TALK BACK: Is it fair to make MUNI drivers pay for parking at work?
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors voted Tuesday to implement a payment program for MUNI drivers who park their cars at work. Transit operators must now purchase an $80 monthly parking pass to be able to park on transit yards and on MUNI property.
The city’s Department of Parking and Traffic officers will patrol the MUNI lots and will issue $55 citations to cars without valid placards. The DPT employees also work under the SFMTA umbrella — meaning the parking control officers would be ticketing co-workers over on the transit side of the organization.
MUNI operators are none too happy with the decision to implement the parking passes, a plan that the SFMTA estimates will bring in $1.3 million every year. The union representing MUNI employees sees it as another attack on its membership after the drivers overwhelmingly rejected concessions to help the city’s dire fiscal projections.
Considering the impossible parking situation in San Francisco, and the important public service role MUNI operators play in moving people around town, do you agree with the decision to ask MUNI drivers to pony up when it comes to parking at work? Or should the city cut them some slack on the issue? It’s a grueling job — one of the most stressful in town after all. Comment below.
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You can see both sides. Space is a commodity, but…these are your employees afterall. There should be a compromise–but, how many employees take up space—$millions of dollars…that’s a lot of revenue (lost/gained)…
Tough call. Find compromise.
YES…At all my jobs in SF we have had to pay to park, what makes them any different?? I think the concept is entirely ridiculous but hey, employers change.
Yes. Maybe if more of the drivers needed to rely on public transit, public transit would become more reliable.
They should take the bus like the rest of us.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
The drivers should be encouraged to ride MUNI. Maybe then they would actually consider enforcing the rules on the bus. I no longer ride MUNI busses since a MUNI supervisor told me that the drivers will be fired if they kick someone off the bus – it’s just not safe. I’ve had people harass me on the bus – even threaten to cut off my face – but the MUNI drivers don’t do anything about it.
lets see; If I want to go downtown I have two choices. Drive and pay to park.Which costs more now that the fees went up and tighter parking
enforcement.Or I can take the bus which I also have to pay. Now if I work
for MUNI I can ride for free and think I should park for free too!!!
Something is very wrong with this picture. The city is out of money. How
can we the taxpayers pay for the salaries and benefits MUNI have without
paying something for parking, health care, retirement benefits etc?Enough
is enough. If everybody has to tighten their belt why should MUNI employees get free pass?