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Disability Advocates Blast SFMTA's New Muni Transit Plan

Joe Moore
/
Creative Commons
Disability advocates aren't happy with the new muni routes that require more switches

Muni trains in San Francisco will start running again this Saturday with significant changes. Advocates for the disabled say that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency hasn’t done enough to accommodate them.

Senior and Disability Action, a local advocacy group, is unhappy that passengers will have to wait longer, cross busy roads, and switch trains more than in the past. Representatives made their case during a public comment period during a Tuesday hearing.

The SFMTA has consolidated several routes and shortened some of them so that they don’t enter tunnels.

Previously direct lines, such as the J Church, now require passengers to change trains to get between downtown and the rest of the city.

On its website, the SFMTA explained how it is accommodating people with disabilities. It has created temporary boarding platforms with ramps at several stations. And the agency provides subsidized taxi rides for those unable to access muni.

Separately on Wednesday, the region’s public transportation agencies issued a healthy transit guide for passengers.

Sarah Lai Stirland is a freelance journalist and editor living in the South Bay. Her reporting background is in technology, science writing, law and policy. For the past few years, she's written about issues related to aging.