Muni to Test Seat Reconfiguration
Photo via StreetsBlog
Muni is looking to reconfigure the forward- and backward-facing seats on the light rail train cars to accomodate more riders and speed up boarding, reports StreetsBlog.
According to StreetsBlog:
The SFMTA plans to run a trial starting in January by putting one reconfigured prototype car into service, which would be monitored over six months before reconfiguring other train cars.
The pilot is moving forward at the behest of Supervisors Scott Wiener and London Breed, who called a hearing held yesterday on how the agency can increase capacity on its metro system while Muni riders await a new, larger train fleet due to arrive in 2017. By converting most seats to a sideways-facing orientation, planners estimate they could allow room for five to eight more passengers per train car while removing obstacles that can create bottlenecks when riders squeeze in and out at stops.
One question: in the new seat configuration, which one is the Muni pimp seat?
The current Muni pimp seat is in the first car, on the right side, facing forward next to the sideways seats in the front row. Not only does it have leg room when the train isn’t crowded, but you can also see out the windshield of the train and get a nice view of where the train is heading.
I get car sick when I ride on the bus sideways. Guess I’ll be barfing on Muni more frequently.
Fewer actual seats, more room to stand. Weiner again? No surprise there. Does he even use MUNI to get to his job?
The current seats and arrangements must’ve been tested only with very small and tiny people.
The front- and back-facing orientation is called transverse seating. The sideways-facing orientation is called longitudinal seating.
Longitudinal (sideways) seating is used on busier rail systems like New York, and maybe a stopgap for Muni, if it can’t keep up on the necessary number of available cars. Sometimes I prefer sideways seating because I don’t have to excuse myself to get off like on window transverse seating. (Both orientations don’t bother me.)