OEWD briefs commission on late‑night transportation plan; RFP and pilot ideas to follow

Ben Van Hatten of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) updated the Entertainment Commission on progress from the late‑night transportation working group, which launched in June 2014 and released a report in February with 15 recommendations.

Van Hatten said the recommendations were distilled into about five next steps now in implementation and that the work has benefited from budget funding obtained through Supervisor Scott Wiener’s leadership. The effort will pursue multiple parallel tracks including service planning for late-night and early-morning hours, an information and marketing campaign, and a challenge-grant RFP to support local pilot projects. "We were fortunate to receive funding in the budget thanks to Supervisor Wiener's leadership to continue this work," Van Hatten said.

Commissioners and members of the public asked whether pilot corridors had been identified; Van Hatten said corridor proposals will emerge from a public RFP process and that the working group expects stakeholders to propose locations that match late‑night travel demand. He also said ongoing partnerships with transit agencies and the County Transportation Authority will continue and that the working group aims to show significant progress by the end of the fiscal year.

Van Hatten invited commissioners to help publicize the forthcoming RFP and said the next full working-group meeting is Dec. 2 at 3 p.m., Room 421; he noted an implementation update is posted at nightlifesf.org and that additional community input will be sought during RFP distribution.