At a meeting this Friday, February 26, the SFMTA Board of Directors will vote on a number of measures to cut Muni service and increase fares in order to fill a $16.9 million year-end deficit. Under the proposal posted online, Muni riders will be the hardest hit with a second round of service cuts and fare increases in less than a year.
Monthly Senior/Disabled and Youth Fast Passes will increase by $10. This will be in addition to the 5 increase scheduled on May 1, doubling the current $15 price to $30.
Also, like the $10 premium added in January for a separate Muni + BART Fast Pass, cable cars and express busses would no longer be included in the standard Muni Fass Pass and require a $10 premium as well.
Muni service will be cut 10% through longer headways on most routes and overnight “Owl” service reduced to once-per-hour. Unlike the service changes in December, no lines or line-segments will be eliminated, but there will also be no new or increased service to offset the cuts.
Customers will also be charged additional transaction fees when using the Customer Service Center at Van Ness & Market ($3.00 per transaction) and online ($2.50 per transaction to cover processing and postage) while the less law-abiding among us get break with only a $2 fee added to citations. Residential Parking Permits will also be increased $20 annually from $76 to $96 per year, the maximum allowed under a state law which caps the price of parking permits to no more than the cost of administrating the program.
While Muni riders will be paying more for less, the SFMTA did not consider extending parking meters or revisiting the policy of free parking on Sundays and holidays despite the fact it would generate $8.8 million in profit (even after covering the additional expenses related to enforcement) which could be used to offset the cuts planned for Muni service.
An earlier proposal to raise the F-line fare 250% from $2 to $5 (which especially worried members, readers, and merchant we heard from) has been dropped.
The SFMTA Board meeting will be held in Room 400 of City Hall on Friday Morning, see agenda for details.
Note: out of towner viewpoint: Until recently, if I were going to be in MuniLand for a few days, I’d buy a monthly Senior pass and ride streetcars (and an occasional bus) to my heart’s content. Suddenly it’s not such a good deal for short visits. Of course, being old enough for a Senior pass means I can remember when Muni fare was 15 cents with free transfers.