Our Chat With Muni, Part 5: Muni’s Image Problem, Accountability, and Muni Hipsterism 04.10.09
In our last installment of Tara’s interview with SFMTA spokesperson Judson True, we get the skinny on Muni’s image issues, how to keep the agency accountable when riders file complaints, and what the agency is doing to prepare for Bay to Breakers this year.
Muni Diaries: Would you say Muni has an image problem?
JT: You saved the best for last.
It’s an interesting question. The answer I’m trying to take a step back from, in my job and my role now, in the time I’ve worked at the MTA, to think about how I perceived Muni before I worked for the city. I took the 21, I liked it. I’d write down the books people were reading. I’d keep little lists like that. It’s interesting, and I liked Muni, I liked riding it. I was frustrated if the bus passed me at Grove and Gough, which it did sometimes. I’d walk down and take Muni Metro or BART or I’d just walk. Occasionally, I rode my bike to work.
I think the feeling I had about Muni then is fairly similar to how most users in the system feel. That it’s great when it works, and it’s very frustrating when it doesn’t.
A lot of people choose to live here because it’s a city you can live in without a car. I didn’t have a car for five years. In that sense, Muni is successful. BART and the whole system of transportation, even in the Bay Area. Like Caltrain. When my brother was at Stanford, I took Caltrain down to visit him. You can move without a car here.
But Muni has challenges, and I think those are reflected in the negative publicity we occasionally get and the frustration people feel about the system. The people who work here are very sensitive, and they’re working hard to try to improve the system to prevent that perception. Perception is a reflection of reality. I’m not a person who works in media relations because I want to say, “This thing over here is really good,” even if it looks like it isn’t good. Nat Ford is the kind of person who calls it like he sees it, too. That impetus goes throughout the organization.
There’s so much more I can say about that question. My final answer would be, “Yes, but …”
Our Chat With Muni, Part 4: All About TransLink and Bus Rapid Transit 04.09.09
You asked, and we brought your questions to Muni: in today’s installment, Tara asks SFMTA spokesperson Judson True all about the TransLink payment system and bus rapid transit, two of the major improvements under way for Muni. Come back tomorrow for Tara’s last installment of her interview and find out how Muni is gearing up to prepare for Bay to Breakers this year.
Muni Diaries: When will Muni conduct the full rollout of TransLink?
Judson True: We’re in the early trial phase now. We’re happy with how it’s going so far. We’ve got more than 3,500 folks signed up and using it every day. I use mine to ride the system. When I see a reader that’s not working on a bus, I email it in to customer service to be addressed.
Our Chat With Muni, Part 3: ‘We need to do a better job of communicating’ 04.08.09
Ever feel stuck in the dark with Muni? Like, somehow the problem your bus or LRV has encountered pales in comparison to a lack of knowledge of what’s wrong, when it will be fixed, and what your alternatives are? For the third part of our conversation with SFMTA spokesperson Judson True, he and Tara talk about the system’s communication shortcomings, and the frustrations facing the agency, its personnel, and we, the riding public. (This and all posts in this weeklong series are cross-posted at SF Appeal.)
Muni Diaries: There was another reader who had some suggestions to improve the rider experience: In the tunnel, if a train is stuck. One of his main wish-list items was that the operator provide information clearly and quickly as to when there’s a delay and when it’s expected to be resolved. I think part of the problem is that a lot of us feel left in the dark, like, “Oh, we’re going to be here X amount of time. I’m not sure why or when. Hold tight.” What are drivers supposed to do in that case? How do we get that information, and are drivers already told to be giving us this information?
Judson True: Yes. Whenever one of our light-rail vehicles is stopped under Market Street, our operators should be asking people to remain patient, and they’ll update them with information as soon as they have it. Our Central Control staff can make announcements directly. I’ve made them myself. That should happen once there’s about a 3-minute wait. And then every two to three minutes thereafter.
Vigilante public transportation 04.07.09
F car at Beach and Stockton is 11 mins out. Guy in snazzy black limo pulls up and starts offering rides anywhere in downtown/FiDi for $3 per person. Promises door to door service.
He goes up to individual people, asking for takers. He gets to me last, since a coffee cup, iPod, magazine, and stony expression turned out to be an obvious, carefully engineered (OK, not really) sign that I’m less-than-interested. Armed with a FastPass that gets me as many damned rides as I want, I snobbily turn my nose up at the bargain offer for $2 a ride instead. I have principles, after all.
Currently, I’m suffering the indignity (to be overly dramatic) of riding on a replacement F car: yes, that means a regular bus driving on the railway tracks, which is easily the bumpiest ride you’ll ever be on in SF, because who knows what happened to the actual rail vehicle. To add insult to injury, it’s stopping at the Ferry Building: I need to go a mile farther than that.
FYI, F-car: Some dude is stomping on your territory and pretty much beat you at the transportation game today. Next time, I might not side with you (and my principles) if I’m in a pinch.
Time to Sharpen the Pitchforks? 04.07.09
SFMTA will be holding its first public hearing on proposed route cuts and fare hikes (as well as other measures the agency has proposed to close a $130 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year) today at 2 p.m. in Room 400 at City Hall.
If you go, to observe, to air grievances, to offer solutions, whatever your motive, let us and our readers know how it turns out in the comments here or an original post.
Our Chat With Muni, Part 2: ‘A bus is an extension of our city streets’ 04.07.09
What can drivers do to kick people off the bus? And why do Muni buses pass you by even when they are not full? These are just some of the questions you asked, and Judson True, SFMTA’s spokesperson, answers them in the second part of our first “Ask Muni” series. He tells us why buses bunch up (one of the most frequent complains we’ve seen here), why we have so many missed runs, and what Muni is trying to do to improve these issues. Check back tomorrow for Tara and Judson’s discussion of Muni’s communication issues. This and all posts in this series are cross-posted on SF Appeal.
Muni Diaries: At what point is a driver supposed to stop ignoring a trouble-maker and actually kick people off the bus? I think the quote from the reader was, “If I witness someone on the bus who should be put off and they’re not, can I report this? Anyone who rides the 22 or the 19 knows why this is important.”
Judson True: The simple answer is yes, you should report it. If one of our passengers believes that another passenger is engaging in any type of disruptive behavior, illegal behavior, they should report it to the operator, and the operator is required to ask that person to leave the bus. Operators are not supposed to allow any sort of disruptive behavior, illegal behavior on the buses.
We all know what happens. Different operators deal with it differently. One of the things we’re trying to do is make sure the training is there. Make sure the communication channels are there to get the operators the tools they need to call Central Control and say, “I’ve got this person on the bus who’s doing this, and they need to go.” They’re supposed to stop at a designated stop and ask that person to leave the bus.
Our Chat With Muni, Part 1: ‘A system that could slowly degrade in coming years’ 04.06.09
This post is the first in a multi-part series of talks Tara had with SFMTA spokesperson Judson True. We thought it timely for today’s post to be the bits they spent talking about the agency’s astounding $130 million budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1. This post and the others in this series will be cross-posted at SF Appeal.
Muni Diaries: What’s the latest news on what the economic situation here means for Muni, and what, if anything, will any federal stimulus funds do to stave off any cutbacks or restore any funding you thought you lost?
Judson True: We presented to our board of directors a few weeks ago a budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 with a deficit of about $130 million. That’s a big number.
For next year, we’re down about $55 million just from state and regional funding alone. And our money from the city’s general fund is expected to come in at about $25 million less than we expected.
Justice on the M 04.06.09
I graduated from college and worked as a paper pusher for two and a half years. Now I am in graduate school at SFSU. I have night classes until 10 p.m. every Thursday and by the time I begin the cold walk to the M station I am exhausted – let’s just say having discussions about butch lesbians growing up in the midwest while having cerebral palsy and getting repeatedly raped by her father and his friends is not exactly uplifting material.
Muni Diaries Anniversary Favorite: Putting the 20 Questions Ball in charge of TEP 04.04.09
Our look back on the first year wouldn’t be complete without a word from Beth, proud new momma and our No. 1 contributor from Muni Diaries’ own infancy. Here’s what Beth had to say about her favorite post: “I could be accused of picking this as my favorite because Devin’s my partner, but I thought his ‘interview’ with the 20-questions ball — in an effort to uncover any sense behind Muni’s grand TEP — was just about the funniest thing I’ve ever read on this site. Given how mad and frustrated Muni makes us, it’s nice to look at the funny side now and then.”
The new order: Putting the 20 Questions Ball in charge of TEP (originally published on January 6, 2009)
With Muni’s TEP program threatened by the city’s budget cuts and awash in the inevitably complicated process of citizen input, it’s time to consider applying technology to the problem. Specifically, the magical technology of the 20 Questions Ball, which turned up in so many stockings this holiday season. Otherwise bound for thrift stores within the month, this sophisticated device can make beeping noises, ask questions and react to the answers, thus placing it ahead of your typical SFMTA manager by at least two out of three.
Before inaugurating our new oblate spheroid masters, it’s essential to allow for an orientation and transition phase, where the new rulers can confront the problems first-hand and to establish strategic policies. To frame the public debate, we’ve chosen two different problems confronting this great municipal transit system, namely the 38-Geary and the 12-Folsom. It’s often a leader’s job to help shape the discussion, so the 20 Questions Ball’s rapid Q&A approach seems ideally suited.
Weekend Photo Diary: Tilt-Shift 5-Fulton Sails Into the Night 04.03.09
Okay, not really, but this is a cool photo nonetheless.
Photo by captin_nod from the Muni Photos Flickr pool
Weather should be moderately nice this weekend, so enjoy it. And again, thanks for making our first year so great.
xoxo
Muni Diaries
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
