OPINION: Keep transit lanes for public transit

By Sue Vaughan : 48hills – excerpt

The MTA is about to create more transit-only lanes — but will the Google buses be allowed to use them?

The SFMTA Board of Directors will hold a special meeting Tuesday/30 to consider, among other items, the creation of temporary emergency transit lanes. We need to tell the board that those lanes should be reserved for public transit buses only—no private buses should be allowed to operate in those lanes. No tech shuttles, no Academy of Art buses, no casino or tour buses. Muni, Golden Gate Transit, and SamTrans only… (more)

Muni Changing Up Rail

By Roger Rudick : streetsblog – excerpt (includes map)

When the subway comes back in August, it’ll be a whole lot different.

SFMTA plans to resume rail service, which has been stopped since the end of March due to precipitous drops in ridership thanks to COVID, in August. However, the J Church, L Taraval, and K Ingleside trains will be banished from the subway tunnel.

From an SFMTA release:

The J Church and K Ingleside lines can only support one-car trains due to surface-level constraints, while the N Judah, M Ocean View, T Third and S Shuttle can accommodate two-car trains. One-car trains take up the same “slot” in the subway as a two-car train. By devoting the tunnels to the higher capacity routes, we could be using the space in our subway much more efficiently. And with ridership volumes, it currently makes the most sense to combine the K Ingleside and L Taraval lines…(more)

Muni rolls back fare increases after pressure from SF supervisors

By Rachel Swan : sfchronicle – excerpt

San Francisco’s transportation board has pulled back a 30-cent fare increase in a deal with two supervisors that followed months of jockeying in City Hall.

In exchange, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston withdrew a proposed charter amendment that would have stripped power from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, including its authority to decide fares… (more)

California High-Speed Rail Project to See Budget, Staffing Cuts

by Andrew Sheeler : govtec – excerpt

Though work is moving forward on the rail project in the San Joaquin Valley, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing dramatic cuts to 88 consultant positions. The cuts would save around $30 million annually.

(TNS) — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration plans to cut millions of dollars in spending from the state High-Speed Rail Authority even as the costly project continues to move forward in the San Joaquin Valley.

The administration wants to cut the equivalent of 88 positions for private-sector consultants working on the project, saving $29.8 million annually, according to a budget document released this week.

The department would create new state jobs for 70 public employees, offsetting some of the savings.

The changes reflect years of concerns that private-sector consultants had taken over the project with insufficient oversight.…(more)

That may make the residents of Millbrae breathe easier for a while, as they were really upset over the idea of a High-Speed rail stop tearing into their downtown plan.

RELATED: High-speed rail upsets Millbrae