Transit Justice
Our Transit Justice group organizes for pedestrian safety and good public transit for seniors, disabled people, and all San Francisco residents. In the last two years, we have worked on projects related to elevator and escalator repairs and increasing the number of bus shelters in the city.
Our Transit program is staffed by Shaya French and Mia Satya. Learn more about them on our Staff page. The Transit Justice group meets on the fourth Friday of each month, 2-4pm over Zoom. For more information on how to join, contact shaya@sdaction.org or mia@sdaction.org, or fill out the form on our Get Involved page.
Transit Justice Campaigns & Highlights
Hallidie Plaza
Seniors and people with disabilities make up more than one-fifth of San Francisco residents. The Americans with Disabilities Act required access to public spaces more than 30 years ago. And yet, people who cannot climb stairs have no access to Hallidie Plaza, a public space just below Market Street in a busy area near Union Square, at the Powell Street BART/MUNI station. In response to a lawsuit, an elevator was put in decades ago. About five years ago, the elevator stopped working and has never been fixed. The Department of Public Works says it needs to be replaced. This elevator allows access to a public space and provides another accessible path to the Powell Muni and BART station. SDA has held multiple rallies at Hallidie Plaza and participated in the Capital Planning Committee FY 2025 budget process to repair this elevator. Are you frustrated with lack of working elevators at Hallidie Plaza, or at other transit stops in the city? Come join us in demanding better for our communities!
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Accessibility Settlement
Back in 2017, SDA, in connection with the Independent Living Resource Center of SF and represented by Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Legal Aid at Work, sued BART, arguing that it discriminates against people with mobility disabilities and excludes us from effectively using the transit system. From DRA Legal: "On April 18, a federal judge approved a class settlement that provides significant changes that will improve the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)’s accessibility for riders with mobility disabilities.” Of note, the settlement requires BART to fix elevators and escalators and improve their policies about how disabled people and seniors are rescued in case of emergency. It took a tremendous amount of work to get here, but the work is not over yet, as we must monitor the progress BART is (or isn’t) making. Our continued meetings with the BART legal team and judge are one more tool we have to ensure access. If you’d like to be involved in that monitoring, contact Shaya at shaya@sdaction.org.
Read more about the case from DRA Legal here.
Gimme Shelter
Many seniors and disabled people in San Francisco rely on public transit to go about their daily lives. Unfortunately, there are still many barriers to ease of use, such as long distances between bus stops and lack of seating at bus shelters. This often forces people to make the choice between staying home and potentially missing an important appointment, scrambling to find a ride from someone, or spending money they don’t have on a taxi. In 2022, SDA surveying 240 seniors and disabled people, we learned that 72% of those surveyed could not stand for more than ten minutes, and 47% said that the nearest bus stop from their home does not have a shelter with seating. Our vision of this city is one where everyone has access to public transit that meets their needs. Join us in demanding that every bus stop must have a shelter and seating that meets ADA standards, and every bus stop must have accessible wayfinding signage and bus status display. For more information about the survey and goals of our campaign, check out this op-ed from former SDA Transit Organizer Pi Ra.