Public commenters press alternatives to battery buses and raise procurement concerns

At the end of the SFCTA meeting on April 8, the board heard multiple public comments on transit policy and procurement.

Alex Landsberg, research and advocacy director for the San Francisco electrical construction industry, urged the board to "take a step back in Muni's headlong rush into battery bus-based electrification" and to conduct a comprehensive alternatives analysis that includes the existing overhead trolleybus network and in-motion charging options. Landsberg said the Kirkland Yard electrification planning request for $5.5 million (approved last month) had been rejected by the board’s CAC and that the yard planning appears premised on storing 111 battery-electric buses, which he argued would bring substantial electrical demands and require upgrades to nearby infrastructure.

During an earlier item, a remote commenter urged the board to oppose contracts listed on Attachment 1 to Zuri Naga and Associates and alleged the firm was effectively a reincarnation of a joint venture associated with Cordoba that had produced significant cost overruns on projects such as the Salesforce Transit Center and Central Subway. The transcript records the allegation but no staff rebuttal on the record.

A subsequent remote caller used the public-comment period to make personal and unrelated remarks about board members; Chair Melgar admonished the caller that personal comments are not permitted in the public comment setting.

The board accepted the public comments for the record; staff noted they would take some comments in writing.