Break the Gridlock: Better Transit and Transportation for Everyone

Traffic congestion clogs our streets, pollutes our environment, frustrates residents and workers and hurts our economy. Our city has grown by approximately one hundred thousand residents in less than ten years and we are still growing. However, our transit system has not kept pace with this growth.

As San Francisco’s Mayor, Jane Kim will get San Franciscans moving again.

Improve Transit and Invest in Other Modes of Transportation

• Fund More Buses, longer MUNI Trains
• Invest in a Regional Ferry System
• Build a Citywide Network of Protected Bike Lanes
• Implement Vision Zero to reduce traffic fatalities to ZERO

Jane Kim supports long-term transportation expansion— we must build a second Transbay tube for BART or Caltrain, electrify Caltrain and build its extension to the downtown core, and extend the Central Subway line to North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf. These projects will take decades to build and in the meantime, we also need to invest in immediate and affordable solutions now. We need to fund more buses, longer MUNI trains and invest in a regional ferry system connecting North, East and South Bay and San Francisco with small and large ferries as well as water taxis. Simply doubling or tripling our single car trains can quickly add capacity to our system. This will provide immediate relief to our roads and freeways.

We must also build a protected bike lane network citywide—in order to get more people out of their cars and onto bikes, we must build a robust and safe network. Jane has fought for and won more protected bike lanes in the neighborhoods she represents than any other district in San Francisco.

Jane Kim was also the lead author of Vision Zero because no person should lose their life or suffer great injury due to a 100% preventable collision. We can engineer our streets so that drivers, pedestrians and cyclists can share our roads safely. Clearer crosswalks with signals, curbouts, protected bike lanes and strong enforcement will make our roads safer for everyone.

Improve Customer Service and Amenities

• Wi-fi on all buses and trains
• Dedicated social workers for MUNI
• GPS and data to improve on time service
• Regional Low-Income Transit Discount Pass

More people will ride transit if we can improve the customer’s riding experience. Simple improvements like wi-fi on streetcars and buses and dedicated social workers on MUNI buses will make MUNI a smoother ride for everyone.

Jane also supports using GPS and data to improve our on-time rates and service needs.

Finally we need to ensure affordability so low-income residents and families can get to work, school and doctor appointments. As Supervisor, she advocated for Free MUNI for Youth and Seniors and a discounted bike share program for low income residents. As an MTC Commissioner, she is advocating for a regional discount pass for low-income households who increasingly rely on multiple operators (BART, MUNI, AC Transit and others) to reach their final destination. Currently, a little more than half of Bay Area public transit riders are low-income and transportation is the second or third-largest budget item for low-income households. As our region grows and households move farther away from jobs, we can and should build a regional discount transit pass.

Reducing Traffic Congestion

• Double the number of traffic enforcement officers to keep vehicles moving during rush hour
• Implementing reasonable regulation on ride-hailing companies to make sure these vehicles are complying with traffic laws
• Study mobility management programs to fund transit and road improvements

As traffic backs up during rush hour, it’s not uncommon to see motorists blocking roads and intersections. San Francisco needs to double the number of traffic enforcement officers to manage and direct gridlock on our most clogged streets. Jane piloted the first “Don’t Block the Box” campaign in crowded intersections in the South of Market utilizing SFMTA parking control officers to direct traffic and issue non-moving citations to cars which “block the box.” These tickets deter bad driving behavior and remind drivers to keep our intersections free and clear.

Ride-hailing companies provide a useful service for many residents but has come at a cost. City data has shown that ride-hail services account for more than 20% of traffic on our streets, contributing to traffic gridlock and wear and tear on our roads. Reasonable regulation will both improve public safety and ensure the success of ride-hailing companies in San Francisco.

We should explore a minimal “per ride” fee as Massachusetts, South Carolina, Chicago, IL and Philadelphia, PA have enacted to fund upgrades to our transit system and roads. We should also study an overall mobility management program as London and Oslo have successfully implemented reducing vehicle congestion and CO2 emissions. A modest measure could provide millions of dollars to finance gaps in our transit system.

Finally, it’s important that we require all drivers, including ride-hail drivers to follow the rules of our roads. In 2017, the San Francisco Police Department found that 64 percent of downtown traffic violations such as double parking and blocking the MUNI or bike lane, were issued to ride-hail cars. We must enforce our laws which keep everyone safe on our roads.