Coming Saturday: Muni Service Cuts

Well, this ain't happening here...

​You don't have to wait long to wait long.

Starting tomorrow, May 8, Muni will initiate 10 percent service cuts in a cost-cutting measure. The agency stands to save around $4.8 million for the rest of fiscal 2010 (which ends on July 1) and $28.4 million in fiscal 2011. These cuts became inevitable when the Board of Supervisors last month spurned transit activist David Pilpel's motion that they were illegal.

What do service cuts mean for you? Well, 10 percent service cuts translates into more waiting around, and more cattle-car conditions on the trains and buses that do arrive. And if you're lucky enough to get a seat, no, that liquid is probably not water.

Wisely, Muni has tampered little with the frequency of its "trunk lines" during commuter hours -- those would be workhorses like the 38 Geary and 1 California. But if you work or ride during off-hours, you'll be affected.

In preparation for Saturday's rollout, Muni's new, truncated schedule has been uploaded onto 511 trip planner and Google Maps.

Also, you can click here for Muni's own before-and-after frequency guide for each transit line.

Finally, across-the-board cuts are a dubious remedy for ailing transit services and make for horrendous PR. But Muni is running out of blood to bleed; next thing out is its veins. At some point you've just got to cut the check.