Muni announced last Friday, that it is working with its board of directors to propose a plan that will cut 10 percent of service as well as raise fees.

The SFMTA board of directors discussed the details of the proposal, which would combat not only this year's deficit, but also the projected deficit for the next two fiscal years, which amount to $52.7 million and $45.3 million for 2011 and 2012, respectively. This comes in the wake of canceled and re-routed lines and fare increases last December. And Muni continues to sink into its $16.9 million budget gap.

The SFMTA has proposed across-the-board service cuts to all Muni lines, which come in the form of two- to 10-minute increases between bus pick ups, during both peak and non-peak hours. What this means is the 28-19th Avenue, which brings many commuter students to SF State, will now only come once every 12 minutes during evening hours, three minutes longer than the current wait.

The service cuts will total approximately 313,000 hours annually, saving $28.5 million.

Light Rail buses will be affected and the M, K, and J lines will undergo reduced frequencies during midday and evening times by two to three minutes each.

Late night services will also be cut. The Owl Service lines will now come once every hour instead of every 30 minutes.

No routes were cancelled in the service cuts.

SF State sociology major Tanya Titus said that wait times are already too long, and increasing them even more will make things on Muni worse.

"If they claim wait times will be increased by three minutes, it will probably end up being twice that since the buses aren't always on time as it is," she said.

Individual fare increases are still being discussed, but monthly adult "A" passes, which allow service on both Muni and BART within San Francisco, have already increased from $55 to $70. Additionally, discount passes for seniors, youth and the disabled will increase from $5 to $20 on May 1.

Bob Planthold, who spoke on behalf of disabled Muni riders at Friday's meeting, described the increases in the passes as "unconscionable".

"This is a budget that is a war on disabled and seniors," Planthold said.

The proposed fare increases include a $3 increase on the historic F-Market cable car that runs from Castro to Fisherman's Wharf. The $2 million created from this increase was instead replaced by a plan to increase citation fees, saving riders from paying $5 per ride. Although citation fees vary by violation, they all increased by $1.50 across the board.

A special pass for cable cars and express routes has also been brought to the table, similar to the BART/Muni premium pass. The Adult "A" Fast Pass would be required for riding cable cars or express routes. Those having the Muni-only "M" pass would not count on them. According to the SFMTA, 25,700 passengers use express routes and 23,000 use cable cars everyday, and estimates that $0.9 million would be brought in with the new passes.

The proposal will have an effect on drivers as well. MTA staff has suggested increasing residential parking permits to the maximum allowable amount, going from the annual fee of $76 to $96.

There are also plans of extending parking meter hours, either by increasing the window of operation until midnight, or by including service on Sundays, but details were not included in Friday's proposal.

The plan also included various other fees, such as charging fees for online Muni transactions, and charging SFMTA employees to park at work.

Some riders, like SF State alumni Patricia Jones, offered some of their own suggestions, too. "I suggest you do something about inflated salaries," she said. "I have never while I was working made a salary like these Muni drivers, and I have a degree in social work."

She noted that if the senior Fast Pass doubled in price, she would start entering through the back doors of the bus, a tactic many have resorted to in response to fare increases.

Although it will not be finalized until Feb. 16 at the earliest, there will be public town hall meetings scheduled on Feb. 6 and Feb 9. before the plan is voted upon.