A task force established to look into how to restore cuts to San Francisco Municipal Railway service released a draft of its findings earlier this week that said full restoration would cost $22 million.
The findings in the report, released on Tuesday, included options to reduce the number of bus stops, increase advertising, and designate transit-only lanes.
The Service Restoration Working Group, jointly assembled by Mayor Gavin Newsom and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, was tasked with outlining the possibilities and costs of fully restoring the 10 percent reduction in hours of service that went into effect in May.
Service was partially restored in September by 6.1 percent, and was funded by $11 million from sales tax revenue and regional transportation funding, all one-time funding opportunities, the group reported.
Full restoration would cost the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency a total of $22 million, according to the report.
The report also offered adjustments that would bring much needed revenue to the struggling agency and streamline service for riders.
Reduction of labor costs, more advertising, establishing fines to discourage double parking, salary negotiations, back-door boarding with increased enforcement, and specifying transit-only lanes were among the enhancements proposed to help close the $22 million gap.
Other possibilities include increasing Muni’s average speed from 8 mph to 10 mph, a move the task force said would increase passenger trips from 66 to 82 per hour.
The idea of reducing the number of bus stops is already drawing criticism from the public. At the SFMTA board meeting Tuesday, a man expressed concern for how the disabled would navigate the longer distances between stops.
Before implementing any of the task force’s findings, the agency plans to hear from the public, spokesman Paul Rose said.
“At this point, we still have to listen to the public input before we make any decisions,” Rose said.
The task force recommends that a public town hall meeting take place to discuss the report.
Any feedback from the public would be made available to the task force for redrafting, Rose said.
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