Finding a cab in the city may soon get easier for San Francisco residents and visitors to the city. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation, which oversees taxi services in the city, is working on developing an application to help make it easier for people to find a cab.
Category: Transportation
Posted inCommunity, Neighborhoods, Transportation
S.F. transportation agency apologizes, reassesses parking meter plan
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency agreed to assess people’s parking needs block by block in the Mission and other southeastern neighborhoods before installing any new parking meters. That marked a change in the agency’s attitude since a Jan. 13 meeting in which a hearing officer approved the installation of about 5,000 parking meters in several eastern neighborhoods, despite the objections of hundreds of people who spoke unanimously in opposition to the proposal.
Posted inEconomy & Business, Education, Media, Social Justice, Social Services, Transportation
Sharing skills during the holidays
With the holiday festivities swiftly approaching in a year marked by global protests over economic inequality, people in the Bay Area are turning to alternate, community-based means of exchanging goods and skills. Collectives like the Timebank help people circumvent buying gifts with money during the holidays. “The systemic way in which the economy works undermines every good that we try to do,” said Mira Luna, co-founder of the local nonprofit Bay Area Community Exchange, an organization that has been facilitating trades of talents and commodities using time rather than money as the currency. “There’s a lot of underutilized resources and a lot of needs out of there.”
Posted inCity Hall, Labor, Transportation
Muni operators deserve payout from settlement, says Mayor Lee
San Francisco transit workers got an unexpected holiday bonus, of sorts, after winning back a contested $8 million in health care payouts that the city initially refused to give because it was trying to cut its 2011 budget. Mayor Ed Lee said Tuesday that he agreed with the decision by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to relinquish the funds to the Transport Workers Union 250-A.
Posted inCity Hall, Transportation
Muni chief optimistic despite projected budget shortfall
Muni is projecting close to an $80 million budget deficit by 2013-2014. The agency released its preliminary budget report Monday. Despite the shortfall, Muni wants to change the minds of riders and drivers who are skeptical that the service can be reliable and on time. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees Muni, has drafted goals for the next six years that Muni chief Ed Reiskin calls “ambitious.”
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Transportation
Get drivers out of their cars and onto transit: mayoral candidate Leland Yee on Muni
Can S.F.’s next mayor save Muni? – Part 8
State Senator Leland Yee is running for San Francisco mayor and said his main goal for Muni is to get drivers out of cars and onto buses and trains. He wants to add 100,00 new riders by 2020. Yee said in order to do this, Muni needs to update its technology for with more real-time data and focus on how the transit agency is spending its budget. He said the agency should be focused on fixing broken Muni vehicles.
Posted inCity Hall, Transportation
City must hit the reset button on transit: mayoral candidate Phil Ting on Muni
Can S.F.’s next mayor save Muni? – Part 7
Assessor-Recorder and San Francisco mayoral candidate Phil Ting wants Muni riders to join him in “resetting” Muni. He is behind the online community known as Reset SF, where residents get a chance to share their ideas with Ting on improving city government transparency. One of the central topics of Reset SF is Muni and how to improve service and reliability.
Posted inCity Hall, Transportation
Central Subway costs have gotten out of control: mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera on Muni
Can S.F.’s next mayor save Muni? – Part 6
One of the leading voices against the Central Subway project has been City Attorney and San Francisco mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera. Herrera said that he supported the project at the initial cost of $650 million, but now cost projections have reached $1.6 billion.
Posted inCity Hall, Transportation
Giving transit workers a boost will help improve the system: mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty on Muni
Can S.F.’s next mayor save Muni? – Part 5
Former supervisor and San Francisco mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty is standing up for the Muni operators. Dufty said he knows what Muni drivers go through each and every day and he wants to help them if he comes mayor. His plan is to offer life coaches to Muni operators and other city employees working on the front lines.
Posted inCity Hall, Transportation
Boost the vehicle license fee to help fund S.F. public transit: mayoral candidate David Chiu on Muni
Can S.F.’s next mayor save Muni? – Part 4
San Francisco mayoral candidate David Chiu said that if he becomes mayor, he will work to get the state to boost the vehicle license fee in order to help cash-strapped Muni. In 2003, when Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor, the first thing he did was slash the vehicle license fee. Chui, who does not own a car and uses a bike and Muni to get around town, won one of three endorsements handed out by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.