Muni adds extra pole near locked seats

Remember those seats near the front of Muni buses that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency locked up for safety reasons in 2014?

Given that locking up the seats gave riders fewer choices to find a seat, the area around those seats has now become a favorite place for Muni riders to stand or actually sit on top of those locked seats.

SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said the transit agency is making an effort to make it safe for riders who stand in that area by providing an extra pole connected to the locked seats for riders to hold onto.

Rose said the transit agency is testing the new pole on 50 buses and will make an assessment in six months on the added safety measure.

The seats though will remain locked, Rose said.

As SFBay reported, the transit agency locked up the first row of front-forward facing seats because of safety hazard issued by the bus manufacturer. Riders could potentially fly forward with no barrier in front of them if the driver all of a sudden puts on the brakes, the transit agency said.

The transit agency is currently replacing its fleet of old buses, which includes the buses with the safety hazard.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.