Newsom, Dufty, Ford, announce J-Church
on-time performance pilot program

Newsom pledges to implement
18-month Transit Effectiveness Project

Mayor Gavin Newsom (left) and SFMTA Director Nathaniel Ford (right) rode the J-Church MUNI line Friday to announce a new on-time performance pilot project. Recent SFMTA on time performance (OTP) reports have shown the J-Church line to be the city’s lowest performing rail line.
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

From the Mayor's Office of Communications

March 3, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO – Joined by Supervisor Bevan Dufty and Executive Director/CEO of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Nathaniel Ford, Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced a new on-time performance pilot project on the J-Church light rail line.

Recent SFMTA on-time performance (OTP) reports have shown the J to be the city’s lowest performing rail line at 61.9%.

As part of the Transit Effectiveness Project’s (TEP) Early Action Plan, the SFMTA will apply the findings from the 1-California pilot to a rail line to help the agency understand how to improve on-time performance system wide.

The 1-California pilot recently resulted in an increase in on-time performance from 81% to 88% over a three-month period.

“Thanks to the leadership of Supervisor Dufty on this issue, we have the opportunity to apply what we learned from the 1-California to improve service for all of the city’s rail lines,” Newsom said.

“61% is a D-. We can and must do better,” Newsom added.

"J-Church riders have suffered from dismal service and I'm glad that the City is keeping faith and committed to turning things around,” said Supervisor Dufty.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty with daughter Sidney Dufty

“Some problems were due to lack of equipment and drivers, but fundamentally, I believe that we can change this and win back the confidence of the riders," Dufty said.

"The TEP is pointing the SFMTA in the right direction to improve service city-wide,” Ford Said.

SFMTA Director Nathaniel Ford

“By focusing on the lowest performing rail line, we hope not only to show improved service reliability on the J-Church in the short term, but also to gain successful strategies for improving all rail service in San Francisco," Ford continued.

The SFMTA will focus MUNI and DPT resources on vehicle and operator availability, street supervision, and coordination with traffic enforcement on the J line. The agency will work to identify locations with multiple or frequent violations which impede traffic flow, and identify and begin implementation of traffic management changes to improve service delivery.

The pilot also includes on-going analysis to compare pilot performance to initial data, including collecting weekly data on OTP, vehicle loads, and overall performance of operations and enforcement.

The J-Church pilot study will begin March 5, 2007 and will conclude July 13, 2007. The study will include a multidisciplinary effort to improve the J-Church OTP during peak service times over the 120-day period.

On an average weekday, the J line has an average weekday ridership of 18,700.

In his 2006 State of the City Address, Newsom pledged to make “transit first” a reality for all San Franciscans by – for the first time in 25 years – conducting a system wide analysis of routes and ridership, with a goal to fundamentally overhaul service.

For more information on MUNI service, please call MUNI’s Telephone Information Center at (415) 673 MUNI (673-6864), or visit www.sfmta.com.

For additional information on MUNI's Accessible Services Program, please call (415) 701 4485 or TTY (415) 701-4730.

Established by voter proposition in 1999, the SFMTA, a department of the City and County of San Francisco, oversees both the Municipal Railway (MUNI) and the Department of Parking and Traffic. With five modes of transit, MUNI has 700,000 passenger boardings each day.

Over 35,000 extra vehicles enter San Francisco on any given business day, and rely on DPT to keep the flow of cars, transit vehicles, delivery trucks, pedestrians, and bicycles moving smoothly through the streets.

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