Muni's planning an invasion of Union Street with a fleet of monster buses, or as they are sometimes known, bendy or articulated buses. And residents of the posh neighborhood are not happy about the threat it poses to the Union Street Inn.
There is a MUNI proposal to have bigger bus stops and run longer buses on the 41 Union line. "Monster" suits Union Street businesses just fine as they mount a campaign to keep the long transit vehicles off their "village-like" street.
The bigger buses, naturally, will require bigger bus terminals, but these will naturally kick some parking spaces off the curb — putting, in one instance, "the jewel-like (Union Street) Inn in jeopardy." Maybe Muni's just not the jewelry type of transit agency.
"The impact on The Union Street Inn and other merchants in the area could be crippling," the Union Street Merchants Association said in a release. "With the small inn already struggling to survive in a bruising economy it is inconceivable to think that Muni would even consider removing five revenue-earning meters directly outside the Inn in order to make way for a totally inappropriate, peace-disturbing terminus that would start operation at 5 a.m. and continue throughout the day."
The association says the loss of the inn would cost the City $40,000 in hotel tax revenue.
Curbed SF contributed to this story.
