Now That’s the Way to Reset San Francisco!
Thank you to everyone who came to our Muni town hall last night and a very special thank you to our panelists Tim Papandreou, Joél Ramos, and NJudahChronicles.com author Greg Dewar.
Nearly 300 San Franciscans joined us last night. Many took Muni (probably the N-Judah) and some even rode their bikes to our Hot Button panel discussion at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.
Members of the community sat in groups according to the Muni line they ride most frequently. They got the chance to talk to each other about their best and worst stories about the Municipal Railway, and then – together – they came up with a list of questions and ideas to make their specific lines more efficient and more reliable.
Panelists discussed how to improve Muni performance and reliability with simple changes, like all-door boarding and better 311 service, as well more involved measures such as Muni-only lanes.
Reset San Francisco Founder Phil Ting launched the evening with a Reset favorite – facts and data. He outlined how at an average speed of just 8 mph, Muni is the slowest major system in America and our cost per passenger mile can be up to twice the national average of other agencies.
He said of the event, “What was exciting and powerful is that we gathered so many people together in one place to discuss real issues. There was no name calling at our town hall. No slogans and sound bites. Just regular folks getting together to share ideas and propose real solutions to make the Muni run better.”
A Sign of Change To Come?
One of the most interesting questions from last night’s forum was really more an idea – with one of the audience members standing up to challenge the panelists to help make a simple change to improve the user experience on Muni.
The audience member told the story of riding the 30 Sutter-Stockton line frequently and seeing tourists and others hold up the line because they couldn’t open the back door.
He suggested a very simple solution: “Put a sign at eye level so people actually know how to open the door.”
The idea was met with much applause. And it is Reset to the core – what we’re all about – using information to make change.
What do you think? Should we work to design this sign for Muni and ask them to post it?
More Reset to Come
Last night’s panel discussion was the first in an ongoing series that we’re hosting to discuss, debate and ultimately unite San Franciscans around solutions to our city’s pressing problems.
Stay tuned! If you want to learn more about how to get involved, contact us at[email protected].
