Lots of Muni news this weekend! We’ve got at least two examples of where folks are saying Muni’s leaving scads of money on the table, an old lady’s buying a car because Muni doesn’t care about her, and we get a history/etymology lesson. Here’s a roundup:
Ex: SFMTA directors, driver pay go under audit microscope The Campos-requested audit on the MTA’s management and governance is expected Tuesday. It has two areas of focus: driver overtime and how effective the SF MTA board is. Regarding the OT issue, the Ex notes that “more than 400 Muni operators were paid overtime expenses in excess of $20,000.” Yup, 8 million bucks in OT right there! Regarding the SF MTA board, the argument is that they have “not (been) aggressively pursuing cost-saving measures and funding mechanisms that could’ve helped prevent the agency’s recently enacted 10 percent service cuts.”
SFist: Just How Draconian IS Muni, Exactly? Appeal contrib Matt Baume gently picks at the SF Transit Union‘s use of the word “draconian” when it comes to Muni. His issue: “Draco, from whom the word is derived, was the first legislator of Athens, in the 7th century BC, and was mean. He imposed the death penalty for basically every crime.” I see his point — who’s a dictator under whom things just kind of sucked? A tyrant under whom the trains DID NOT run on time?
Ex: Budget ax doesn’t threaten Muni bus stops Bus stop consolidation, a Muni-money-saving measure applauded by many (but not all — many disability activists oppose this, it must be noted) and encouraged by Muni’s latest efficiency studies, was “never seriously pushed” by the MTA. This Ex story doesn’t say why stop consolidation was dropped by the MTA — anyone got any ideas?
Ex: Shuttle plugs holes in Mission Bay transit Muni never got their shit together and figured out a way to get folks to and from Mission Bay in an efficient fashion, says this story. So, “the Mission Bay TMA started a free shuttle between the neighborhood and the Powell Street station.” Will someone please start a free shuttle from the Outer Funset to, oh, fuck it. I never go anywhere, it doesn’t matter.
Chron: Letters To The Editor Chron reader and Diamond Heights resident Elizabeth Sydney is 70 years old (is “Chron reader” and “70 years old” redundant?), and can no longer use Muni for any activities that would have her out of the house after 9:30, since the lines that serve her nabe end then. “Time for this old women to buy a used car and hit the streets, I guess – no one seems to care any more. Least of all Muni.” Damn, Muni, you just got totally burned by some 70-year-old broad.
Ex: Free Sunday parking not expiring just yet It’s another story on how Muni’s leaving money on the table, this time by, according to the Hayes Valley Merchant Association, pushing back plans for testing Sunday parking meters for three more months. It was going to roll out in June, but MTA spokespeople won’t comment on when the pilot’s expected to begin now.
