Interview: Nathaniel Ford, Part Five
Here's the fifth part of our conversation with Nathaniel Ford, Muni's executive director. Previously: Parts one,two, three, and four.
Eve Batey: What about Transit.511?
Nathaniel Ford: Okay. Now I’ve heard about some challenges we’re having with Transit.511, and that in some cases it’s not giving as accurate information as we need to have. Again, this is another one of those programs where we’ll have to continue to continue to refine it.
Now I mentioned NextBus – you know, we’re getting ready to roll out the rest of this system, but we’re seeing some difficulties with that system, too. So, you know, my answer to all of this is, any information that we’re providing to our customers, we’re reexamining it, we’re seeing where we have problems and it’s not working and it needs some correction, and we’re on top of it.
I don’t know what has been the history more recently in terms of these projects, and I think you’ve got a new Executive Director, and my goal is, I mean my objective is, is that all of this is going to work, and it’s going to be reliable, and it’s going to be something that we can trust. And we need that trust in this organization and this agency. So that’s my commitment.
EB: But Transit511, I mean, it’s more than just a project. Right now if I want to get a MUNI map, I have to go through Transit511. I can’t go through your site, and then I go, and it’s inaccurate.
NF: Right.
EB: Or if I want to figure out how to get from somewhere to somewhere, and I don't even mean that awful Trip Planner. I have to go to Transit511, and once again, it’s inaccurate. And it’s not like I’m going in and I’m looking for fun. I genuinely wondered, okay, how – what would be the best way for me to get to meet you guys today. And so I was coming from Third and Bryant. So I could have taken the 15, the 30 or the 45 to downtown, right? And then taken the N in, or I could have walked up 2 blocks to the N. And instead, this is what they give me? (Ed note: I have pulled out the Transit.511 printout I made with my recommended route, which is of course completely insane, and am showing it to Mr. Ford and Maggie Lynch, the Media and PR Director for Mr Ford's office) It says to catch this bus at Avenue C. I don’t even know where Avenue C is! And then they tell me to take the Castro shuttle to Embarcadero. I couldn’t -- what I did was, I just walked up to the N and, I mean, I just took it straight down here (Muni's office is at Van Ness and Market, right at the Van Ness Muni Metro stop). But this is -- any time I’ve tried to figure out how to get from one spot to another, I get something ridiculous.
NF: Well, this is unacceptable. I agree with you.
EB: Yes!
NF: This isn’t acceptable. If this is just making trips more complicated –
EB: Well, what is this? Is it telling me to go down to Dogpatch? And so it wanted me to walk over the N line and keep going.
Maggie Lynch: It’s telling you to get on the 108, the Treasure Island bus. The only place you should get – you board the 108, is –
NF: -- is by Embarcadero.
EB: And I very specifically said, you know, I was at [REDACTED] Third St. in San Francisco.
ML: Avenue C? I know where Avenue C is. It’s on Treasure Island.
NF: Right. This isn’t acceptable. And in terms of, you know, having inaccurate information or information that you question periodically, from time to time, I can understand those things happen, but this seems to be way out of range here. So my – you know, from where I sit, there’s no excuse for this type of misinformation. It’s worse than if you didn’t have it in the first place then you pick up the phone and you’d call us, and we’d get you there –
EB: You know, and that’s what people say they do, and people say that they talk to your people during business hours, and they usually have a good customer service with that. That’s why it’s really shocking to me that there’s just this big divide, right? It’s great when you talk to this person, it’s a good experience, and then it’s so hard to get an accurate map on Transit511, it’s so hard to get it to work. It seems like if there's going to be a flaw, it should be with people, who are fallible, right?
NF: Well, I know one thing that we are doing. We are working with our folks on that Google Transit project.
EB: People loooove Google Transit.
NF: Yeah, so now we are working on that Google Transit project because that just makes good sense, but between that as well as this 511 project, we need to make sure that this information is correct, and
(Ed note: at this point he taps on my Transit.511 printout, on which he's been making notes)
EB: You can keep that if you want.
NF: I started writing on it! I’m taking this with me. This is not good. And there is, like you said, easier and simpler ways to get this information. If our employees are doing it and having no problem, there’s no reason why we can’t automate this, have this work.
EB: And here we have a case where the immediate problem and culpritis not MUNI!
NF: It’s everything.
EB: And I hear a lot of other organizations are working to get out of 511. And so I just sort of think like, you know, Muni has enough challenges you're dealing with on our own, why associate yourself with this sinking ship?
NF: Well, that’s a good question, and I’ll have an answer the next time I see you.
EB: All right! Oh, I like that.
NF: All right.
Tomorrow: Integration with other agencies and Translink.