Amtrak Closed San Francisco Ticket Office Oct 28th, 2019

[sttom]

$30 per bus is worth it alone for having a dedicated parking spot and not having to deal with surface street traffic. Having taken Megabus once into San Francisco (a mistake I will never make again) the surface street traffic was just as bad as crossing the bridge. I'm not sure which agency is the one that will actually make the call as to whether or not to use the TTC, but it wouldn't surprise me if one or both of the JPAs is the one that has to make the call. And one of them is trying to replace food service with vending machines so I could see them griping over having to pay $30 per bus to have access to a nice bus terminal.

 

[rickycourtney]

$160,000 per year/per space does seem like a lot, but if one assumes 1 bus/bay 15 times a day for 365 days a year, then it's $30 per bus/bay. Having never taken a bus from Oakland Amtrak (or wherever) to the Salesforce building, I wouldn't have the slightest idea whether there are enough passengers to cover that cost, but it usually clarifies things a bit when broken down.

There's actually 16,640 departures and arrivals in San Francisco each year, which works out to $19.23 per bus.*

The San Joaquins is the only agency that publishes its San Francisco annual ridership. It's 48,942 for the 5,096 arrivals and departures.** That's roughly 9.6 passengers per bus.

The other thing I don't know is if the SFMTA charges anything for having an on-street bus stop.

*Per day: California Zephyr 2, Capitol Corridor 30 (weekdays)/22 (weekends), Coast Starlight 2, San Joaquins 14. That's 48 departures/arrivals on weekdays (48*5=240) and 40 departures on weekends (40*2=80). That's 320 (240+80) departures/arrivals per week or 16,640 (320*52) per year. $320,000 for both spaces, divided by 16,640 departures/arrivals is $19.23.
** 2 of the 14 daily buses to San Francisco also make stops in the Financial District, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the Shopping Center. The ridership for those stops is included in the 48,942 figure.

 

[jebr]

As a point of reference, Megabus paid Saint Paul Union Depot $57,600/year for the space in Saint Paul, at least as of 2015 (the latest info I could find.) At that time, I believe they were running either 6 or 8 buses a day, and had their own bus bay (though there's plenty of space for it even with the lower frequency.) The building's more used now then back in 2015, but I'd expect rental costs to have not changed dramatically.

$160k per bus bay seems pretty reasonable and should be easy enough to agree upon. I'd have to think there's factors beyond rent cost playing into this (is there a per-person charge? Do they have to have a staffed counter? Are there other insurance requirements that are unusually expensive?) Whatever the issue, it needs to be resolved, and quickly.

 

[rickycourtney]

Greyhound is renting three bus bays (presumably for $480,000 per year) plus a pretty nice ticket office/waiting room on the floor below (which can't be a cheap lease).

I'll also point out that Greyhound has been in a dire financial situation for the last few years, but they still thought it was essential to have a station at the Transbay Transit Center.

 

[desertflyer]

he other thing I don't know is if the SFMTA charges anything for having an on-street bus stop.

SFMTA does not charge Amtrak for use of the bus stop. Just as ACT Transit, Samtrans, and Golden Gate Transit do not have to pay to use shared curb adjacent bus stops or bus lanes.

 

[desertflyer]

Following the trend of moving the stop in San Francisco without much messaging, Capitol Corridor posted an alert that SFC will be moving further down Mission Street to 555 Mission in front of a Chase Bank...

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CACCTRAN/bulletins/2a9cf4e

On November 9, 2020, the Salesforce Plaza bus stop (SFC) in downtown San Francisco will move from its current location at the corner of Mission and Fremont streets to a new, nearby location at 555 Mission Street.

The new stop is in front of Chase Bank, which is about a four-minute walk west along Mission Street.

Address of new stop:
555 Mission Street
San Francisco

Map with location:

 

[Barb Stout]

Following the trend of moving the stop in San Francisco without much messaging, Capitol Corridor posted an alert that SFC will be moving further down Mission Street to 555 Mission in front of a Chase Bank...

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CACCTRAN/bulletins/2a9cf4e

Any idea why this is changing?

 

[rickycourtney]

Following the trend of moving the stop in San Francisco without much messaging, Capitol Corridor posted an alert that SFC will be moving further down Mission Street to 555 Mission in front of a Chase Bank...

It's yet another downgrade for passengers.

At least at the old location, if it was rainy or cold, passengers could wait inside the transit center building and watch the departure time countdown on the big board in the lobby. On nice days, you could take a seat in the plaza.

The new location has none of that.

The one benefit I see is that the new location is slightly closer to a Market Street Subway (BART & MUNI) entrance.

 

[Trogdor]

Any idea why this is changing?

Apparently there is construction near the existing bus stop requiring the move.