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San Francisco's Muni Introducing 'All-Door Boarding' Policy

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - The SFMTA will implement all-door boarding on all San Francisco Municipal Railway vehicles on Sunday, including buses, streetcars and light-rail vehicles.

Almost a year after transit riders began lobbying the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to save riders time by speeding up the boarding process, the changes will go into effect on July 1.

Currently, only Muni light-rail vehicles officially allow all-door boarding, with bus and streetcar passengers required to board through the front door, even if paying a fare with a Clipper Card.

All-door boarding will allow passengers paying with Clipper to board through any door. Customers paying with cash or tokens will still be required to board through the front door.

According to the SFMTA, the change will make Muni the first transit agency in the U.S. to employ a system-wide all-door boarding policy.

KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:

Last August, the San Francisco Transit Riders Union launched its all-door boarding campaign, and it has continued to advocate the change.

"We are pleased that Muni is listening to riders," union board member Robert Boden said today.

The changes are expected to reduce travel times across the system, save the agency money, and improve service reliability, according to the SFMTA.

"When a bus is slow and late, it costs the agency money," the campaign's coordinator, Mario Tanev, said. "Muni can't afford it, and the riders don't deserve slow buses."

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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