SF State Commencement Getting Special Muni Service

If you have not been aware of this by now, starting May 17th will be the St. Francis Circle track project will start, and they will do some serious work to one of the most craziest intersections in all of San Francisco.

What's the best way to describe St. Francis Circle? It's a massive track switch point for the M-Ocean View and the K-Ingleside lines while there's cars zooming around in various directions; it is also infamous for the long signal waiting times, the longest in the city.

But more importantly, the project will be going on the entire summer and is expected to be finished sometime in the fall. This means Muni metro service on the M and K lines will be running bus service instead of rail. To review the project, click here.

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Commencement at SF State will be on Saturday, May 22, and you might be assuming the M line will be running bus shuttles... well, you are half correct.

Here's the big news from the campus: The M-Ocean View line will run BOTH bus shuttles and rail service due to Commencement. There will also be additional service on the 28-19th Avenue bus line, which is also the main connector to service at Daly City BART. Tens of thousands of people will converge on SF State for one of the biggest days ever.


Here's the official notice from University Communications (via CampusMemo):

Public transportation information regarding special M-Line rail service for Commencement
Though the M-Line light rail service between West Portal Station and Balboa Park Station, both outbound and inbound, will be suspended and regular bus bridges added beginning May 17 as part of a construction project, the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has made special arrangements to accommodate Commencement goers. In addition to providing regular weekend service, SFMTA will also provide the following on May 22:

M-Line Service: M-Line rail service will operate from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. between West Portal Station and Balboa Park Station. In addition, the M-Line bus substitution that is already scheduled to operate during the St. Francis Circle rail replacement project will remain in service. Thus, those wishing to reach the University via the M-Line can take either the light rail or dedicated M-Line buses.

28-Line Service: From 8:30 am to 5:30 p.m., MTA will provide supplemental service on the 28-Line bus, which provides service between the Daly City BART Station and SF State.

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Helpful references & resources:
St. Francis Circle project information
SF State Commencement 2010 Information
SF State CampusMemo Information about special Muni service for Commencement
SF State's Golden Gate [X]Press article about transit service for Commencement
Akit's Complaint Department's personal tips to a great commencement (2009)

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

Happy 400th Blog Post!

It's a happy moment for Akit's Complaint Department as this is my 400th blog entry.

A big thank you to all you loyal readers and the occasional visitors who have supported me with this blog as you have also contributed to efforts to change public policy.

I write a lot about San Francisco and make people aware of the news that no major news agency would cover. I highly support the efforts of citizen journalists and photographers, including those with no formal training (including me) to provide the news that people should read about.

A lot of my work focuses on policy changes and accountability. SF Appeal's Eve Batey stated that I am "everyone's favorite volunteer public policy consultant" and I believe that's the best way to describe me. I like expressing my opinions and provide ideas so that we can all live in a happier city and society. I enjoy making our government officials accountable for their work and doing the dirty work to find if there are some who are trying to pass things under the radar of the general public. One great example is when I found out the TransLink to Clipper conversion will cost $1.4 million, and it received major public exposure through KTVU (with no credit to my hard work) and SF Appeal (with credit).

There's a lot of times where my blog entries make policy changes, but I don't get any credit for the work; it's frustrating, yet I can still smile at the fact that I contributed in some form. I do appreciate those who have referenced my work and/or have gone more in-depth with their press credentials to ask the tough questions and get the answers.

Always remember, the citizens of San Francisco are the true owners of the city (thanks Greg Dewar). We may elect people to make changes to policies, but the all the people of the city pay their taxes, and through our right to vote, we can kick out politicians and make policy changes.


If you are ever interested in making policy changes, here's a chance to do it: VOTE.

If you haven't registered to vote, go do so. If it sounds too inconvenient to vote on election day in June, why not vote by mail? I'm a permanent absentee voter and simply dropping off my completed ballot on the way to work is much easier than waiting in lines or trying to find the nearest polling place.

Update: Akit's Efforts Pays Off with Upgraded SF Giants Dynamic Pricing List

If you recall a week ago, I mentioned on my blog that the SF Giants sells tickets on a dynamic pricing structure that sets ticket prices depending on many variables including giveaways, who is pitching, and how the team is doing. My primary argument is the pricing list they provided on their official website did not reflect actual ticket costs listed on their official ticket broker, Tickets.com.

I have been monitoring the dynamic pricing page ever since I posted my blog entry and there have been some changes to their website. The new dynamic pricing page is now current (prices on list reflect actual prices sold by Tickets.com), but also enhanced to remove the long list (every game posted) and now can be shown in smaller batches by month and by team opponent. Also, by moving your mouse cursor over the game, it will change color and make it easier to identify what section you may be interested in sitting in.

This is a good improvement, SF Giants management. Akit's Complaint Department is proud to help make policy changes.

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Just a run down memory lane... remember when the SF Giants management banned fans to walk on the bleacher/arcade section's promenade unless if the ticket holder was seated in the bleachers or arcade areas? After my blog entry, they removed their incredibly stupid policy; now, I can get my "Crazy Crab" sandwich! Yum!

Muni Hates Commuter Benefits Users with Debit Cards

If you use a commuter benefits debit card like the Commuter Check Card, this may come to you as a surprise or maybe just a shrug, but I think you should be aware of it...

Just five days ago, the SFMTA decided to place a $2.50 surcharge for every time a customer purchases a Muni pass online.

That sucks, but I'm going to make it a lot worse...

Brittney Gilbert of Eye on Blogs reported in early March that SFMTA/Muni closed down their pass purchasing booth at Montgomery station, which was only one of two places in the city where people could buy a Muni monthly pass with a commuter benefits debit card. The other place to use a debit card was on SFMTA's online purchasing site.

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This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Muni closes down the ever popular sales booth at Montgomery while the only alternative is to purchase it online through the SFMTA web portal; plus, charge $2.50 for every purchase? Why is Muni screwing their customers who have a commuter benefits debit card?

What makes it worse is some people have no choice but to accept a commuter benefits debit card as their employer does not give them the option to take alternatives, such as a voucher, or a pass snail mailed to them.

I know what you are thinking... the alternative is to get a TransLink/Clipper card and use a debit card to purchase the pass either their automated machines or website (surcharge free). The bad part about this is there are some people who are not confident enough in the program, especially since I've been blogging about the reliability of the program.

Someone call the orderly, Muni has gone insane and needs to get some shock therapy!

Brief Update #2: Trip Planning for Muni Revised for Google Maps

Brief update for everyone:

This morning, Google Maps was not ready for Muni's May 8th (and beyond) service changes. However, I just checked, and the trip planner is now ready with the new bus/train schedules as long as you input a date on or after Saturday, May 8th.

This is good, I prefer Google Maps over 511's transit planner.

All we need now are the published time schedules. 511.org is not yet ready.

Update: Muni Service Changes Updated on 511 Trip Planner Only

With only three days until the service cuts to Muni, I've been putting on the pressure for Muni to post their time schedules and having the trip planning programs be updated in a timely manner. (Blog post #1 on April 22, and post #2 on May 2).

This morning, I found out the May 8th and beyond time schedules have been updated on 511.org's trip planner, a customizable transit planner that tells passengers the fastest route to the one with the least transfers.

Here's a sample:

The information I input into the trip planner:

• Starting point: 33rd Avenue and Geary
• Ending point: Lake Merced and Font
• Date of travel: Monday, May 10, 2010
• Start time of travel: 7:45 AM

The results as shown in the white box on the right shows the revised time schedule of 20 minute frequencies during weekday morning rush service:

1. 7:58 AM
   
2. 8:18 AM
   
3. 8:38 AM
   
4. 8:58 AM
   

Prior to May 8th's service changes, the 18-46th Avenue operated every 15 minutes during weekday morning rush service:

1. 7:57 AM
2. 8:12 AM
3. 8:27 AM
4. 8:42 AM

To compare the frequencies of the 18-46th Avenue and other lines prior to the May 8th changes and after, click here.

Although this is a start, 511 still has a responsibility to post the entire full bus/train schedules for Muni. The trip planner helps, but sometimes you may have to stay later at work or leave earlier than planned and the full time schedule helps a lot. Google Maps will not help plan transit service for users who choose a departure date of May 8th and beyond.

Update: Muni's May 8th Service Cuts - Schedules Still Not Posted

As I reported on April 22nd, Muni announced their "10%" service cuts to many of its bus and rail lines, but argued that new time schedules and trip planning programs (Google Maps and 511) was not updated with the new information.

With less than one week left before major service changes are put into effect, the new time schedules and trip planning programming updates are not done.

• Time schedules: Muni refers everyone to 511.org where the time schedules are posted. At this current time, the time schedules have not been revised. To view a time schedule, use your address bar and type in: http://www.sfmta.com/ and after the slash, type in the bus line. For example: http://www.sfmta.com/18 and it will go automatically to 511's website for the 18-46th Avenue's bus schedule.
• Trip planning: For customized trip planning on Muni, people depend on 511.org's trip planning program and Google Map's public transit option. Both work equally well, but they have their issues with the service changes on Muni. 511 will provide you the pre-May 8th schedule even if you designate a future travel date of May 8th or after. For Google Maps, asking the system for a date on or after May 8th will result in an error.
  

This is not good for Muni. People need to prepare with ample time for upcoming service cuts. People do not like waiting or standing at a bus stop longer than necessary, and many depend on a time schedule or accurate information provided by trip planning programs for the fastest way to get from point A to B.