Faster Muni Campaign

Muni's headed for a fiscal disaster. 2004's $57 million deficit will balloon to an estimated $179 million shortfall by 2015 unless the agency takes steps to reduce costs by reducing travel times. Through a combination of service improvements, it can make headway towards becoming a fiscally sound agency that also puts service first.

To help in this effort, act now. Send a letter to the Municipal Transportation Authority supporting SPUR's recommendations for a faster Muni. Download a sample letter here. Here's what the letter says:


[Insert date here]

Municipal Transportation Authority Board
1 South Van Ness Avenue, Floor 3
San Francisco, CA
94103-1267

Dear Board Members,

Muni stands at a crossroads. Costs are rising much faster than revenues. If steps are not taken to make Muni faster and more efficient, Muni may have no choice but to balance future budgets with more fare increases and deep service cuts, making service less reliable and undermining ridership. This solution harms San Francisco and its residents.

As a citizen of San Francisco and a Muni customer, I believe that there is a better way to address Muni's financial problems. If Muni increases productivity and efficiency on its busiest lines, it will be able to attract new ridership and new revenue. The MTA Commission should support changes in Muni service that will enable Muni to increase its average speed by 25 percent on the corridors where Muni carries 80 percent of its riders. Faster Muni service will attract more riders and could potentially reduce the deficit by 75% over the next 10 years.

I am confident that the MTA Commission is committed to a vision of a world-class transit system for San Francisco. It is my hope that increasing Muni's speed and productivity will bring us closer to realizing this vision.

Sincerely,

[Insert Your Name Here]


For more information on the effort to make Muni better, see our policy paper Muni's Downward Spiral, and the PDF version of the Executive Summary.

If you have any other questions or comments, please contact Sarah Karlinsky at skarlinsky@spur.org or call 781-8726 x129.