SFMTA briefs Planning Commission on Transit Effectiveness Project; key corridor treatments to reduce travel times 15—20%

SFMTA staff updated the Planning Commission on the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) on April 19, 2012, describing a multi-faceted program to improve Muni reliability and reduce travel times by 15 to 30 percent on a set of rapid corridors.

Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA operations planning manager, summarized the project's objectives: better schedules and supervision, route restructuring, prioritized investments on the busiest corridors and a rapid network focusing on the city's highest-ridership corridors. "The TEP proposals are just a small subset of what MTA is working on to improve reliability and travel time throughout our system," she said.

The presentation listed technical treatments under evaluation including stop consolidation, transit bulbs and boarding islands, expanded transit signal priority using GPS-based systems on hundreds of intersections, colored (e.g., red) transit lanes, all-door boarding on buses (to be piloted in July), ticket vending options and targeted roadway changes to reduce delay.

SFMTA emphasized public outreach: ten workshops, stakeholder meetings, and coordination with the Transit Accessible Advisory Committee on accessibility impacts. Staff said CEQA work is underway, a draft EIR is planned for publication in the fall and certification is targeted for summer 2013, with implementation beginning in the fall of 2013 for some measures.

Commissioners thanked staff for the outreach and asked for close coordination with neighborhood stakeholders, operators and other agencies. Several speakers from the public raised concerns about outreach coordination across agencies and the need to tailor communications for tourists and non-English speakers.

The briefing was informational; no action was taken.