Geary Bus Rapid Transit
| Company type | Public transit project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Geary Boulevard corridor, San Francisco |
| Products | Bus rapid transit services |
| Parent | San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) |
The Geary Bus Rapid Transit initiative upgraded the San Francisco Municipal Railway bus services along Geary Boulevard by incorporating bus rapid transit elements. This corridor, which supports routes , , , and , accommodated 52,900 passengers each day in 2019, making it the busiest in San Francisco. The project introduced red-painted lanes dedicated exclusively to transit on numerous segments between the Salesforce Transit Center and 33rd Avenue; currently, over three-quarters of the corridor feature these dedicated transit lanes.
Initially, the design proposed consolidating stops and implementing center-running lanes, akin to the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit system. However, in early 2021, during emergency responses to COVID-19, SFMTA deployed side-running bus lanes as temporary emergency transit lanes. These lanes enhanced bus travel speeds while causing minimal disruption to automobile traffic and were subsequently made permanent. Although side-running lanes are generally less effective than center-running ones, this alteration has faced criticism for being a reduction from the original plan.
Project details
The Geary BRT project primarily improves transit service through the installation of dedicated bus lanes. Red-painted bus priority lanes have been established along most of the 38-Geary route on Geary Boulevard. East of Stanyan Street, these lanes run adjacent to the curb next to parking areas in neighborhoods such as the Tenderloin and Japantown. Between Stanyan and 27th Avenue in the Richmond District and Laurel Heights, the lanes are positioned centrally before reverting to side-running from 27th to 34th Avenue.
Additional enhancements include bulb-outs at bus stops and upgraded traffic signal systems. Collectively, these improvements are designed to reduce travel times on the 38-Geary route by 10-20% along its full length from 48th Avenue to the Salesforce Transit Center, translating to roughly a 10-minute decrease during an hour-long trip. Between Van Ness Avenue and 25th Avenue, time savings are projected to be even greater, ranging from 15-30%.
The project also focuses on pedestrian safety upgrades, such as improved crosswalks near Japantown. To facilitate these changes and optimize traffic flow, portions of Geary Boulevard will be reduced from three automobile lanes down to two.
Former streetcar corridor
In the early twentieth century, Geary Boulevard was served by streetcar lines including A Geary-10th Avenue, B Geary, and C Geary-California routes. These streetcar services were discontinued by 1956 as buses replaced rail transit throughout the city. Various proposals have since explored reinstating rail service along Geary, including concepts featured in initial Bay Area Rapid Transit plans.
Planning for the Geary corridor
In 1989, San Francisco voters approved Proposition B, a half-cent sales tax dedicated to transportation improvements emphasizing transit expansion along four key corridors, among them Geary Boulevard. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) undertook the Four Corridor Plan study which recommended a subway-surface rail line for Geary.
Shift toward bus rapid transit
With the expiration of Proposition B in 2010, voters approved Proposition K in 2003 to prolong the tax and finance the Geary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative. This measure mandated establishing a bus rapid transit system, designating Geary BRT and Van Ness BRT as the initial corridors. Proposition K also stipulates that Geary BRT must be constructed to "rail-ready standards" to facilitate a potential future conversion to light rail.
In 2007, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) released a feasibility study and initiated an environmental impact review the following year. After more than a decade of analysis, the final environmental impact report received approval in 2017, at which point responsibility for project design and execution shifted to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).
The construction process was segmented into two distinct phases. The initial phase, known as the Geary Rapid Project, encompassed the installation of red-painted bus lanes, signal upgrades, additional crosswalks, and bus bulbs extending from Market Street to Stanyan Street. The federal Department of Transportation gave its approval for the Environmental Impact Statement in June 2018. Subsequently, SFMTA sanctioned the final design in August 2018, with construction activities occurring from early 2019 through fall 2021.
The second phase, titled the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project, aims to extend enhancements westward to 34th Avenue and incorporate center-running transit lanes between Arguello Boulevard and 28th Avenue. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this phase was in detailed design but was temporarily halted as SFMTA implemented Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes (TETL), featuring side-running transit-only lanes along much of the intended corridor. These temporary lanes helped preserve bus travel times despite increased automobile congestion.
Following favorable outcomes from these measures, SFMTA decided to make the side-running lanes permanent rather than proceed with constructing center-running lanes. Consequently, the focus of the second phase has shifted toward solidifying these temporary improvements into lasting infrastructure.