The Green Caltrain blog is sponsored by BayRail Alliance, an all-volunteer non-profit organization supporting green rail transit in the Bay Area. This blog and BayRail have no affiliation with Caltrain.San Francisco restores more Muni service, partway toward goal of full restoration
Yesterday, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced Muni will restore 61 percent of the service it cut in May by September 4. The SFMTA was able to put together about $15 million in funding from Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, plus savings from scaling back non-driving time operator hours. The goal is complete restoration of service within a year, according to Newsom’s public statement.
The Muni announcement is a positive sign that with commitment and effort, the Bay Area can keep public transit infrastructure running in economically difficult times. Another potential lesson for Caltrain supporters is the operating efficiencies that Muni was able to find. This fall, Caltrain’s operating contract with Amtrak is up for rebidding, and there may be opportunities for savings as part of a new contract.
For more details about the Muni funding restoration, see coverage in Streetsblog and the San Francisco Chronicle/
August 4th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Whatever you do, make sure CalTrain doesn’t hire Veolia on for a new operations contract. Learn from Metrolink’s mistakes. It’s nice to have trains that don’t crash into things.