Yellow buses sink Muni into red
By: Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
March 11, 2009
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| Anyone onboard? Muni launched Culture Bus service with the yellow vehicles arriving every 20 minutes at designated sites, but a lack of ridership forced it to reduce times to once every hour. (Examiner file photo) |
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SAN FRANCISCO — The special bus line Muni created to shuttle riders among The City’s cultural institutions lost nearly $550,000 during a four-month period.
The distinctive yellow 74 bus, which was launched in September, transports riders between the museum district in SoMa, Union Square and the museum concourse in Golden Gate Park.
The Culture Bus drops sightseers off at institutions such as the Asian Art Museum, California Academy of Sciences and SFMOMA. The service launched with five daily buses arriving at stops every 20 minutes. Adults are required to pay $7 to ride the bus, but those with a regular Muni pass pay $3. It costs $1.50 to ride regular buses.
As The Examiner first reported in late October, the bus was failing to attract the expected number of riders.
In response to the dearth in users, the Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees Muni, reduced Culture Bus service in January to arrive at stops every hour.
The transit agency, however, had already shelled out $607,372 between Sept. 27 and Jan. 31 to operate the new buses.
The bus line generated $59,927 in revenue during the four-month period, which resulted in a net operating loss of $547,445.
Supervisor John Avalos, chair of the board’s Budget and Finance Committee, said the Culture Bus “seems like a big waste of money” and that those funds could be used in better ways, such as promoting culture for youth, families and senior citizens.
Muni, however, is not giving up on the Culture Bus, according to spokesman Judson True.
“We are going to work with our partners to make the Culture Bus successful,” he said.
The bus service has the support of the California Academy of Sciences, which said it could help mitigate traffic congestion in and around Golden Gate Park.
“We’re determining how to best market this service to raise awareness among both local residents and tourists prior to the start of the peak tourist season,” said Stephanie Stone of the California Academy of Sciences. “We want to see ridership increase as much as [the transit agency] does.”
Culture shock
The cost of operating the 74-Culture Bus from Sept. 27 to Jan. 31 delivered a financial blow to Muni.
$607, 372 Total operating cost
$59,927 Total revenue
$547,445 Loss
Revenue in 2009
| January | February | |
| Tickets Sold | 1,621 | 1,028 |
| Ticket Price | $7 | $7 |
| Revenue | $11,347 | $7,196 |
Source: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
