FTA Awards Muni with $21.4 Million


Photo by THE Holy Hand Grenade!

Streetsblog SF reports that the SFMTA, which runs Muni, has been awarded $21.4 million to upgrade its fleet with new buses, and make improvements to a specific route.

From Streetsblog’s report:

Muni, which has the oldest transit fleet in the nation, will be able to replace 18 twenty-year-old buses with low-floor, biodiesel hybrid buses using the $15 million State of Good Repair grant, according to a news release. Another $6.4 million, which comes from the Livability grant, will be used for these improvements along the 8x Bayshore Express line as part of the 8x Mobility Maximization project:

  • Coloring of existing dedicated transit lanes;
  • Transit signal priority;
  • Pre-payment fare collection;
  • Information panel and transit arrival prediction signs;
  • Vehicle branding and enhanced stop identification; and
  • Cameras on buses to capture vehicles illegally occupying transit-only lanes.

Overall, Bay Area transit agencies fared well, also. In addition to Muni’s take, BART, AC Transit, SamTrans, and the Valley Transportation Authority are set to receive a total of $45.7 million for transit improvements.

Read more at Streetsblog SF.

Next Stop … A Tribute to NYC’s Miss Subways


Photo: The first Miss Subways winner, Mona Freeman, via the Miss Subways Facebook Page.

New York City Subway stations have a specific type of beauty: underground urban sensibility mixed with iconic ceramic plaques and tile mosaics. We wouldn’t have thought they’d serve as the backdrop for a beauty contest, but we’re glad to be proven wrong.

For decades beginning in the 1940s, the Subway stations paid tribute to more than 200 winners of the Miss Subways contest. To enter, you just needed to be a lady, a New York City resident, and a Subway rider. The lovely winners’ photos, accomplishments, and aspirations were featured on posters throughout the transit system. New York artist Fiona Gardner and journalist Amy Zimmer tracked down 40 of the former beauty queens, photographed them, and plan to tell their life stories in an upcoming book, Meet Miss Subways. The duo still needs funding to complete their book — here’s more info on the Miss Subways Kickstarter project.

We have to admit, this unbelievably cool project has left us with a little city envy. Can we have a Miss Muni, please?

Take a Photo of Yourself With New Interactive Ad on Muni Shelters

Have you seen the new interactive ads by the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Muni shelters? Rider D sent in a tip, and we went to the Muni shelter on Sutter and Stockton to take a short video of it. According to D’s email:

At the outbound 38 Geary stop on Powell St. is an interactive ad for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. You use the touch screen to take a picture of yourself via the built in camera, choose a background, then use the text code generated to load the ‘postcard’ onto your smart phone!

These ads are by the company Engine Company 1. The idea is to transform the shelters into a “virtual aquarium.” Here is a post with more photos of the ads and a little more about their idea.

Playing with this ad was pretty fun (reminds me of the Yahoo neighborhood game last year). Have you seen other notable pieces from Madison Avenue on our Muni shelters? Comment away, please.

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