SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: Transit/Transportation News

[CyberEric]

Yeah, SF proper will not go for elevated tracks, except in the south where BART is elevated. I wish they'd try a simpler solution for street level issues: giving trains the right of way. On the Embarcadero, the trains have to stop with the cars at stop lights; this makes little sense in my mind. The light should switch for the train like it's a firetruck.

As for underground, I believe they are considering changing the rules regarding bikes on the trains, I know I read this recently, but they won't fit during rush hour, that is for sure. Muni trains are so packed at peak hours that I have become accustomed to getting very, very cozy with my fellow San Franciscans every day. I don't mind really. I guess we could hire people like you see in Tokyo, that push the trains full, but I doubt we see that happen.
It sounds like more of the delays are from maintenance and traffic anyway. I would like to hear about Boston's maintenance problems with these trains, see what they are doing differently, if anything.

I think it boils down to the fact that a ton of people ride these trains, they have to deal with traffic, and it's not privately run like BART...which of course has it's pros and cons.
Long story short, it's not a great system, but I will pick it any day over driving in this city.

PS. Yes the F Train is the old style line you are thinking of. It's not as comfortable for sure, but it sort of makes up for it in old world style.

[manrush]

I wonder if making any newer Muni Metro trains longer could be, at the very least, a temporary fix for the problem of capacity.

Something resembling the light rail trains in Hannover.

Photo by hpulling.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hhhumber/3027998230/

Photo by hpulling.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hhhumber/3024963327/

[drifting sun]

Originally Posted by northbay

elevated rail just doesn't work in san francisco - it would scar the urban fabric too much.
if you have experienced sf's streets you would understand
it's either at-grade or underground (underground at certain intersections sounds like an interesting possibility)

I did notice the wonderful streetscape in San Francisco, it blows away any other urban environment I have been in (with the exception of Tokyo, but that is unfair to compare two cities of such different size, composition and geographical boundaries) in my opinion. My inquiry into the elevated track was out of curiosity only, just pretend I never brought it up; I too much prefer the option of burying metro lines like they should be. I thought maybe since everyone is worked up into a tizzy with the central subway, those kind of options might not be that popular. So it's at grade for the time being, now the question is - if so many recognize a simple solution like stoplight preemption would solve a lot of headaches, what is the holdup? Are those systems prohibitively expensive? Too expensive and time consuming to train traffic light controllers to pay attention to the problem intersections? Automobile rights activists throwing a wrench into the debate (something I would expect here, in Denver, but not in S.F.)?

[ElDuderino]

Originally Posted by drifting sun

...So it's at grade for the time being, now the question is - if so many recognize a simple solution like stoplight preemption would solve a lot of headaches, what is the holdup? Are those systems prohibitively expensive? Too expensive and time consuming to train traffic light controllers to pay attention to the problem intersections? Automobile rights activists throwing a wrench into the debate (something I would expect here, in Denver, but not in S.F.)?

I could see a lot of people following the Muni trains around because they know they won't hit any lights

[fflint]

I wish J Church were still on the forum, as he is an SF transportation planner and we've talked about signal prioritization before. Muni cannot prioritize its trains over cars at the biggest problem intersections (such as 4th and King) because of an auto-centric California state law that prioritizes automobiles over all other modes.

The state law assigns a grade to every intersection based on levels of automobile congestion (only--literally nothing else matters). If an intersection slows cars down too much according to their formula, it gets a failing grade and the city must remedy the situation or lose state transportation funding. Local planners looked at intersections that slow Muni trains down the most and found they would apparently fail with signal prioritization.

That autocentric law needs to change so transit-oriented cities like SF can work out a more efficient way to move people around. So far there has been no progress on that front.

[CyberEric]

Originally Posted by fflint

I wish J Church were still on the forum, as he is an SF transportation planner and we've talked about signal prioritization before. Muni cannot prioritize its trains over cars at the biggest problem intersections (such as 4th and King) because of an auto-centric California state law that prioritizes automobiles over all other modes.

The state law assigns a grade to every intersection based on levels of automobile congestion (only--literally nothing else matters). If an intersection slows cars down too much according to their formula, it gets a failing grade and the city must remedy the situation or lose state transportation funding. Local planners looked at intersections that slow Muni trains down the most and found they would apparently fail with signal prioritization.

That autocentric law needs to change so transit-oriented cities like SF can work out a more efficient way to move people around. So far there has been no progress on that front.

Good to know, thank you. I couldn't agree more that it needs to change.

[fflint]

Concerning Muni's mechanical problems with Breda cars, Wikipedia notes in its article on the Boston MBTA Green Line that they've also had a lot of mechanical problems back East:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

One hundred low-floor cars were purchased from the Italian vendor AnsaldoBreda (Breda), with styling by Pininfarina. These have proven to be problematic and difficult to maintain. The first cars delivered failed every 400 miles (640 km), far less than the 9,000 miles (14,500 km) specified by the MBTA, and were prone to derailments.

The MBTA has been forced to spend an additional US$9.5 million to modify tracks to prevent the derailment problems, echoing early problems with the Boeing stock. The MBTA has been criticized for their failure to assess Breda's reliability before entering into the deal, and during the delivery of the vehicles.

In December 2004, the MBTA canceled orders for the remaining cars still to be delivered as part of the authority's nine-year, US$225 million-dollar deal with Breda.[9] One year later, in December 2005 the MBTA announced that it had entered into a restructuring of the deal with the Italian vendor, reducing the order to 85 cars (with spare parts to be provided in lieu of the 15 remaining cars), and providing for the remaining payment under the original 1995 deal only if the cars meet performance requirements.[10] Construction of the last car under the order was completed on December 14, 2006;[11] though in late 2007 the MBTA announced it had contracted with Breda to deliver another 10 cars, bringing the total order to 95 production cars and 5 car shells for parts.[12] As of June 2008, 90 of the Type 8 cars were in service; one was damaged in a derailment/fire incident, and four are still in testing.

So while I'm not giving Muni a pass on maintenance, we're not the only ones having problems with Breda light rail cars.

[OhioGuy]

San Francisco's unlicensed Muni drivers are still employed

Some 48 Muni operators are still without commercial driver’s licenses — but Muni says it is just weeks away from a plan to fire them.

Last fall, The San Francisco Examiner reported that more than 50 operators lacked driver’s licenses, and three had gone without since 2008.

In January, Muni leaders sent a letter to 54 of their operators without licenses, asking them to resolve the situation within two weeks or face termination, according to Muni spokesman Paul Rose. About a quarter came back with a valid driver’s license and returned to duty. More than 40 did not, but despite the threat of termination, none have yet been fired.

However, Rose said, the agency may begin parting ways with some of its unlicensed drivers within a few weeks. He said the new labor contract, which was rejected by operators but ordered to remain in place by an independent arbiter in June, gives the public transit agency much more leeway on the issue. The contract specifically says having a Class B commercial driver’s license from the Department of Motor Vehicles is a requirement for the job, and if that requirement is not fulfilled, the operator can be terminated.

Rose said transit officials are still figuring out exactly how to implement this new rule.

Walter Scott III, a spokesman for operators’ union Transport Workers Union, said the union will fight for its members if it feels they are being wrongfully terminated.

He said some medical issues can take weeks or months to clear up, so operators should be given up to a year to deal with them before facing termination. They should also be offered a nondriving job if they would like one, he said.

[M II A II R II K]

In San Francisco, All-Door Boarding Catches On


Read More: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2...ng-catches-on/

Unlike underground metros or elevated trains, road-running streetcars and buses suffer from a significant slow-down: The time wasted waiting for people to board. The process is dreadfully sluggish in cities with well-used transit systems as large numbers of customers at popular stops are forced to line up at the front door and swipe their tickets or pay their fares in cash. In most cases, customers are forbidden from entering the bus at the rear door, even if they have unlimited ride cards.

In dense cities, the result of these boarding difficulties are buses and trains that practically crawl down the street, even on corridors without much competing automobile traffic. In San Francisco at least, a solution is being studied: Allowing passengers to board at all doors, starting with a pilot program on the Muni Metro J-Church light rail line, which runs from downtown south into the Noe Valley and Balboa Park neighborhoods.

There’s nothing particularly controversial or revolutionary about San Francisco’s proposal. Indeed, the concept of allowing people to get on a transit vehicle at any entryway is is not only standard on most rail networks and a basic component of most bus rapid transit investments, but it is also already in place for some customers on San Francisco’s Muni Metro lines, which operate in a tunnel under Market Street downtown but for much of the remainder of their routes operate in shared lanes like streetcars. What’s different here is the goal to extend the process to all customers on all services.

.....

[CyberEric]

Originally Posted by fflint

Concerning Muni's mechanical problems with Breda cars, Wikipedia notes in its article on the Boston MBTA Green Line that they've also had a lot of mechanical problems back East:



So while I'm not giving Muni a pass on maintenance, we're not the only ones having problems with Breda light rail cars.

Thanks that's good to know.

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

In San Francisco, All-Door Boarding Catches On


Read More: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2...ng-catches-on/

Thanks for the story! I am not totally sure that I understand what is changing here. Anyone with a Clipper card can board at any door. Will this change allow people paying with cash to board at all doors?

[ltsmotorsport]

So I was looking in Hayes Valley for a friends apartment on Google Maps and noticed some odd empty, diagonal lots and lot lines that start around Octavia and Linden. The lots run in a SW to NE direction. They almost look like an old right of way, maybe from the old freeway?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll...01534&t=h&z=20

[gtbassett]

Originally Posted by ltsmotorsport

So I was looking in Hayes Valley for a friends apartment on Google Maps and noticed some odd empty, diagonal lots and lot lines that start around Octavia and Linden. The lots run in a SW to NE direction. They almost look like an old right of way, maybe from the old freeway?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll...01534&t=h&z=20

Indeed, that was the Hayes Freeway that was torn down after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. It significantly improved the neighborhood in the past 20 years. Yay San Francisco's anti-freeway crusade!

[ltsmotorsport]

Yeah, much better without a freeway through there. So I assume the city must own those lots, or maybe Caltrans? Seems like prime real estate to me.

And how far did the old freeway cut north? It almost looks like it went all the way to Golden Gate Ave.

[Gordo]

This is a little old (some of these parcels have now been developed), but here are the parcels that were created by tearing down the freeway:


Source: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...boulevard.html

Most of the parcels have been sold already, but the city still owns several. There were some that were set to be sold last year, but the bids came in lower than expected and the city decided to keep them for now (I believe the two monsters, O and P, were a part of that batch). Several parcels do have live permits and could see activity fairly soon though. For example, here's the plan for parcel I: http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2...enderings.html

[peanut gallery]

^One of O or P was going to be developed with multiple architects designing many different buildings to make it look more organic like the rest of the area. Does anyone know if that is still the plan? I certainly hope so.

[San Frangelino]

My apologies if these videos have already been posted.

From:http://www.vta.org/bart/

BART Milpitas/Berryessa Stations Conceptual Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWT7s...layer_embedded" target="_blank">Video Link

From:http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/20...s20110805.aspx

New BART Train Fleet

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzjKwU8bwmo" target="_blank">Video Link

[CyberEric]

Cool stuff, thank you.

[202_Cyclist]

State approves more than $200 million for South Bay transit and road projects

By Gary Richards
San Jose Mercury
08/10/2011

"The California Transportation Commission approved more than $200 million for three South Bay road projects plus the BART-to-San Jose extension Wednesday, which means work could soon be under way.

The commission earmarked $40 million for the 10-mile BART line from Fremont to the Berryessa area of San Jose, $71.6 million to add carpool lanes on Interstate 880 between Milpitas and San Jose, $84.9 million for merging lanes on Highway 101 from Palo Alto to Mountain View and $10 million to rebuild Kato Road in Fremont along the path the BART extension would take..."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-...nclick_check=1

[CyberEric]

This seems like good news. Thanks for posting.

[fflint]

Transit ridership surges throughout the Bay Area

By Gary Richards
08/12/2011 06:44:13 AM PDT
http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county/ci_18663245

In a remarkable turnaround for transit agencies that have repeatedly slashed services, raised fares and lost state and federal funding, transit ridership is steadily rising throughout the Bay Area. Caltrain ridership was up almost 12 percent and BART almost 8 percent in weekday use in June compared with the same month a year ago. The Valley Transportation Authority saw an increase of more than 7 percent and the ACE commuter train of more than 14 percent, while SamTrans ridership was up 0.4 percent.

....Caltrain's bullet trains shave nearly 30 minutes off a trip from San Jose to San Francisco. Some VTA light rail trains skip stations along Highway 87 to cut several minutes off a ride from South San Jose to downtown.

"This gives customers a faster travel option as well as the ability to work or relax while on the train," VTA spokeswoman Brandi Childress said, pointing to a recent survey that found that 16 percent of light-rail riders on the express trains are new and motivated to try transit by the new features.

"Out of those new customers, 69 percent of them are now riding the express (trains) four to five days a week," she said.