Author: Tara

What can drivers do to kick people off the bus? And why do Muni buses pass you by even when they are not full? These are just some of the questions you asked, and Judson True, SFMTA’s spokesperson, answers them in the second part of our first “Ask Muni” series. He tells us why buses bunch up (one of the most frequent complains we’ve seen here), why we have so many missed runs, and what Muni is trying to do to improve these issues. Check back tomorrow for Tara and Judson’s discussion of Muni’s communication issues. This and all posts in this series are cross-posted on SF Appeal.

Muni Diaries: At what point is a driver supposed to stop ignoring a trouble-maker and actually kick people off the bus? I think the quote from the reader was, “If I witness someone on the bus who should be put off and they’re not, can I report this? Anyone who rides the 22 or the 19 knows why this is important.”

Judson True: The simple answer is yes, you should report it. If one of our passengers believes that another passenger is engaging in any type of disruptive behavior, illegal behavior, they should report it to the operator, and the operator is required to ask that person to leave the bus. Operators are not supposed to allow any sort of disruptive behavior, illegal behavior on the buses.

We all know what happens. Different operators deal with it differently. One of the things we’re trying to do is make sure the training is there. Make sure the communication channels are there to get the operators the tools they need to call Central Control and say, “I’ve got this person on the bus who’s doing this, and they need to go.” They’re supposed to stop at a designated stop and ask that person to leave the bus.

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This post is the first in a multi-part series of talks Tara had with SFMTA spokesperson Judson True. We thought it timely for today’s post to be the bits they spent talking about the agency’s astounding $130 million budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1. This post and the others in this series will be cross-posted at SF Appeal.

Muni Diaries: What’s the latest news on what the economic situation here means for Muni, and what, if anything, will any federal stimulus funds do to stave off any cutbacks or restore any funding you thought you lost?

Judson True: We presented to our board of directors a few weeks ago a budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 with a deficit of about $130 million. That’s a big number.

For next year, we’re down about $55 million just from state and regional funding alone. And our money from the city’s general fund is expected to come in at about $25 million less than we expected.

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We can all thank Alameda-based NextBus for those snazzy little marquees we can’t stop staring at in the bus shelters. Not only does it provide a flashing update about where our bus might be, it provides us, at the very least, with something blinky to hold our attention while we brave the chills (hey, lay off, it gets cold here, sometimes).

Turns out the technology is available in about 60 different areas of the country, though its hometown SF is still by far the largest user base. NextBus Director of Engineering Michael Smith chatted with Muni Diaries editor Tara Ramroop about the ins and outs of the system, why it’s not always 100-percent accurate, and what’s in store in the very near future.

Muni Diaries: Tell me how long NextBus has been around.
Michael Smith: NextBus actually started in 1997, so it’s been quite awhile now. It actually started in San Francisco, by someone who rides Muni. They were just frustrated waiting for the cable cars, actually. And thought, Gee with all this technology around, shouldn’t there be a better way to deal with this? So they came up with this idea of having something that tells you when the bus is going to arrive. But his friends said, “What’s an idea if you don’t actually implement it?” So he ended up starting this company, and now we have NextBus all over San Francisco.

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