Muni to Cease Surprise ‘Short Turns’ on Metro Trains
Photo by Joe Gratz
SF Weekly reports the dubious news:
Muni will end its practice of surprising riders by curtailing service mid-route, according to a new report delivered to the Board of Supervisors. The practice, known in the industry as “short-turn,” occurs in response to situations where light-rail trains bunch up because some are behind schedule. In order to avoid a bottleneck in the Muni Metro Tunnel running underneath Market Street, managers and inspectors will sometimes turn a rail car around mid-route, leaving surprised passengers high and dry to wait for the next train.
When I read the article, I kept hoping this new “policy” would apply system-wide. Alas, no. Not the case. In my experience, the 49-Van Ness looooves to make unannounced stops at Market, or sometimes 14th Street. That practice will remain, it seems. So hang onto your Magic 8 Ball for those bus rides, folks!
Read the rest of SF Weekly’s article.
In 2008, Nat Ford promised to stop short turning the N-Judah.
And he’s not lying this time because???
What they’ll do instead is keep more trains out of service to restore headways when they happen instead of short turns.
Those Market Street or 14th Street signed 49s are coaches pulling into the bus yard. Those will always be there…
Yeah, I know. But it would sure be nice for riders to know that, like, in advance of getting booted off the bus for no apparent reason to them.