>On Monday, April 5, Muni management will eliminate FIVE F-Market Line
>runs--nearly 50% of the service!--which were put on as a direct result of
>the August Muni Metro Meltdown.
>
>Management claims that Muni Metro is running better than ever now--as one
>of their justifications for dropping the extra cars. If that is the case,
>why are morning rush-hour slowdowns approaching Embarcardero still the rule
>rather than the exception? And, on three consecutive days during the week
>of February 15, major delays occurring about 8:15 in the morning forced
>hundreds of exasperated riders onto F-line streetcars, whose operators got
>them to work with a smile on their face.
>
>Another justification for dropping the service: The claim that the money
>has run out. We believe that money can be found to continue the service
>through the end of the fiscal year.
>
>Here's what will happen if the cuts take place:
>
>1. The number of morning rush hour cars will drop from 12 to 7.
>Headways will increase from every 4-6 minutes to every 8-10 minutes.
It would be useful to know what the peak load factor on the F line is, i.e.
how many people
standing in a given period on average? If this cut will create a high load
factor (e.g., 1.35 or higher),
we could argue that this is really tuna-can treatment they are asking people
to put up with.
"Load factor" is transit-geek talk of course -- this translates into the
ratio between total passengers
and seats. If a PCC has 55 seats (is that right?), that would mean there are
18 standees if the
load factor is 1.35.
Having data helps. This is why it would be good to do line checks by
volunteers (if Muni isn't
doing it), to find out what the real situation is. Does Muni do regular
surveys to gather this
type of data? (I notice that there is a curious lack of data on Muni in the
database of the
Federal Transit Administration.)
If the peak volume is beyond a certain point, it is likely that an 8-minute
headway
will lead to serious crowding. What is the current F line weekday ridership?
Tom Wetzel