Author: eugenia

Photo by Brandon Doran

A survey of 600 Muni riders found that half of them have never heard of the Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit project, according to a Bay Citizen report. Some 57 percent of those surveyed by the San Francisco Transit Riders Union did not know about the project.

So, for the curious minds wondering WTF we’re talking about:

San Francisco County Transportation Authority planners say that the bus rapid transit project would transform the line that carries 50,000 riders a day, the most in the system, into something more like a train. With a dedicated bus lane in each direction, low-floor buses would arrive at more regular intervals to carry passengers between the quiet west side of the city and downtown. It’s scheduled to open in 2019.

There you have it: it’ll happen seven years from now. The Bay Citizen explains the resources that are being spent on rider outreach about the project:

The authority is paying a pretty penny for publicizing the project. A total of $270,000 is going to two big-name consulting firms – Barbary Coast Consulting, based in San Francisco, and Circlepoint in Oakland – to handle communications and outreach from 2008 through 2013, according to the transportation authority.

The planners told the Bay Citizen that they have bought ads, sent mailings, hung posters, and held meetings to “more than 25 community groups this summer about the bus rapid transit on Geary.”

They’re looking to do something similar on Van Ness. Editor’s note: PLEASE GOD MAKE IT SO!