By Tim Redmond
As far as I can tell, those shuttle buses run by UCSF don’t have the legal right to use Muni bus stops to load and unload passengers. So how come I see them day after day, sliding into the stop at 16th and Mission — sometimes right ahead of a Muni bus, which then has to wait behind the shuttle van, backing up traffic for everyone?
I asked Judson True, Muni’s spokesperson, about this, and he referred me to a study MTA did on the role of shuttle buses in San Francisco.
It doesn’t get into my particular gripe in great detail, but does say this:
Conflicts with Muni vehicles when loading or idling: MTA staff report this has been a general problem at several locations, a concern also echoed by both MTA field supervision staff and in resident outreach surveys. MTA field staff also cited stress reported by Muni drivers if passengers were compelled to try and board outside of the Muni zone. Muni drivers are instructed not to pick up passengers outside the bus zone for safety reasons, yet passengers often insist on boarding. Authority staff witnessed only a few instances of shuttles blocking Muni vehicles in Muni zones, though one recent instance at Glen Park was troublesome. A shuttle in the process of boarding passengers on Bosworth Street in a Muni zone blocked an incoming Muni bus, thus causing a conflict and even secondary queueing along Diamond Street where another Muni bus waited for both vehicles to move forward before proceeding onto Bosworth Street.
I think this is a bigger problem than the report suggests — and UCSF isn’t the only outfit running these things. The Academy of Art University, Google and all sorts of other private operators are doing it. Which is fine, if they want to offer students and employees and alternative to driving.
But if they use Muni stops, they ought to be paying the city a license fee for the right to do it.