The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) recently installed new transit lanes on segments of Geary Boulevard between Stanyan Street and 33rd Avenue as part of the Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes Program.
This project extends the existing transit lanes that were installed as part of the Geary Rapid Project between Stanyan and Market streets. Now, more than 75 percent of Geary Boulevard benefits from transit lanes, increasing overall transit-lane miles by 50 percent.
The Geary Boulevard corridor provides neighborhoods with vital services such as medical centers, grocery stores and other essential businesses. During the pandemic, the 38 Geary bus route has continued to serve about 18,000 daily riders making essential trips. The new transit lanes help keep buses moving to reduce crowding and travel times for people who still depend on transit to get around the city.
When buses aren’t competing with traffic, they can stay more evenly spaced apart and complete routes more quickly, providing more frequent service and reduced crowding with the same number of buses. Riders don’t have to live in the Richmond to reap the rewards—reducing delays on any part of Geary Boulevard means that buses can run more frequently, which benefits passengers along the entire route.
Transit lanes are especially important at a time when physical distancing requirements mean Muni buses can only carry one-third of the passengers that they could previously. Over the summer, as congestion increased and auto speeds slowed, crowding (by COVID-19 capacity standards) began increasing on the 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid. This occurred despite ridership numbers staying relatively flat, as buses became delayed in traffic.
Looking forward, as more of the economy re-opens, the new temporary transit lanes will help avoid crowding without adding additional buses or operators. This is critical at a time when the SFMTA is facing major revenue shortfalls and has limited resources.
In addition to transit lanes, the Geary Boulevard project also includes other improvements. SFMTA placed temporary wooden sidewalk extensions at bus stops at 25th, 20th and 6th Avenues. These allow buses to stop without pulling in and out of traffic and provide more space for people waiting. To give buses a head start on general traffic, SFMTA installed special Muni-priority traffic signals at the intersections of 25th, 20th and 15th Avenues.
Next, SFMTA will evaluate the temporary emergency transit lanes—including looking at Muni travel times, crowding and impacts to traffic and parking—to determine how well they’re working and whether to pursue making them permanent, potentially with adjustments or additions.
