Accessibility Strategy Needs Assessment

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Introduction

 

Building on the SFMTA's deep history and commitment to accessibility, this Accessible Transportation Needs Assessment is the first phase of our agency's coordinated and comprehensive Accessibility Strategy. 

The Accessibility Strategy is being developed by the SFMTA's Accessible Services Section, in coordination with our colleagues and public stakeholders, to address the diverse transportation needs of people with disabilities and older adults in San Francisco. 

This document is informed by years of community outreach, engagement, planning and program implementation across all facets of the agency. Sources include customer survey responses, workshop findings, citywide task force recommendations, staff interviews, on-time performance metrics, feedback from community advisory bodies and more.

The Accessibility Survey, which built on the Needs Assessment opened in September 2024. Thank you to everyone who took the survey. We received over 1,300 responses! Your feedback will help us to develop actions that address the challenges and opportunities identified in the survey. 

Community members are also encouraged to contact us at AccessibilityStrategy@SFMTA.com to ask us a question, provide additional feedback, or let us know that you are interested in project updates.

 

Streets

The Streets section of the Needs Assessment covers accessibility needs related to the work of the SFMTA's Streets Division. The Streets Division provides multimodal transportation planning, engineering and operational improvements to San Francisco's transportation system. Over the past few decades, San Francisco has built hundreds of projects designed to improve safety for all road users, especially people who walk or roll. Because people with disabilities and seniors are more likely to be injured or killed in collisions, these active transportation projects are incredibly important to improve accessibility. 

Additionally, as emerging mobility such as scooters, bikeshare, Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) and Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have developed, San Francisco has created new device standards and actively participated in state and federal rulemaking to advocate for the accessibility and safety of our streets. 

Muni

The San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni, is the transit division of the SFMTA, offering around-the-clock service throughout the city. Muni adheres to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, such as accommodating service animals and mobility devices, and also implements policies and programs that exceed requirements to improve overall service reliability and quality for all riders.

This section further describes the accessibility of the Muni system, including vehicles, stops, and stations, and summarizes the agency’s key initiatives to improve the quality and reliability of service for older adults and people with disabilities. 

Paratransit

The services under the SF Paratransit umbrella include SF Access Paratransit, SF Paratransit Taxi, Group Van service, Shop-a-Round shuttles, the Essential Trip Card Program (ETC), the Van Gogh Recreational program, and special pilot programs to fill gaps in transportation for older adults and people with disabilities. The SF Paratransit program also houses the Mobility Management Center, a one-stop-shop for older adults and people with disabilities to access transportation information, resources and referrals tailored to an individual’s needs, including individual and group travel training. These programs provide over half a million van and taxi trips every year to people unable to independently use the Muni system some or all the time. 

Taxis

Pursuant to the Transit First Policy, taxis are considered part of the public transit network. Taxis in San Francisco provide riders with a flexible complement to fixed route transit and paratransit, providing door-to-door trips that can be hailed on the street or a taxi stand, summoned from a smartphone, or reserved in advance by phone dispatch or smartphone app. 

The SFMTA works to promote a vibrant taxi industry through intelligent regulation, enforcement and partnership with the industry. This section explores identified needs for improving access to taxi services for older adults and people with disabilities.

Executive Summary and Background

The first section of the Needs Assessment provides an Executive Summary of the project, as well as key background information on the history of accessible transportation in San Francisco, the strategies and policies that guide our work, and the populations we serve.