San Francisco's Muni Metro, light rail service to shut down amid pandemic

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Joe.My.God:

San Francisco To Cease Muni Rail Service On Monday
March 26, 2020

Curbed San Francisco reports:

Beginning Monday, March 30, all Muni metro and light-rail routes will be replaced by buses during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order. This means that all light-rail trains, which service underground and above ground routes, will cease operating until further notice.

Passengers can take bus substitutions for the J, KT, L, M, and N lines using the same bus stops as the early morning Metro bus service, according to SFMTA.

All Muni metro subway stations (West Portal, Forest Hill, Castro, Church, Van Ness) will be closed, except for downtown stations (Civic Center, Powell, New Montgomery, Embarcadero) which will stay open for passengers using BART.

More operational details are at the link.

San Francisco’s Muni Metro, light rail service to shut down amid pandemic

BAY AREA

by: Alexa Mae Asperin

Posted: Mar 26, 2020 / 11:14 AM PDT / Updated: Mar 26, 2020 / 11:21 AM PDT

Muni Metro bus substitutions and other service changes are coming next week. / SFMTA

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Starting Monday, March 30, there will be no more subway or light rail service in San Francisco.

SFMTA announced Thursday that the new changes are happening in response to a decline in ridership amid the virus pandemic and to “help us focus resources on routes outside of the downtown area.”

Starting Monday, all Muni Metro and light rail routes will be replaced by buses.

Riders can take bus substitutions for the J, KT, L, M, and N lines using the same bus stops as the early morning Metro bus service.

Muni Metro subway stations will be closed, except for downtown stations which will remain open to customers taking BART during operating hours.

“Closing the Muni Metro underground system will allow us to redirect custodial resources to other, higher-use facilities and minimizes risk to our station agents. Based on our ridership data and observations, we do not expect these changes to impact the ability of our riders and operators to maintain social distance. And while the rail system is closed to passengers, we plan on doing important maintenance work to our vehicles and infrastructure. It’s a unique opportunity to improve the state of good repair of our system and come out of this shutdown stronger than ever,” Muni officials said in a statement.

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[msongs]

1. use empty underground station space for medical purposes? possible? nt