Mr. Zhang and his wife were used to taking the 30 Muni bus regularly to Chinatown from their home in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.
The bus would take them directly to the heart of Chinatown on Stockton Street, which is lined with dozens of grocery stores, restaurants and herbal shops. Zhang, a 79-year-old retiree, would spend most of his day in Portsmouth Square, meeting friends and watching others play poker, while his wife shopped for dinner.
Little did Zhang know that this convenient bus line might soon run less frequently near his home if community leaders didn’t push back against a proposed service cut.
Months after Chinatown community leaders spoke out against the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s plan to reduce service on a key bus route through their neighborhood, a compromise has been reached. On Monday, the agency announced a revised plan, slightly extending the curtailed bus route it originally proposed.
Two 30 bus lines run through Chinatown to the Caltrain station: a long route that starts in the Presidio, and the 30S, a short route that starts by Fort Mason near many schools. Initially, Muni planned to reroute the eastbound 30S to have it to end before reaching Market Street, starting Feb. 1 — which would have been particularly bad timing for Chinatown businesses as they prepared for Lunar New Year celebrations and their busiest season.
Under the adjusted plan, starting March 15, the new 30S route will end three blocks south of Market Street at Folsom Street, with slightly longer wait times between buses.
“After working extensively with the Chinatown community members, we’ve been able to identify a win-win solution for some service changes,” said Julie Kirschbaum, Muni’s new director.
“This is really an example of a process working and one that we will seek to model as we move on,” she said.
Kirschbaum said this plan will save the same amount of money as the proposal Muni released in November. She also highlighted that, for the first time, the agency will include Chinese characters on the head signs of both 30 bus routes passing through Chinatown.
Yet this “win-win solution” was not part of Muni’s original plan. Due to massive budget shortfalls since the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency proposed a series of service reductions including shortening the 30S route. The envisioned cut immediately drew significant pushback from the Chinatown community members, who worried it would hurt local businesses and criticized the agency for failing to engage with community leaders ahead of time. Leaders quickly took action, firing off emails and scheduling meetings with officials, including new Mayor Daniel Lurie and District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter.
Donald Luu, president of the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, was one of the leaders who jumped into action to oppose the initial route change. He called the new plan a “very sensible compromise,” noting that one of the main community demands is to ensure the shortened bus line continues to cross Market Street into SOMA, home to many transit-dependent seniors, like Zhang, who visit Chinatown daily.
Luu said he saw the compromise as a success, and applauded the new administration for being accessible and open in handling the community concerns.
Alicia John-Baptiste, San Francisco’s newly appointed chief of infrastructure, climate and mobility, also said this process of working with the community was a “promising sign,” especially as city budget challenges persist.
Ed Siu, who chairs the Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco, was less optimistic that city agencies will be more prone to accepting such compromises. He said that despite his raising concerns immediately after the proposal and meeting with Muni in December, no changes were made until more organizations joined the effort and the issue gained media attention.
Siu also pointed out that many visitors from cities like San Jose use the 30 bus to reach Chinatown from Caltrain (the 45 route also links Chinatown and Caltrain), but with the 30S line no longer stopping there, service connecting the train station to Chinatown will be reduced. Transit options would be even more limited if the T train was compromised as happened last week when Muni closed the Central Subway for water repair work. Muni has indicated that the subway is slated to reopen on March 14, before the 30S bus route changes.
Still, Siu struck a more hopeful note about Muni’s new leadership. “I hope the new SFMTA director truly listens to the people and follows through,” he said.
