Castro Courier

Recent images such as this Toyota Pathfinder sandwiched between two F-line cars on August 3 led to Board of Supervisors hearing seven days later where residents expressed discontent regarding the agency's safety accountability. Muni officials responded with data showing a decrease in accidents. (photo: Bill Sywak)

A recent high-profile streetcar accident in the Castro has not done much to polish the Municipal Transit Agency’s reputation.

A historic Milan F-line streetcar sandwiched an SUV between another stopped streetcar on August 3, injuring six people and causing a severe traffic backup. Supervisor Bevan Dufty personally came to the scene to investigate within an hour, as did Mayor Gavin Newsom. Both the driver of the Milan streetcar and the SUV were taken to the hospital.

The Board of Supervisors had a public meeting on August 10th to discuss the looming safety issues. There was a public outcry against the agency at the hearing, including complaints about fare increases, service cuts, time and reliability performance, along with safety. Muni officials underscored statistics that showed a decrease in the number of Muni collisions over the past year. Muni reported that the driver did not follow the agency’s rule requiring a distance of at least 250 feet between streetcars.

Ripples from the accident can still be felt on the F-line streetcars as drivers make subtle quips with co-workers when possible and passengers ask drivers questions about “where it happened.” But this has not affected the bulk of Muni riders, who remain largely undeterred by random accidents.

“It’s not different from what I thought it was before. I come from Florida where we don’t have public transportation like this. It’s a blessing,” said Jonny Mercado, who works in the Castro and said he feels safe riding Muni. “But it’s pretty crazy when [accidents] do happen since it’s on a grid and they just have to push a button.”

A more serious Muni accident occurred on July 18, in which a L-Taraval train slammed into a K-Ingleside train at the West Portal Station, injuring nearly 50 people. An investigation determined that the train had been switched from automatic to manual before the crash, which is against Muni procedure.

Reports stated that Muni was now citing operators going to manual without prior authorization from the agency's Central Control. Muni has had 231 disciplinary cases involving transit operators in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which have resulted in 217 suspensions and 14 firings, according to reports.



	San Francisco, California September 2009