The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has tentatively approved a list of stops for its tech shuttle bus pilot program following a packed public hearing at City Hall Friday that drew complaints from residents concerned about the loss of parking and the impacts on their neighborhoods.
“They're just ramrodding this through and it's wrong-minded and short-sighted,” said Lisa Awbrey, who lives near two Muni stops in the Panhandle where public buses would share curb space with private shuttles.
The SFMTA approved an 18-month pilot commuter shuttle program in January, and earlier this month said it identified 115 stops where the shuttles would share space with Muni buses. It originally called for 200 stops.
"We really wanted to select locations where, based on our best information, we could accommodate the shuttle activity and minimize impact on Muni and other users," said Carli Paine of the SFMTA.
At nine locations, where Muni stops are too busy, some parking would be removed to provide white zones exclusively for shuttles. Three parking spaces would be permanently eliminated and 30 spaces used during peak hours, or about .01 percent of all on-street spaces in the city, according to the SFMTA.