Facing opposition from several members of the San Francisco Municipal
Transportation Agency Board, the SFMTA staff has withdrawn its proposal
to raise the F-line streetcar fare from $2 to $5, a 150% increase. A
detailed story, including the deep deficit Muni still faces, can be
found at SF Streetsblog.
Last week, in a meeting on another subject, a member of the mayor’s staff told this writer that they had received far more complaints about the proposed F-line fare increase than any other part of the multi-faceted Muni budget package.
To be sure, Muni finds itself in dire financial straits, affecting all parts of the system. For example, the detailed service reduction proposals released today call for F-line service to end by midnight instead of 1 a.m. as now. They also call for slightly reducing evening and late night frequency on all streetcar lines, including the F, one of Muni’s most heavily ridden nighttime routes. But while we believe this will overload the F-line even more at night, we understand that it must share the burden with other Muni lines.
What we did not understand is why one popular line should be singled out for
punitive measures apparently because of its success. It’s now clear than many community and business people saw it the same way.
HALLELUJAH!!!! That’s GREAT news!! Glad to hear there was opposition from Board members, business and the community. As you said, don’t single out one line because of it’s great success. As I have said before, if MUNI wants to raise fares, do it across the board, on all lines, and passes. That might bring in some more cash. Maybe reducing service, on all lines, might help as well. I hope it does.