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July 1 is No Transit Day
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If nobody stands up for the riders, maybe we should just walk.
Wednesday, July 1, is a great day to stay home. In fact, you might not have a choice.
That day is when the "emergency" fare increases approved by the SFMTA (planned in detail 5 years ago) go into effect, so all Muni trips will jump from $1.50 to $2. Some wags have suggested finding alternate ways to travel that day as a protest, to demonstrate riders' disapproval and power. Not entirely by coincidence, I moved to within vigorous walking distance of my job this month, so I had already planned to forgo public transit that day.
If you are not as lucky as I am, though, you probably already know that you might not make it into work on July 1: Not only do all BART fares rise that day, it's also the day the union contracts expire, which, judging only by the increasingly hostile rhetoric on the BART site, could well mean a strike.
Now, staying home is not a solution in the event of a long-term strike. If you commute via BART between San Francisco and the East Bay, that transbay bus is looking mighty good. Of course, that fare is going up on July 1 as well, from $3.50 to $4. It's almost as if these agencies are comparing notes.
A sinking economic tide raises all fares, apparently. If you can walk to work, do; if you can't, maybe you can bike or drive on July 1. Or just take a sick day. Let's at least make a gesture, even an empty one, to demonstrate that without their riders, transit agencies don't exist.
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