SFMTA board directs staff to pursue revised savings package after heated debate over summer service cuts

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board on March 20 directed staff to pursue a revised package of program and project savings and limited route changes aimed at closing a near'term $50 million shortfall, after more than three hours of public comment and extended board deliberations.

Sean Kennedy, SFMTA'chief planning and implementation officer, told the board staff had identified about $35 million in lower'impact tradeoffs (reallocating some capital baseline to operating, delaying certain vehicle rebuilds and midlife rehabs, and negotiating reduced shared'station maintenance costs with BART), plus about $18 million in parking optimization and roughly $5 million in contracted professional'services reductions. That left a remaining gap of roughly $7.2 million that staff said could be closed either by tapping contingency reserves or through modest service changes.

"We're asking for direction from you all today on, you know, do we look into these mini cuts further for $7,200,000? Do we use the reserve?" Kennedy told the board as he described a package that aims to preserve frequency and connections where possible while using Market…