Transit News Digest 3.10.09 (Update)

Silly me, posting a news digest before 1 p.m.

Update: Just learned that BART directors will a presentation Thursday (March 12) on the agency’s Fiscal Year 2010, assuming it will have one. It expects a $49.3 million deficit next year.

Original post: Earlier today, Greg Dewar posted a quick hit asking for details on a Muni slowdown. Good luck getting that, Greg. If you, dear reader, know of anything, let us know here or on Twitter, or drop Greg a line.

On Monday, SFGate reported another jump in public transit ridership, with 2008’s numbers constituting a 52-year high. It’s great news, but here in San Francisco, as in many other parts of the country, budget deficits compounded by the spiraling economy are forcing fare hikes and cuts in funding. The country is truly a shambles right now economically, but it’s at least encouraging that more and more people realize that public transit, while full of its share of problems, nearly always beats driving. (thx: Rescue Muni)

Nascent online-news site SFAppeal catches us up on just how badly the budget numbers will impact plans for the Central/Chinatown Subway project. It doesn’t look good.

Per that report last week that Muni managed to boost its on-time rates, The Examiner has a theory as to how it happened — discipline from on high. We’d sure like to see a Muni driver slapped on the wrist with a ruler next time he or she starts a route early.

In perhaps more familiar news, a suit has been filed against the BART extension into Fremont. We didn’t realize the backyards over there were so precious. Turns out the group crying foul comprises former BART directors and the Transportation Solutions and Education Fund, so perhaps it’s got merit. They claim the extension is an illegal expenditure of public funds, basically because the rest of the extension into Santa Clara County hasn’t yet found funding. To our minds, this is like saying, “Don’t eat breakfast if you haven’t yet found a way to pay for lunch.”

Oh, and be wary until about 4 p.m., as Muni is advising of delays in downtown San Francisco due to a demonstration.

And to leave you on a high note, SFist spreads word of a TransLink party along Market on March 22. Sounds deliciously deviant and painfully fun.

If you’ve got news tips or stories you’re dying to tell, let us know. And Happy Tuesday!

MD Exclusive: Q&A with Michael Smith of NextBus

nextmuni.com

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.

Read more

Transit News Digest 3.6.09

opossumThe Examiner reports on Nathaniel Ford’s stating of the obvious: that service will suffer due to a deteriorating fleet of buses and trains if millions aren’t found in funding to shore up the vehicles. Millions as in more the $680 of them. $680 million. In this economy?

The non-Chronicle, soon-to-be biggest daily in town also reported on Muni’s hiring of a new safety head. As rnaglejr responded when we echoed the news over on our Twitter feed, “yeah, well, what about the reliability chief? Still waiting on that hire.” So are we, Rob.

ABC and others tell us that yesterday’s Fruit(less)vale BART station protest was largely uneventful. Oh well, we’re sure there will more attempt to make the innocent suffer with BART delays and station shutdowns to come.

And we leave you to the weekend with this week’s humorous and tragic monkey business, as an opossum apparently caused major BART fuckery on Tuesday. Ouch.

If you’ve got news tips for Muni Diaires, or, you know, Muni diaries, send them our way. Or follow our Twitter feed for more immediate BART and Muni news. Have a great weekend!

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