SFMTA: It’s Time to Prioritize Buses, Bikes and Pedestrians on Market Street

Tomorrow the SFMTA board will consider a rule to limit private cars from turning onto Market Street between 3rd and 8th Streets. Uber responded by issuing an e-mail to all of their customers asking them to sign a petition opposing the rule.

Write the SFMTA Board yourself. Details here: SF Bike Coalition: Stand up against Uber for a Truly Safer Market Street!

Dear SFMTA Board,

I’m pro-Uber and pro-ride sharing. Last year, I spent $150 per month on Uber. But San Francisco must prioritize buses, bikes, and pedestrians on Market Street.

Market Street is a gridlocked mess. Muni’s busiest lines traverse Market Street and the system suffers from a 57% on-time rate. More than a dozen people have already been killed on San Francisco’s streets this year, well above the Vision Zero goal of zero.

Uber drop offs and pickups on Market St. are constantly blocking bike lanes and Muni. These pickups already are illegal but San Francisco clearly has not allocated the resources to enforce these laws — and probably won’t anytime soon. Uber drivers often block the box when crossing Market Street.

For cyclists, Uber’s presence on Market is a safety issue. For Muni riders, it slows down a system that’s notoriously the slowest in the nation.

SFMTA should recognize the importance ride sharing has achieved among San Francisco’s transportation options and make common-sense accommodations for it — but off of Market Street.

Uber is already difficult to use anywhere around Market Street. As we slowly move toward getting cars off Market Street completely, we need to come up with dedicated places for passenger drop off and pickup on intersecting streets, including:

• Create white zones for pickup and drop off on streets that intersect Market.
• Create signage on Market Street to direct passengers to appropriate pickup and drop off locations.
• Work with ride sharing companies to help drivers and customers understand rules.
• Direct ride sharing companies to adjust their technology, including GPS driving directions, to divert customers and drivers from prohibited areas.
• Add permanent SFMTA enforcement dedicated to stopping bad driving behavior on Market St. during peak hours.

Uber has received $5.9 billion in venture capital financing and is valued at $50 billion. Lyft has received over $1 billion in funding. These companies have the world’s most talented software developers. They can deal with a few common-sense rules from the SFMTA.

It’s time that SFMTA requires these companies to update their pickup and drop off policies around Market Street. These proposed changes will barely affect either company.

In fact, once turns are limited on Market Street, all San Franciscans, including Uber customers like myself, will appreciate the improvements to Market Street — and the acceleration of our notoriously slow transit system.

Andy Bosselman

Write the SFMTA Board yourself. Details here: SF Bike Coalition: Stand up against Uber for a Truly Safer Market Street!