Muni’s vow: Service upgrades arriving soon

Passengers board Muni buses at San Bruno and Paul avenues in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, April 2, 2015. The MTA will roll out its service improvement plan, dubbed "Muni Forward", later this month. Passengers board Muni buses at San Bruno and Paul avenues in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, April 2, 2015. The MTA will roll out its service improvement plan, dubbed "Muni Forward", later this month. Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Muni’s vow: Service upgrades arriving soon 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Muni, after years of struggling to keep up with its growing ridership, is trying to evolve. It’s introducing service increases affecting a third of its riders, a rapid bus network, renamed routes plus bus shelter improvements and a new system map.

The changes — coming April 25 — are part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Muni Forward program, which has been planned for years but was stalled by the recession and ensuing city budget problems. But now Muni ridership is booming, the MTA’s budget is healthy and Muni Forward is, well, moving forward.

“Muni’s time has arrived,” said John Haley, the MTA’s transit director. “Things are improving, and this is only the beginning. Things are going to get better.”

San Franciscans have heard that before — remember former Mayor Willie Brown’s declaration that he could fix Muni in 100 days?

But this time there’s a plan.

Service increases are the biggest improvement and sure to be the most-welcomed by Muni riders accustomed to cramming onto — or being passed by — overloaded buses. Muni plans to boost service on its workhorse lines at the busiest times. Haley said those increases will affect about 165,000 daily riders.

On nine lines, including the 8AX and 14R — the new “R” designation stands for “rapid” — and 14X routes, buses will come more often during the morning commute. During the evening commute, seven lines, including the 5R and 38R, will see buses more frequently.

Three lines will get more frequent service during the middle of the day. Five routes will operate at commute levels later in the morning, and the 14X line will run longer buses. Weekend service will also be expanded, with the 38R running on Sundays and longer hours for the 38R on Saturdays and Sundays.

Service hours up 2.5%

The service increase, which amounts to about a 2.5 percent rise in service hours, is the first of three planned for the next six months, Haley said. More increases, of about the same size, are coming in the fall and again in February. The increases were included in Muni’s two-year budget.

In addition to the service increase, Muni riders will see some changes that seem more cosmetic, though they should make the Muni ride better, said Sean Kennedy, Muni Forward program manager.

All “limited” routes, buses that skip some stops and have an “L” after their number designation, will instead become part of a new rapid bus network and will have the letter changed to an “R.” But it’s not just a letter change, Kennedy said. Buses on those lines will get devices that allow them to hold a green light so the vehicle can pass through the intersection, and will get some stretches of transit-only lanes and may see some buses added.

Muni will also make some changes to its distinctive wavy-roofed shelters. While the roofs will remain, Muni will add a bigger “flag,” a pole with a sign listing buses that stop at that shelter, and it will be topped with a small solar-powered light that will glow though the fog. Bike racks will also be installed near the stops, and stops serving rapid routes will get special red “rapid” signs and a stripe of chevrons.

Another addition to the shelters will be a new Muni map. The map is simpler and shows which routes arrive more frequently by varying the thickness of the line. It was designed by a former MTA planner and a cartographer who donated it to Muni.

Muni will also change route numbers and names on seven lines, some to make them simpler to remember; others to better reflect their destinations. For instance, the 6-Parnassus will become the 6-Haight-Parnassus; the 8X-Bayshore Express will become the 8-Bayshore and the 33-Stanyan will become the 33-Ashbury 18th.

Muni Forward is the latest rendition of a service improvement plan the MTA began several years ago called the Transit Effectiveness Plan. It aimed to take a fresh look at Muni routes and service and make changes and improvements where needed. But after it was adopted, the economy went into decline, and the plan was used to help determine where service should be cut to help Muni balance its budget.

Now, however, with the economy booming, along with Muni ridership, the agency is looking to improve its service along with its reputation. Muni is buying new buses and railcars, improving the way it handles maintenance and doing a better job of scheduling. It’s also geared up its hiring and training, and has a full staff of bus drivers and close to a full staff of rail operators.

Meets service standard

And for the past 19 days in a row, Muni has managed to roll out 98.5 percent of its scheduled service — the standard voters mandated when they passed Proposition E, which created the MTA, in 1999. Haley said he believes it’s the first time Muni has met that standard for an extended period.

Muni is steadily and surely improving, Haley said, though he admits there is a lot more work to do. But he said the agency is not only trying to fix itself, but to prepare for future growth in jobs, population and transit demand. Muni Forward is a major indicator of a transit system that’s on the mend, he said.

“This is monumental,” Haley said. “Four years ago, we were cutting service. We added some of it back, but we are adding service now, and we are going to add service twice again. This is a system that is getting well.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

Service changes

A.M. frequency increase

Lines 5R, 8AX, 8BX, 14R, 14X, 38R, 41, 10 and 28

P.M. frequency increase

Lines 5R, 8AX, 8BX, 14R, 14X, 38R and 41

Midday frequency increase

Lines 5R, 8, 14R and 29

Extended a.m. hours

Lines 14X, 1AX, 1BX, 8AX, 8BX, 30X, 31AX and 31BX

Additional weekend hours

38R, added on Sunday

14R, extended hour on Saturday and Sunday

Line name changes

Old: 6-Parnassus

New: 6-Haight-Parnassus

Old: 8x-Bayshore Express

New: 8-Bayshore

Old: 16X-Noriega Express

New: 7X-Noreiga Express

Old: 17-Parkmerced

New: 57-Parkmerced

Old: 33-Stanyan

New: 33-Ashbury 18th

Old: 71-Haight-Noriega

New: 7-Haight-Noriega

Old: 108-Treasure Island

New: 25-Treasure Island