Muni's Breda Light Rail vehicles don't exactly have a pristine reputation when it comes to efficiency, safety or design. Thankfully, San Francisco residents of the future won't have to deal with AnsaldoBreda's shenanigans, since the company that manufactured our current clunkers isn't within "the competitive range" required to bid on the contract for the next batch of LRVs. Whoever does get the contract should be able to deliver new trains in time for the completion of the Central Subway in 2019, with replacement vehicles for our current fleet hitting the streets shortly thereafter. When that happens, riders should be able to look forward to lighter trains with more legroom and, hopefully, passenger information systems that produce audible announcements containing useful information rather than an occasional incomprehensible mumble from the Muni operator. In the meantime, the SFMTA is crafting a plan to reconfigure seating arrangements on our current light rail fleet to better handle growing passenger loads.
· Breda Qualification Request [SFMTA]
· Muni to Test Seat Reconfiguation [Muni Diaries]
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