San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

MTA War Is Brewing on MLK Day as Archduke Gavin Newsom Inspects His Troops. It's ...

Your Inappropriate Sexual Conduct With Minors Roundup

Double Bogey

Muni's bogus tax shelter and theGuardian's bogus lawsuit.

Subway Daze

BART fears city subway project poses danger to busy downtown S.F. station.

Porkmistress Pelosi

Madam Speaker says she wants to tame pork-barrel spenders. Takes one to know one.

Gridlock

Bill Lieberman, new planning director for the Municipal Transportation Agency, wades into the swamp of San Francisco transit politics

Unbalanced Budgeting

The city's proposed parking-rate increases are a scandal. They aren't nearly large enough.

Unnatural Gas

"Environmentalists" make bad transit worse by insisting Muni buy alt-fuel buses

S.F. Inquiry Regarding Disability Placards May Miss the (Disabled) Elephant In the Room: It's Just Too Damn Easy To Get a Disability Placard

Who wants some?Supervisor Eric Mar was on the side of the angels yesterday when he convened a hearing looking into the Municipal Transportation Authority's enforcement of potential disability placard fraud; if Mar can help bring the legal hammer down on able-bodied folks who fraudulently represent t ... More >>

NYC's Metropolitian Transporation Authority Threatens Man Marketing S.F. Muni T-Shirts

Joseph Moore is K-onfused​ A few weeks back, San Francisco resident Joseph Moore got so fed up with Muni that he decided to express his disdain via custom-made clothing. The resultant T-shirts utilize various San Francisco Metropolitian Transportation Agency line names, which appear in black block ... More >>

Sky-High Sign Mystery: Did SFMTA Quietly Switch to Metric System?

Is this the reason San Francisco's cycling-related signs are so darn high? ​Measurement units regarding bicycles are an odd jumble of the metric system, United States customary units, and bicycle-specific standards almost nobody in the industry knows the origin of.Spokes are measured in millimeter ... More >>

Cabbies cry foul over plan to sell medallions

Is this the reason San Francisco's cycling-related signs are so darn high? ​Measurement units regarding bicycles are an odd jumble of the metric system, United States customary units, and bicycle-specific standards almost nobody in the industry knows the origin of.Spokes are measured in millimeter ... More >>

Your Rundown on the Week in S.F. Government

Pride of the city​Over the weekend Your Correspondent was lucky enough to have one of those reality-check conversations with a reasonable layperson -- these sorts of chats come far too seldom for us poor hacks, who spend a lot of our time talking to the wonkish caste that includes legislative aide ... More >>

Matt Gonzalez: Influence Peddling Killed City Parking Contract

Matt Gonzalez​Former Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez alleges that influence peddling was behind a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency decision to scotch a contract for management of city-owned parking garages.Gonzalez' law firm has been engaged by Fred Bekele, whose firm Con ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Matt Gonzalez​Former Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez alleges that influence peddling was behind a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency decision to scotch a contract for management of city-owned parking garages.Gonzalez' law firm has been engaged by Fred Bekele, whose firm Con ... More >>

Riders Rolling with Muni's Punches

Taylor FriedmanSure, the 30 is crowded. But everyone's too busy listening to their iPod to complain. ​People love to bitch about Muni. You very rarely hear anyone mention their joyous -- or even normal -- ride to work. That's because Muni is a collective complaint; the bond that ties us togeth ... More >>

Bicycle Plan May See Another Day in Court, Main Opponent Says

​If city government prevails in court tomorrow, expect to see more lanes and clearer paths for bicyclists.The San Francisco Superior Court will hear closing arguments Tuesday to determine whether the city's Bicycle Plan, which seeks to meet the demands of San Francisco's large and growing bike ... More >>

Path to Civility

Cyclists jumping lights and drivers blocking bike lanes need to get cited.

Muni Finds Way To Halve Service Cuts -- Even Without Union Concessions

​The plan to soften the blow of Muni's 10-percent service cuts -- that last month appeared as hopeless as catching a timely late night bus after the drivers' union spurned give-backs -- has apparently been resurrected. In a deal brokered by the mayor's office with the San Francisco Municipal Trans ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

​The plan to soften the blow of Muni's 10-percent service cuts -- that last month appeared as hopeless as catching a timely late night bus after the drivers' union spurned give-backs -- has apparently been resurrected. In a deal brokered by the mayor's office with the San Francisco Municipal Trans ... More >>

Smartphone apps will soon help you find parking in S.F.

​The plan to soften the blow of Muni's 10-percent service cuts -- that last month appeared as hopeless as catching a timely late night bus after the drivers' union spurned give-backs -- has apparently been resurrected. In a deal brokered by the mayor's office with the San Francisco Municipal Trans ... More >>

Towed S.F. Cars Sold Before Owners Properly Notified, Report Claims

Seriously...​SFPD Records Said Dept. Was Holding 80,000 Impounded Cars. For Real. AutoReturn, the company contracted by San Francisco to tow cars, sold 56 vehicles at auction before giving owners a full chance to pay their fines, according to a new Controller's audit.According to the report, betwe ... More >>

Sunday Streets Comes Back to San Francisco Another Year, First Event in March

Sunday Streets Means Safe Streets​The recent wave of bad news  -- shootings, parking tickets and skyrocketing pensions -- would make anyone feel down on San Francisco. But here is a piece of good news: The wildly popular Sunday Streets festival is coming back. San Francisco Municipal Transpor ... More >>

Richmond Blogger Proves Power of the Press

Believe it or not, more service​It's not often that Muni gets good press. So here it goes. As the Examiner reports today, Richmond resident Aaron Kitashima was sick and tired of the crappy and non existent bus service along 48th Avenue. So he did what every pissed off person does -- he complained ... More >>

Nannies Get Ticketed, Moms Revolt

She didn't need a parking spot​Nannies are part of the family, too, which is why a legion of San Francisco mothers is pushing the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to let their nannies reap the benefits of residential parking permits. It's understandable that parents do not want their ... More >>

Stranded Muni Riders Throw Rocks at Buses

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Unless you really need to get home. ​Muni passengers revolted against the transit agency hurling rocks -- and curses -- at drivers who left them stranded for hours. At about 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, the Fourth Street Bridge across Mission Creek, a draw ... More >>

Obama Budget Proposes $200 Million for S.F. Central Subway

Nat "Pro Shop" Ford​Muni boss Nat Ford on Monday praised Barack Obama for including $200 million in spending for the controversial Central Subway rail project as part of the president's federal budget proposal."The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency applauds President Barack Obama's pro ... More >>

John Avalos Wants Central Subway Project to Hire Locals

Local hiring is still an option, not an obligation​Update: Paul Rose, spokesman with the MTA, returned our call just now and said that the agency would not delay the bidding process. He pointed out that any delays could result in the loss of federal funding. Original Story, 2 p.m.: Yesterday, The ... More >>

How to Get a Cab in San Francisco with Your iPhone

Was it ever easy to hail a cab?​We just told you that in 30 years we could be living in a spooky world where we use our iPhones to do everything -- even robbers will you hold you up with iGuns. And here is evidence that we are well on our way to living in the iWorld. The Examiner this morning kind ... More >>

Avoiding Auto Versus Pedestrian Crashes Could Save Taxpayers Cash

Was it ever easy to hail a cab?​We just told you that in 30 years we could be living in a spooky world where we use our iPhones to do everything -- even robbers will you hold you up with iGuns. And here is evidence that we are well on our way to living in the iWorld. The Examiner this morning kind ... More >>

Taxi Cab Fares to Increase in San Francisco

It will cost you an arm and a leg​Not only is it seemingly impossible to hail a taxi cab in San Francisco on a Friday night, but then if you find one, it could to cost you more than the entire night out, including dinner and a movie.Here is something that's sure to upset locals. San Francisco Muni ... More >>

SFMTA's Taxi Reform Plan Incites Shouting Match Among Cabbies

You don't want to upset taxi drivers​Impassioned cabbies gathered at a town hall meeting yesterday afternoon where they expressed their skepticism about the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's ideas for reforming the city's taxi industry. But that skepticism quickly turned into heated ... More >>

Muni Operators Forced to Accept a Contract They Don't Want

Muni operators are so mad, they can't even see straight​Last week, Muni operators sent a strong message to management when the union overwhelmingly rejected the contract proposal on the table, which would have, among other things, frozen their pay and revamped disciplinary process. But that messa ... More >>

Nat Ford, Muni Chief, Accused of Violating Ethics Laws

Did Nat Ford grant an inappropriate favor to his personal attorney?​Nat Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, violated ethics rules when he moved to scuttle a lucrative parking garage contract in 2009, according to a new lawsuit."Ford violated the ethics co ... More >>

Nat Ford, Muni Chief, Leaving -- Finally

Don't let the Muni door hit you on the way out​Well, it's official, Muni CEO Nathaniel Ford -- the highest paid man in San Francisco -- announced he will be leaving the transit agency at the end of the month. Ford's departure was mutual between him and his boss -- the San Francisco Municipal Trans ... More >>

Nat Ford, Muni Chief, Leaves with a "Golden Parachute"

flickr.com/photos/agentakitLanding on his feet wearing Italian leather shoes​Muni drivers were already deflated after an arbitrator forced what they thought was an unsavory contract deal on the union, which included three years of pay freezes. But then hearing that their soon-to-be ex-boss would b ... More >>

Leland Yee: Drivers Could Park Three Days for Free at the Cost of Nat Ford's Severance Package

Wants three days of free parking ​Last week, City Attorney Dennis Herrera took what seems to be the first real potshot at a fellow mayoral candidate when he publicly said that he has better things to do than fight with Rush Limbaugh and ban shark fin soup. Anyone who has even barely scanned the he ... More >>

Taxi Drivers Strike at City Hall

Taylor FriedmanShowing Muni drivers how it's done​At City Hall this afternoon, there was honking -- lot's of honking. Taxi drivers shouted and chanted as they circled the Civic Center protesting, among other things, higher credit card fees. Taxi driver Tariq Mehmood, who organized the protest, est ... More >>

Leland Yee: Why He's Ahead in the Polls

People love to hate Leland and that always makes for a good front runner in a race​Last week, we detailed a story about how State Sen. Leland Yee is pro-medical marijuana -- until he's not. As SF Weekly reported, Yee attended a medical marijuana meeting, telling pot smokers that he supports them a ... More >>

Taxi and Muni Drivers Band Together to Plan Public Transit Strike

Aug. 2 is tentatively walk to work day​Though their City Hall protest last week successfully rustled some feathers (even Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was riled up), cab drivers are already talking about staging an even bigger strike next month.This time, they want to join forces with Muni drivers to ... More >>

What Is James Franco Having Sex With?

James Franco, newsmaker​Boy are we glad we read the paper today! In Thursday's Examiner newsmakers section, enigmatic James Franco is revealed as having produced subpar amateur porn in his younger days -- a bad decision that preceded his bad decision to host the Oscars in a glazed monotone. Consid ... More >>

Tom Otterness, Sculptor Who Killed Dog, Wins Art Contract for Central Subway Project

Not necessarily a cat person ​Is art still subjective if it involves killing a dog?The Examiner gives us a not-so-uplifting story today about a Brooklyn sculptor who once shot and killed a dog for art's sake. While Tom Otterness is a well-known artist in the streets of New York, this slight fact s ... More >>

Who Can Help San Francisco's Cycling Conditions? The Dutch

​According to HG Wells, "After your first day of cycling, one dream is inevitable. A memory of motion lingers in the muscles of your legs, and round and round they seem to go." As Arthur Conan Doyle saw it: "When the spirits are low, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth ... More >>

Street Artists Block F-Market Stop

paulkimo via FlickrStop right there​It's less of a NIMBY case and more of a Not-In-My-Selling-Spot case. Street artists who've spent years selling art, caricatures, and photos to tourists near the Fort Mason waterfront are fighting the city's proposal to extend the F-Market and Wharves line to For ... More >>

SF Nightclub Mighty Mobilizes 800 Supporters to Keep Its Parking Spaces

Flickr/Dennis​Patrons and staff at Mighty breathed a small sigh of relief yesterday as the San Francisco nightclub (which doubles as a venue for corporate events during the day) at least temporarily eluded the threat of losing hundreds of public parking spots on Utah and San Bruno streets -- s ... More >>

Mighty Celebrates SFMTA Victory With Free 'No Parking on The Dance Floor' Party

Juan DataDJ Platurn.​Last week, we reported on Mighty's successful efforts to mobilize its patrons to oppose the threat of all its nearby parking spaces becoming tow-away at night. Now, the club has announced a free party on Dec. 2 to thank people for their support -- about 800 letters that ul ... More >>