect the King Tut exhibit. Maybe Muni could run extra 44 buses instead.