Mishap Mars Return of Iconic Muni Cable Cars
San Francisco’s unique and historic cable cars returned to the streets of the City by the Bay on Sept. 4, but an incident at their barn shut them down six days later.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
MBTA, OCTA: $1B in ARP Grants for COVID-19 Response
The Federal Transit Administration has awarded American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 grants for COVID-19 response to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA, $859.6 million) and Orange County (Calif.) Transportation Authority (OCTA, $163.9 million).
Transit Briefs: SEPTA, SFMTA, WMATA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is proposing a new name for its rapid transit and trolley lines, as well as new letters and colors to represent them. In addition, late night subway service will return in October for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA); and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on Sept. 7 reopened four Green and Yellow line stations following summer reconstruction work.
Pandemic-Response Grants Awarded to SFMTA, Houston Metro
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is awarding American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 grants for COVID-19 response to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA, $288.2 million) and Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro, $298.6 million).
Transit Briefs: MBTA, SFMTA, Sound Transit, DCTA
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Bay Area Transportation Authority (MBTA), Keolis and CIC Health have teamed on the Commuter Rail Vax Express to boost access to the COVID-19 vaccine; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will begin restoring cable car service by early September; Amazon is committing $100 million in below-market funding for affordable housing units on Sound Transit surplus properties; and Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) A-train commuter rail turns 10.
SFMTA Advances Action Plan for Racial Equity
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has released the first phase of its Racial Equity Action Plan, covering internal programs and policies.
SFMTA F Line Historic Streetcars Returning
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will return the F Market & Wharves historic streetcars to service on Saturday, May 15, between Fisherman’s Wharf and Castro and Market streets, seven days a week.
Alstom Acquires B&C Transit
Alstom has acquired California-based transit signaling engineering, design and construction firm B&C Transit.
MUNI Steps Up Customer Service, Fare Collection
San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) is phasing in fare inspection. While fare collection has not stopped during COVID-19, inspectors are returning to service this fall and becoming part of a larger ambassador program to provide customer assistance. This includes reminding riders that masks are required and to maintain physical distance. They will ultimately conduct fare inspection later this year, including citation issuance. MUNI is also implementing an upgraded Customer Information System from Cubic Transportation Systems that will use digital signage and an updated mobile app to provide real-time information, including estimates on vehicle occupancy.
SF adds rail personnel in Muni budget
San Francisco will hire more transit operators and expand its municipal rail service under a new budget approved this week.