SFMTA board approves 12 percent increase in rail service

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) board last week approved a 12 percent increase in Municipal Railway (Muni) service and route changes as part of a project to overhaul the area's transit network.

Along with the forthcoming capital investments, the proposed route and service changes will allow San Francisco to recalibrate the Muni network in order to meet existing customer demand and adapt to emerging travel patterns, SFMTA officials said in a press release.

The Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) is expected to reduce travel times on rapid corridors by up to 20 percent, restructure the network and increase service up to 12 percent, and increase service between neighborhoods. A portion of the approved service increases, 10 percent, are being considered as part of the budget for the next two fiscal years. The planned projects in TEP also include pedestrian and streetscape improvements.

As part of last week's vote, the board also approved the policies and some projects outlined in the Final Environmental Impact Report and adopted the California Environmental Quality Act Findings as certified by the San Francisco Planning Commission last week. The board did not approve all proposals that have been cleared through the environmental process, but will consider them after more detailed community outreach work is conducted, SFMTA officials said.