Defending Commuter Shuttles at the SFMTA
On Tuesday February 21, the SFMTA Board of Directors will decide whether to continue the Commuter Shuttle Program. We need active support from our community of shuttle riders and transportation advocates to ensure the program’s survival.
Why it matters
Private shuttle buses transporting people to work are a common sight in San Francisco. Within the city, UCSF and the Academy of Art University run buses between their campuses and major transportation hubs. Many large employers such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, Netflix, LinkedIn, Electronic Arts, and Genentech also contract with bus operators to provide transportation between San Francisco and corporate campuses on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. These shuttles reduce traffic by providing an alternative to driving for people who would otherwise have to use their cars.
Prior to the SFMTA program, however, the shuttles sometimes loaded or unloaded passengers in locations that were neither safe nor legal. And as visible symbols of tech, commuter shuttles have become the target of protests opposing the presence of tech workers in certain parts of the city.
To address these complaints, the SFMTA started the Commuter Shuttle Program. The program sets out rules for what roads the shuttles can drive on, where the shuttles can stop to load/unload passengers, and how much shuttle operators pay to cover program costs. In return, shuttle operators gain recognition and legitimacy from the SFMTA, and access to curb space so that passengers can board and debark safely without blocking traffic. The result is a system that empowers the SFMTA to set common sense rules while enabling bus operators to continue providing much needed transportation. But not everyone is happy with this arrangement.
At the SFMTA meeting on Tuesday, there will be opposition to the program. Some groups blame the shuttles for excessive wear on roads, bad air quality and worsening traffic. The shuttles are also faulted for gentrification in neighborhoods with shuttle stops.
Do the shuttles have some issues? Yes. But overall, they do far more good than harm. Nearly 10,000 San Francisco residents use the shuttles to get to work every day, and the shuttles remove over 3,000 vehicles from our streets and highways. Our roads and public transportation are close to capacity. We need these more efficient forms of transportation.
And as to the charge that shuttles cause gentrification and displacement, well, it misses the point. Rising housing prices are due to a region-wide housing shortage, not which specific blocks have a shuttle stop. If we had a greater supply of housing and lower housing prices, low-income families would be at less risk of being evicted. If cities like Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale built more multi-story apartments and condos, then more people would choose to live close to work and reduce the traffic burden on our roads. If our public transportation system could reliably take a commuter from San Francisco’s Marina District to Mountain View in less than 90 minutes, there would be less need for a shuttles. But until then, the shuttles are one of many tools that help people get to their destinations safely and quickly.
What happens if the SFMTA Board does not continue the program?
If the SFMTA Board does not vote to continue the program, it will expire on March 31, 2017. The commuter shuttles will be treated just like any other private vehicle, as things were before August 2014. This is a step backwards. Currently the SFMTA has broad authority on how the commuter shuttles operate, what routes they take, and where they stop. Removal of designated shuttle stops could mean more double-parking, more shuttle traffic on small residential streets, more conflicts with Muni buses, and more traffic congestion. As the SFMTA writes in its report:
The findings of the mid-year program evaluation have shown that the Commuter Shuttle Program has made an impact on shuttle behavior and can help minimize the impacts of shuttle vehicles. The program provides the SFMTA with a tool for regulating commuter shuttle behavior and generates funding for enforcing these regulations.
Supporting the shuttle program at the SFMTA
The most effective advocacy will be public comment given in person at the SFMTA Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday February 21, San Francisco City Hall, Room 400, 1pm.
Come a bit early if you can. Move toward the front to find someone who is administering the public comment cards. Fill out and submit a public comment card, writing that you wish to speak about the Commuter Shuttle Permit Program (Item 11 on the agenda). The commuter shuttles are late in the agenda, so be prepared to wait some time. The room has free wifi, and you can bring a computer to the meeting.
When you speak for public comment, talk about your personal experience with the shuttles. If you ride the shuttles, talk about how they help you get to work. Emphasize that you are part of the community just like everyone else at the meeting. You may hear statements from other people and opponents that make you angry. Remain calm, be polite, show empathy towards opposing views, and focus on the message.
Showing up can make all the difference in the world when policy makers routinely only hear from the other side. Just a couple of people can be enough to change someone’s mind and convince officials that there’s a real constituency out there (i.e. all of us in tech) that care about and will be affected by their decisions.
If you cannot come to the meeting
If you can’t make the meeting, there are still things you can do to help. Send an email to <MTABoard@sfmta.com> before the meeting on Tuesday. In the subject, write “Public Comment in support of the Commuter Shuttle Permit Program”. Your comment should express how you are part of the community and how the shuttles help you. Emphasize your personal story, keep it positive, and stay focused on the message. And if you’re unsure how to get started, see our example email; use it to inspire your own or feel free to copy/paste if you like the wording as-is.
