On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted not to reject the proposed budget of the Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni's parent agency). This was the first time the supervisors came close to exercising this budget power, and City Hall has been wracked with debate about whether this was the right way to proceed. On the one hand, rejection of the budget would have sent a message that transportation funding, and particularly funding for Muni, is a top priority in San Francisco. On the other hand, rejection of the budget could have led to cuts from other departments, thus resulting in unintended consequences.
Regardless of one's views on this particular MTA budget, we are encouraged that transportation funding is front and center in the budget debate. Public transportation is probably the city service that affects the most people on the most frequent basis. Whatever your mode of transportation, Muni's level of functioning impacts your life. If you take Muni, you know that service levels have a direct effect on your daily activities. Service cuts make your commute longer and may even make it impossible for you to rely on Muni to get where you are going. If you drive, a dysfunctional Muni affects you as well, since the more people who shift from Muni to driving, the more congestion you will experience and the slower your drive will be. If you bike or walk, you will also be impacted by people shifting from Muni to driving, given the increase in congestion and resulting danger to cyclists and pedestrians.
In other words, Muni impacts everyone, regardless of socioeconomic class and regardless of what kind of transportation you use.
We are fortunate in the Castro and surrounding areas to have excellent public transportation. We are served by all of the subway lines, and Castro station, Church station, and Duboce Street are three of the most important transit hubs in the city. We are thrilled that MTA has prioritized rail service in the neighborhood, including the significant revamping and expansion of the Duboce Street transit corridor.
But, the neighborhood also depends on the 24, 33, 35, 37, and 48 bus lines. The 33 line is already undependable, and the 24 line, though better, is still not a model of reliability. We are concerned about proposed nighttime service cuts to the 35, 37, and 48 lines. These lines serve the hills south and west of the Castro, as well as Noe Valley and Diamond Heights. These areas have many residents who can afford to drive but who choose to take public transportation, as well as residents who depend on Muni for financial or mobility reasons. By scaling back these routes, MTA needs to ensure it is not pushing people into cars.
We recognize that MTA is in a terrible position. The agency has a significant budget deficit and has to make hard choices. MTA is acting in good faith and is attempting to make the best of a bad situation. But, we think it is important to prioritize Muni service and to cut service only as a last resort. We are pleased to see that MTA is addressing the issue of other departments issuing at-times questionable work orders to MTA, thus effectively transferring transit dollars to non-transit uses. We also encourage our city leaders, including the business community and labor, to focus on transit-oriented measures as we explore the possibility of placing revenue measures on the fall ballot.
In addition, we must continue to pressure our federal and state governments to prioritize public transportation spending. The Obama administration's focus on high-speed rail is terrific, but a dramatic increase in funding for subways, bus rapid transit, and light rail is also critical. Public transportation is an area of government where we know that the more money we invest, the better the results.
In the short run, we are confident that MTA, the mayor, and the Board of Supervisors will work together to address MTA's serious budget situation while ensuring the integrity of our public transportation system – one of the pillars of our quality of life and sound urban planning.
Scott Wiener is president of the Eureka Valley Promotion Association, the neighborhood association for the Castro/Upper Market area (www.evpa.org). Dennis Richards is president of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association (www.dtna.org). Gary Weiss is president of Corbett Heights Neighbors (http://www.corbettheights.org) .