Bonnie Eslinger, The Examiner
2006-06-20 09:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

SAN FRANCISCO -

As Muni struggles with criticisms that its current system is inefficient and expensive, computerized counters on select vehicles will provide information that may allow the agency to improve service, such as how many people ride, when and on what lines.

The Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees Muni, wants to install 110 Automatic Passenger Counters onto part of its fleet to get more accurate numbers.

Although Muni drivers maintain a count of passengers, they are not able to keep track of back-door entries or how many passengers get off at each stop.

Muni is currently facing a multiyear deficit and has been forced to raise fares twice in two years while cutting service. Some transportation advocates have called for the agency to become more efficient by becoming faster — streamlining some of its busiest lines.

“This will tell us if we have enough buses and service on a line, or do we have too many buses or services on a line,” Muni spokesperson Maggie Lynch said. “It’s all about service delivery.”

The data collection is part of a “Transit Effectiveness Project” that began this spring to provide a comprehensive view of the current Muni system and recommend measures for improvement. According to a memorandum from the Transportation Authority to the Board of Supervisors, which also serves as the Authority Board, Muni’s current data “lacks sufficient level of detail, is outdated and incomplete.” Estimated at $10,000 each to purchase and install, the MTA currently has funding for 43 APCs intended for use on new hybrid electric buses scheduled for delivery in late 2006 and through 2007. Instead, the MTA will ask the Transportation Authority today to approve the counters for existing buses, so the data collection can start as soon as possible. Funding has not yet been determined for the other 67 computerized counters desired for the Transit Effectiveness Project, which has a completion goal of December 2006.

Since 2002, Muni has averaged an on-time performance rate of 70 percent, according to a May 2006 agency update. The agency’s revenue shortfall is expected to be in the double-digit percentage for the next three years, according to the public policy think tank SPUR, which has recommended that the agency offer faster and more frequent service on Muni’s busiest lines to boost ridership and revenues.

“Muni is always in need of improvement,” said Daniel Krause, managing director of the watchdog organization Rescue Muni. “I was on the bus the other day where the guy wasn’t even counting.”

MTA’s new director, Nathaniel Ford, promised when he came on board in January 2006 that he would weed out the transportation agency’s inefficiencies. Facing a possible $43.7 million deficit in just a few years, Ford has promised to decrease overtime costs, decrease expensive legal settlements due to accidents, and crack down on fare evasions, among other budget-boosting measures.

beslinger@examiner.com