Muni update: Plan in the works to restore Muni service

A subcommittee of the Muni Restoration Task Force met for the second time on Friday to discuss how to fully restore the service cuts made in May and how to increase performance.

John Haley, director of transit operations and management, presented a nine page draft of several proposals to increase reliability and improve travel time for commuters. The task force looked at solutions that the agency would be able to implement within the next year.

Some of the strategies included a move toward all-door boarding on buses and to look at making traffic changes, including signal priority for the buses.

Cameron Beach, SFMTA board director, said it's possible to implement an all-door boarding policy, but the agency would  need to hire more enforcement officers.

“You will need a couple hundred fare inspectors,” said Beach. “Eighty grand a pop probably is the fully loaded cost of a fare inspector,” he said. 

A suggestion that could be possible within the year is having a N bus express run from mid-route to downtown.

“The bus would help provide additional service not only on the N line, but for the rest of subway. This will provide immediate relief,” said Haley.

The committee plans to meet again on Tuesday to discuss the draft.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue reporting and talk with more Bay Area transportation experts about what the city needs to do to fix Muni. The full package of stories will appear in the fall print edition of the San Francisco Public Press.