Two Way Haight Street and Your Muni Ride

71-Haight: 77 Minutes
Photo by Andy B

The SFMTA has just approved the Haight Street Two Way project between Gough and Octavia. How would it affect your Muni commute? Streetsblog reports:

When constructed in 2014, the project is expected to improve transit reliability for the roughly 20,000 daily riders on the 6 and 71 Muni lines by eliminating unnecessary detours that delay buses behind congested car traffic.

The current experience on the 71, said SFMTA Director Joél Ramos, is a ”long and painful ride.”

“I take offense at people who have guffawed at the 3-minute savings,” he said. “When you’ve got a bus load of people, that’s 60 people times 3 minutes each. That turns into hours which quickly turns into days of time for people that are late to work, away from their families, and these are people that are doing the right thing by not driving and getting out of our cars in this transit-first city.”

More from Haighteration:

Currently, Haight Street traffic flows in one direction — westward, away from Market Street — on the block in question. That means Muni buses traveling eastward on Haight Street have to be diverted, turning left once they reach Laguna and then right onto Page. The route brings Muni into direct competition with automobile traffic approaching Octavia Boulevard, which can often make for a painfully slow commute.

What do you think of the Haight Street Two Way Traffic Plan? Good idea to improve your commute?

Muni News: $$$ Youth Pass, Mayor Candidates on Muni, Fraud


Photo by Jessica Druck

A few pieces of Muni news for you:

Y’all had a lot to say about the free Muni for kids proposal. Could it “wean Americans off of our car fetish” as one commenter said, help poor family, or is it “asking for trouble,” to quote another commenter?

Muni News: Problem shelter, Fleet Week gas cost, litter-punch

A heap of Muni news this week:

  • Problem Muni bus shelter in San Francisco’s Tenderloin could be removed (SF Examiner)
  • BART Cut Cell Service on Spur of the Moment, Emails Show (The Bay Citizen)
  • Dennis Herrera may lose San Francisco Central Subway job (SF Examiner)
  • San Francisco fleet’s gas costs (including for Muni) rise as usage drops (SF Examiner)
  • Public nudity? Who actually rides Muni? Mayor’s debate reveals all (City Insider)
  • 28L-19th Avenue bus stop changes effective Oct. 17 (The Daily Dose)
  • Muni passenger punches woman for littering on bus (SF Examiner)

Brag About Crime on Muni? Not a Good Idea

Cell Phones
Photo by Scallop Holden

You know that overheard conversations on Muni can be entertaining, but who knew it could solve crime? A savvy passenger who overheard a man on Muni bragging about stealing a cellphone and decided to do something about it, reports Bay City News on SFAppeal:

A man was arrested Wednesday for stealing a woman’s iPhone after a passenger on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus overheard him bragging about the robbery.

The robbery occurred at 9:12 p.m. at a store in the 3200 block of 20th Ave. in the Stonestown Galleria.

A 24-year-old woman had her iPhone snatched out of her hand by a suspect who then ran out of the store along with another suspect, according to police at the department’s Taraval Station.

Shortly afterward, a passenger on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus overheard the suspect bragging to a group of people on the bus about a robbery he had committed, police said. The passenger called police, who responded and stopped the bus and detained five people.

Sometimes I wear my headphones while riding Muni even though I’m not listening to music just to see what I can overhear. Occupational hazard? Maybe. But looks like it pays off! Click over to SFAppeal to read about what happened next.

Muni News: Caltrain budget, costly cameras on Muni drivers, free Muni for kids


Photo by Brian Brooks

  • Caltrain officials adopt tentative 2013 budget (Silicon Valley Business Journal)
  • Free Muni for youths a step closer (SFGate)
  • CPUC Requires BART, Muni To Install Cameras To Catch Drivers Using Cell Phones (BCN via SF Appeal)
  • Operator surveillance ordered by state will cost BART, Muni big (SF Examiner)
  • Mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty wants life coaches for Muni drivers (City Insider)
  • Muni and poor streets among complaints in new San Francisco survey (SF Examiner)
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