So, I'm going to start off with the disclaimer that I have never taken a course or really studied transportation or land use. That being said, I think it's quite interesting, but what I know as of right now is generally based on personal experience or the occasional reading I've done on urban planning.
For this blog, I think I'm going to focus on issues, articles, or commentary about various means of transport in very urban areas. I find public transportation and the benefits and problems with which it walks hand-in-hand to be interesting. I have lived in multiple large cities across the US, and the public transportation (or sometimes lack thereof) is something often noted and discussed by almost everyone within the general public.
Today, I'm going to comment on an article I read about San Francisco's MUNI system. The article I read can be found here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/muni-delays_n_3348793.html
Basically, the report comments on how the MUNI has a tremendously negative impact on the economy and wastes the time of countless commuters. It was actually published back in May, but as someone who was in San Francisco for almost four months this summer, I'm going to say the points they made are probably just as relevant now.
I took the MUNI to and from work almost every day. I lived in the Haight and had to commute to a pier on the eastern bay of the city, which is about a 3.5 or 4 mile commute. In total, between riding the bus and the walk from my stop to my office, my commute was 45 minutes. While I accepted it for what it was, it is a bit astounding. On occasion I would walk to or from work, and I could accomplish that in just over an hour. Now, the great cause for such a cumbersome commute via public transit I think is due to the high traffic volumes and high density of people, the very frequent stops of the buses, and the fact that buses must weave in and out of lanes around cars at times. It's a bit daunting really.
However, the regular delay of MUNI buses is one problem that, if it could be resolved, I think would save substantial time. I know personally my commute could have been up to 6 or 7 minutes shorter most days if the MUNI were to be more punctual. Many days one or more buses would catch up with ones ahead of them. San Francisco's MUNI system has not been substantially updated in some time, so I hope that perhaps through examining stop placement, or having fewer buses all convene at the same intersection on Market Street, or changing the routes such that for some the buses do not visibly and audibly struggle on the steepest of slopes and slow down commutes, some of the severe delays could be better prevented or avoided.
I've not ridden the Muni having only been to SF once about 15 years ago. It's on my list though, what with light rail, streetcars, ETBs, cable cars, and BART's heavy-rail system.
ReplyDeleteAs the writer says, people make sport of hating Muni, but I'm not sure that the "they don't need money, just better managers" thing will hold up under scrutiny.
Other than the light rail subway, all their vehicles run in mixed traffic. That's a killer for keeping to a schedule - you get bus bunching and leap-frogging (if that's permitted) which leads to unpredictable running times and schedules.
I have read where they are trying to do some things to make things work better. One was all-door boarding. I don't know how they are doing fare collection (off-board with machines or POP where an inspector randomly checks for valid fare media) that should reduce dwell times at stops.
The other thing, that I'm sure they will get flack about if they haven't already, is reducing the number of stops on certain routes. I know the whole raison d'etre of transit is to take people where they want to go, but there are tradeoffs that need to be made between putting stops everywhere and keeping the vehicles moving.
There are some TSM (transportation system management) approaches that transit agencies attempt to employ to address issues such as MUNI faces. When grade separation is not possible, using signal timing, timed transfer stations, far-side stops, every other stop options (stopping every block can be time consuming in downtown - they can switch one vehicle to the every other stop model), bus lanes in key places that don't allow cars during peak hour, and so forth.
ReplyDeleteFundamentally, placing transit ahead of cars takes a culture change (even in California).
-Meghan
Do you think that SF will alter its roadway usage or policies in order to give buses protected and/or expedited lanes for travel to solve this problem? It seems that most other cities have it figured out, especially with a population that large.
ReplyDelete