Tom:
According to the December 1998 Monthly Management Report, in FY 97/98, the
F-Line carried nearly 7,900 passengers. The check date was Nov. 4, 1997.
This apparently was the most recent check done on the F-Line. I suspect
that the ridership is much greater now than it was then--say about 8,300 to
8,500 riders a day. Since the F-Line opened in 1995, it has carried an
estimated 43% greater ridership over the previous 8-Market trolley coach
route.
A Philadelphia PCC has about 43 seats; a "Torpedo" has about 50 seats. (I
can check for sure tomorrow when I report for work.)
In the days before The Great Meltdown, with 8-10 minute headways in the
morning rush, we would regularly carry an estimated load factor of about
1.50 (43 seats plus 21 standees) past Van Ness. Under the present
service-added schedule, on my two AM peak trips (out of Castro at 7:24am
and 8:16am), I regularly carry a full seated load through Van Ness. East
of Van Ness, I get plenty of standees--mostly from connecting lines such as
the 19 northbound and southbound and the 16X at 5th Street. I observe
other cars usually carrying the same or similar loads. On my 8:16
trip--when Metro seems to unravel the most--I often carry crush loads from
Church eastward, and sometimes out of Castro.
With that in mind, removing the five extra cars from the F will result in
crush-standing loads or load factors of 2.0 or more on a regular-service
basis. And if Metro fails, watch out!
Since the Meltdown, Muni has NEVER done a ridership survey. How management
can justify eliminating 40% of the service without benefit of a ride check
is unfathomable.
I might point out that having these five extra runs gives our dispatchers
and street supervisors more latitude with regard to filling runs and
keeping the service balanced. If one run was missed out of 12 cars/runs
scheduled, it is much easier to make a line-management service adjustment
than if one run was missing out of seven cars/runs. The problem with the
F-Line is that it is the highest priority line (along with the N) and the
line least desirable to work among seasoned operating personnel, who are
accustomed to the limited contact with the public enjoyed by LRV/Subway
operation. Indeed, until mid-1998, when I wrote a scathing letter to Cruz,
Muni considered the F to be a "step-child". Since then, the F has been
afforded its celebrity status it so richly deserves.
Peter Ehrlich