Skip to main content

Muni Improvements Draw Increased Ridership

Muni Improvements Draw Increased Ridership
By Kate McCarthy

Buses driving towards downtown on Geary Boulevard.

38 Geary buses zip downtown on new transit lanes that improve travel times for Muni riders.

As Earth Day approaches and we think about how to encourage more people to take non-car trips, recent Muni improvement projects are drawing increased ridership across the city. While Muni ridership downtown has not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, ridership has gone up on Muni lines where we have improved speed and frequency of Muni service. 

Muni is a lifeline for many of our riders: 70% of Muni riders have an annual income of less than $50,000. As we restored and added Muni service after the start of the pandemic, we invested in the routes that serve people who rely on transit and need it most. For example, after we installed transit lanes, increased frequency and re-routed the 22 Fillmore to bring people to their jobs and medical appointments in Mission Bay, ridership increased to 107% of pre-pandemic levels on weekdays and 118% on weekends. 

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve implemented more than 21 miles of new transit priority lanes, growing our transit lane network (https://ift.tt/qlxmDBj) to over 70 miles. These transit lanes are improving travel times for Muni riders across the city. After transit lanes were installed on Mission Street in downtown, travel times on the 14 Mission and 14R Mission Rapid are now 31% quicker. 

Ridership numbers on the 49 Van Ness-Mission also blossomed to 109% of pre-pandemic ridership on weekdays and 114% on weekends after construction on the Van Ness BRT corridor was completed last April. With physically-separated transit lanes and transit signal priority that gives the green light to Muni and Golden Gate Transit buses, riders there are seeing travel times reduced by 35%. 

A similar story has emerged on San Francisco’s busiest transit boulevard — Geary. Like other lines that serve downtown, the 38 Geary hasn’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic ridership levels. But the route did nab a spot in the top 10 highest recovered routes in the Muni system. The 38 Geary’s 36,000 daily riders have recently seen travel time savings of up to 18% since we installed three miles of new transit lanes, bus stop changes and other improvements as part of the Geary Rapid Project. We plan similar improvements on the western end of the corridor as part of the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project.     

Muni riders have noticed that improvements to our busiest Muni lines are making service faster and more reliable than it has been in decades. Two-thirds (66%) of Muni riders who took our Annual Muni Rider Survey last fall rated Muni service as “good” or “excellent” — a 9% increase from 2021 and the strongest increase since 2018. 

These improvements can’t come soon enough. Most of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and trucks. As the urgency to address climate change mounts, so does the need to get the most out of our Muni system. To inspire riders to come back to Muni, we’re working hard to bring back the Muni system our city deserves: One that is thriving with the better frequency, improved reliability and better connections that these projects are delivering. 



Published April 21, 2023 at 02:24AM
https://ift.tt/2wWAuVT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

150 Years Ago Today – The Cable Car is Born

150 Years Ago Today – The Cable Car is Born By Kelley Trahan August 2, 2023, marks the 150th anniversary of the world’s first successful cable railway, born right here in San Francisco. To celebrate the occasion, we bring you the story of Andrew Hallidie and the very first cable car company, the Clay Street Hill Railroad.  Andrew Hallidie (1834-1900) was a pioneering inventor and entrepreneur who changed urban transportation. In 1852, at the age of 18, Hallidie emigrated with his father from the United Kingdom to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. His father, an engineer and inventor, had a wire rope patent that played a crucial role in his son's future success.   Portrait of Andrew Smith Hallidie in 1890. Inspired by his father's wire rope business, Hallidie developed a steel cable mineral mine hauling system in 1857. About a decade later, he designed a wire rope aerial tramway for transporting materials over mountainous terrain. Then, after a stint in bridg...
Post a Comment
NEXT

Shared Spaces are Here to Stay. Permit Renewals are Due January 15, 2023.

Shared Spaces are Here to Stay. Permit Renewals are Due January 15, 2023. By Anne Yalon Shared Spaces, amongst many other benefits, allows our residents and families to enjoy safe and social outdoor dining. Seen here are the the owners of Tio Chilo’s Grill and their children in the restaurant’s parklet on 24th Street in the Mission.  San Francisco’s popular Shared Spaces program allows merchants, restaurants and arts and culture organizations to use the curbside, sidewalk and other public spaces to conduct local business activities and stay afloat. What emerged as an economic lifeline during the pandemic is making San Francisco’s streets more energized, engaged and activated. Many of the Shared Spaces parklets have become central gathering places for the local community. “ Our parklet makes me feel like when I go to Mexico, where outdoor seating is everywhere. People end up joining their friends in our parklet. It is a space for our customers and our community," said Liz V...
Post a Comment
NEXT

Tenderloin Streets Transform During COVID-19

Tenderloin Streets Transform During COVID-19 By Kimberly Leung COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted people who live and work in the Tenderloin. As a result, the SFMTA has been working closely with District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney’s office, other city departments, the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force and community members to address the public health issues and unique challenges in the neighborhood through innovative interventions.    The Tenderloin is home to many of our most vulnerable communities including historically marginalized groups such as people with disabilities, residents of SROs and supportive housing and limited-English proficient communities. With every single street in the Tenderloin on the city’s High Injury Network -- the 13 percent of San Francisco streets that account for 75 percent of severe traffic injury collision and fatalities -- thi...
Post a Comment
NEXT