By Alex Emslie
Opinions and Editorials Editor

“I find it quite alarming and in some ways disrespectful,” said District 11 Supervisor John Avalos of the proposed San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency budget passed by the Board of Supervisors May 27.

The SFMTA’s $128.9 million deficit projected for fiscal year 2009-10 caused the agency to include a 50 cent hike to MUNI fares and a $10 increase to fast pass prices which took effect on July 1. Cuts and reroutes of bus services are scheduled for mid-October. The board approved the budget in a contentious 6-5 vote at the special meeting.

“I do feel that this could be much better,” District One Supervisor Eric Mar said. “It’s still an unbalanced and unfair budget that doesn’t share the burden with riders and drivers.”

Dissenting supervisors wanted to see more revenue from parking fee increases and less from MUNI fares. SFMTA Executive Director Nathaniel Ford acknowledged that more money could come from parking fees and said the agency would revisit that source over the next 90 days.

City College student and MUNI operator Emanuel Andreas, who recently founded the Bay Area Transportation Advisory Committee to act as a mediator between operators, their union and the SFMTA, said he would like to “completely reject” the budget and “start from scratch.”

“We don’t want the same type of thing next year; coming up asking for more money from working class people,” Andreas said. “The deficit is not going to go away until there is a structural change within the organization.”

The BATAC would like to see administration shoulder some of the burden of the fiscal crisis. “We want them to cut down at least five percent from management,” Andreas said.

“The fact that you may be adding services to other lines that are around it misses the underlying point,” said District Nine Supervisor David Campos to Ford, “which is that people who live in [Alemany] projects are now going to have to transfer to get to the supermarket.”

Campos was referring to the 67 line, which services parts of Bernal Heights, Alemany Blvd. and Mission Street. The western portion of the 67 loop is scheduled to be cut. Although Mission Street would still be served by the 14, eliminating half of the 67 loop ends direct service from Alemany Blvd. and Bernal Heights to the Mission.

“This is the only bus that runs by here,” said MUNI patron Naz Romero, as the 67 began its descent from the top of Bernal Heights. “This bus has always been in my neighborhood.”

“[The 67] runs sparse as it is. For those of us who live on the top of the hill, that’s a pain,” said Paul Wilson, another MUNI rider. “It’s terrible,” he added about the cuts.

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu said San Francisco’s $500 million deficit would “make this debate look like child’s play,” before voting to approve the SFMTA budget. “This is not the last word of this body on MUNI,” he added.

Information on MUNI service cuts and fare increases can be found at www.sfmta.com
Information on the BATAC can be found at www.baytac.org

No, it would be a disaster

BY MAAHUM CHAUDHRY
STAFF WRITER

As a frequent Muni rider, I know firsthand how Muni can be, with colorful Fast Passes to prove it. I’ve had my fair share of days of being soaked in the rain after waiting at the bus stop, only to watch my bus whiz by. I have dealt with the uncomfortable feeling of being pushed and shoved while trying to retain my balance. But I remind myself that taking public transportation is cheaper and better for the environment, so I try to grin and bear the ride. Because of the grievances just listed, I don’t think Muni rides should be made free, as Mayor Gavin Newsom hinted at last year.

If Muni were free, imagine how the larger crowds and reliability would be. The word “free” attracts everyone, and with so many people on a bus, things would be chaotic. Muni won’t be able to accommodate all their customers because they will still have the same number of buses running and won’t get money from fares to buy more.

Every Muni rider knows that with a crowded bus comes a slow ride. On numerous occasions I felt I could have reached my destination faster and more comfortably with my scooter from middle school. But I resist, trying to take full advantage of my wrinkly, damaged Fast Pass. With drivers often already grouchy enough with crowded buses and possibly lower wages, they would become ruder.

Just last year Muni introduced the environmentally friendly hybrid buses. With free Muni, many would be encouraged to take public transportation to helping reduce global warming. However, with free fare rides, there wouldn’t be enough funds to purchase more hybrid buses, which cost roughly $500,000 — approximately $150,000 more than the regular buses, according to sfmta.org.

Out of my love for Muni for taking students who can’t afford today’s gas prices to their various destinations, I think it is in the best interest of both Muni and for us faithful riders, Fast Pass handy, to keep Muni’s fares as they are.

Free fare is the best fare

BY LISKA KOENIG
STAFF WRITER

Taking Muni in San Francisco requires three things: patience, time and bus fare. How many times have you been late because you waited for a bus that never showed? How many times have you stared at the announcement board which read something like “Next bus 73 minutes,” despite the bus schedule stating that it should run every 10 minutes? How many times have you spent your last quarter to take the bus home? Muni’s shortcomings add unnecessary complications to our busy lives.

It’s time for payback — Muni fares need to be reduced 100 percent!

In February 2007 Mayor Gavin Newsom asked the Municipal Transportation Agency to examine a system-wide free-fare system. The additional cost of purchasing new equipment and hiring additional staff to prevent fare evasion was shown to be almost as costly as if Muni ran for free.

For more than two decades, commuters have been riding the buses in downtown Seattle free of charge from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s difficult to understand why we can’t implement such a system here. Shouldn’t the effort to reduce our individual carbon footprints be rewarded? This is an opportunity for us to contribute to save the planet.

Buyers of hybrid cars get a tax break of up to $3,150, but Muni passengers get nothing but talk about an upcoming fare increase. (The $45 price of the Fast Pass that entitles riders to unlimited use within San Francisco, is rumored to be going up as much as 33 percent in the next couple of years.)

Gas prices in San Francisco are the highest in the country so think about what you could do with the $4.25 or more that you are spending for each gallon of gas.

Taking public transportation isn’t always fun, so people could use an incentive. Making Muni free to ride would not only take hundreds of thousands of cars off our already overcrowded city streets, but also greatly improve the quality of the air we breathe.