Blogging Tips for Beginners

Improved Muni Transit Information By Kharima Mohamed As part of the larger effort to provide improved transit information to Muni riders, we have significantly improved the SFMTA.com stop webpages with a focus on improved accessibility.  Each of the over six thousand stops throughout the Muni Service Network has a unique webpage that displays multiple features. These improved features on the stop webpage help to improve the customer experience for riders to easily get all the information they need to get where they need to be.   Features include:   A mobile-first designed web app view for succinct on-the-go real-time vehicle predictions at the top of the page.  Detailed route information served at each location.  Alerts specific to both that specific stop and all of the routes served.  A real-time vehicle-tracking map and a vicinity map for each stop.  Nearby stops to provide stop options if an alternative is needed.  To visit the new stop page of your choice, s

We Want To Hear From You By Andrea Buffa It’s budget season!  Every two years, the SFMTA develops a consolidated budget to guide the agency’s decisions about where to focus our funding to best meet the transportation needs of all San Franciscans. We’re developing a budget that’s designed to support San Francisco’s economic recovery, increase transportation equity, protect the environment and keep the agency on sound financial footing.   We presented the base budget (projected revenues and expenditures for the next two years if we made no changes and continued our current policies) to our Board of Directors in early February to get their feedback and are now seeking input from the public. Your feedback will help us understand what to change in our base budget: which investments are most important to San Franciscans and which new revenue sources you think we should pursue. We’re considering both fare increases and decreases as well as changes to parking fees.  The City Charter requ

MTA Board of Directors Welcomes Stephanie Cajina By Lori Phelan Stephanie Cajina, an advocate for equitable communities and a San Francisco native, joins the SFMTA's Board of Directors as the only Latina member. With her confirmation from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and subsequent swearing in, she fills the seventh position on the board vacated by former board member Cheryl Brinkman.  Cajina currently serves as a Senior Economic Development Specialist for the City of Napa, a position she's held since 2019. There she shapes and implements economic development strategies and manages the Economic Development Division budget. Additionally, Cajina is the co-project lead for the City of Napa's National League of Cities Initiative together with the City of Napa's Housing and Planning Division.  Before that, she served as Executive Director for the nonprofit Excelsior Action Group during, which time, she also served as a member of the SFMTA Small Business Workin

Bob Planthold Tribute By Stephen Chun San Francisco lost a dedicated advocate for pedestrian safety and accessible public transportation with the recent passing of Bob Planthold. Having contracted polio at an early age, Bob used bright yellow Canadian crutches to help him move around. Firsthand experience of the obstacles people with disabilities may face in getting from place to place and accessing services made Bob a tenacious and persistent champion for pedestrian safety and accessible transit.   Bob’s activism contributed to real change that benefited people with disabilities in San Francisco. He was a member of the steering committee for the San Francisco Accessible Parking Policy Advisory Committee, which was established by the Mayor’s Office on Disability and SFMTA in 2012 to look into ways that SFMTA blue zone policy and the State Department of Motor Vehicles’ disabled placard policies could be improved to ensure greater availability of accessible parking in the City. As a r

Free Muni and Cable Car Rides for the Lunar New Year Weekend By Stephen Chun In partnership with Supervisors Chan, Peskin and Preston, the SFMTA will be offering free Muni rides for the Lunar New Year weekend and festivities. Complimentary service begins Saturday, Feb. 19 at 5 a.m. to Monday, Feb. 21 at 5 a.m. This includes free rides on our historic cable cars, a beloved attraction for regional visitors providing them direct access to the Chinatown community and the weekend’s Lunar New Year festivities.   Additionally, for the remainder of February, thanks to the leadership of Supervisors Chan and Peskin and their generous funding allocation, the SFMTA, Rec/Park and the Portsmouth Square Garage Authority will be providing validation for two hours of free parking at the Portsmouth Square Garage.   The SFMTA is excited to be rolling out both programs to support the city’s economic recovery including for the Chinatown neighborhood and businesses’ vibrant culture and vitality.    As

SFMTA Rolls Out Battery Electric Bus Pilot Program By Stephen Chun The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced the first of three battery electric buses have entered revenue service achieving a major milestone in the agency’s greater goal of an all-electric fleet and a carbon-neutral San Francisco by 2040, as explained in the SFMTA’s  Sustainability and Climate Action Program .   As part of the program, Muni had initially ordered nine battery-electric buses, three each from three manufacturers, New Flyer, BYD USA and Proterra, for an 18-month tryout. As the program evolved, a fourth manufacturer, Nova Bus, was added to the program who would bring in three additional e-buses for the extensive testing. Currently five e-buses have arrived. The rest of seven will be delivered by the end of 2022.    Prior to the launch, the e-buses were tested on some of our most challenging routes. The new coaches will be serving the 9 San Bruno, 22 Fillmore, 29 Sunset and 44 O&

2022 Muni Service Gradually Phasing Back By Mariana Maguire The 8AX Bayshore Express A is one of the Muni bus routes temporarily suspended since March 2020 that will be brought back into service in April 2022.  Starting Saturday February 19, we will begin implementing the  2022 Muni Service Network plan.  Changes include long-awaited Muni service restorations set to return in phases over the course of the year based on available resources.   While we look forward to continuing implementation of the approved 2022 Muni Service Network as quickly as possible, Muni service since the beginning of the year has been significantly impacted by the Omicron surge. Currently, we are missing between 20 and 25% of scheduled Muni service, which means that riders are waiting longer than usual for their bus or train, and they are experiencing more crowding while onboard.  The staffing shortages the SFMTA is experiencing will not impact the February 19 service changes because they are relatively r