MUNI is a catastrophe. Raising fares every couple of months or so while simultaneously reducing service is no way of providing truly public transportation. Public transportation is becoming very, very selective of its Public.

While MUNI riders wait out in the cold and rain anywhere from 12-20 minutes (new standards) for their overcrowded bus, vehicle owners comfortably step into their Mercedes, turn on the heating and glide to work. I’m definitely not saying that the public should all be riding around in Mercedes-style buses but public transportation should at least, if not comfortable, be as speedy or speedier than private (traffic-prone) car transportation. What takes that same Mercedes 15 to 20 minutes to get downtown could take the public transit ride anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.  And the worst part is that the MUNI rider is paying $780 a year to use this inefficient transportation while the vehicle owner pays anywhere from $38 to $76 a year to drive their $60,000 vehicle to work.

Let’s look at the statistics. In San Francisco, vehicle owners earn up to 65% more than MUNI riders. Yes, we are including students because transportation should have no discrimination. So not only are we charging more to ride public transit, we’re charging the poorest people the most money, while the affluent are charged hundreds of dollars less a year.

Hey, I hate MUNI, and I can see why vehicle owners wouldn’t want to get anywhere near it. The city is plagued with transportation problems, a not just public. MUNI is inefficient, there are no parking spaces anywhere, and not to mention pollution. Wouldn’t a good solution be giving MUNI riders and vehicle drivers the same treatment and charge AT LEAST somewhere near $780 for yearly parking permits? Driving is a privilege, not a right. I’m not saying that it should all be applied in one single charge; How it’s paid can be subject for debate. Employers can also choose to subsidize a portion of the cost, just like they do for Public Transportation. There are logistics here that, as a non-government official, I understand are being overlooked. However, there have been several city council persons who have suggested very similar proposals. 

This would solve countless city problems. With more money from these pricey parking permits, the city can focus on improving the MUNI system and hiring drivers who won’t kill me. With a much, much better public transportation system, more and more people will want to take MUNI (not to mention that they’ll not want to pay $780 a year). Drivers will ask, “Well, what about gas?! I have to pay $780 plus the cost of gas!!!?” To that I say, YES. If you live in the city, you are CHOOSING to drive. Instead of giving your money at the pump, give your money to the city, who can improve transportation for everyone and force it to be better. This will have favorable effects on two other non-related sectors: small businesses and the environment.

With people not being able to afford to drive, they wont go to Target for their shopping, they’ll go to something a little bit more local. Now, what if you absolutely WANT Target? Shouldn’t you have the right of liberty to pursue Target? Absolutely! With San Franciscans not willing to travel to the country (otherwise known as the South Bay), Target will come to us. San Franciscans are the largest demographic in Target and Target will notice this reduction in sales, prompting them to entertain the idea of a San Francisco location. (I know that Target is already moving to San Francisco, I just am using it as an example for which I have statistics). This will cause businesses to consider coming to San Francisco and create more jobs. So, higher parking permit prices = better, more efficient MUNI = more San Franciscans on Public Transit = Less outside SF purchases = More local businesses = Outside businesses suffer = Outside businesses come into San Francisco = more jobs = Money = Happiness.

Oh yeah…and it’s better for the environment.

Please note that this is just for San Francisco. By no means do I think that people in Walnut Creek or Millbrae should pay anything relative to this since they don’t have anything locally or public transit to improve. I also know that this wont solve all of our problems, but it’s a good start. People with garages wont be affected, and people with garages usually live in more residential areas, and families usually live in residential areas, and families need cars…I guess, so it wont affect them as much, either. This should also not adversely affect people who work out of town. Out of town workers should be given compensation by their employers and should be required to pay less by the city as the city where they are going to work should subsidize a part of the travel expense.

I know I’m missing a lot of details and stipulations, but anything’s better than what we have now.