SFist: Leaked Muni Memo: "we need to take steps to ensure that unacceptable conduct does not continue"

MattyMatt

Mon, 28 May 2007 20:41:45 -0800

Being acquainted with a number of them, I can reassure you that the people who run Muni do in fact care.

chance martin

Mon, 21 May 2007 12:24:11 -0800

Wait, let me get this straight: Are you telling me that MUNI ISN'T supposed to serve as corporate welfare for personal injury and employment attorneys?

Richard Mlynarik

Sat, 19 May 2007 22:21:39 -0800

Muni is a welfare program for its employees -- who are never fired, unless they might reveal the malfeasance and corruption of the organization (remember what happened to the last person to even consider whether any aspect of the design of the Central Subway should even be examined? http : //www.sfweekly.com/2007-01-03/news/porkmistress-pelosi/ ) -- and its consultants and contractors, who end up sucking down hundreds of millions of dollars (T-Third? $650 million disappeared without a trace. Muni Metro Turnback to "fix" Embarcadero bottleneck? $250 million. Useless. Advanced Train Control System? You guess!) in return for nothing, or worse than nothing. Failure is always rewarded. And the bigger the failure the bigger the payoff and the larger the scope for future payoffs! Is the T-Third a proven, total waste of $650 million, running not just less reliably (perhaps fixable ... maybe ...) but more slowly than the bus line it "replaced"? Great! Your reward is $1500 million (plus a few hundred million inevitably extra for "unexpected" cost overruns) for the Central Subway. Bingo! If Ford were in his position in order to improve Muni the first thing he would have done on the first day was the cancel the Central Subway project and fire everybody connected in any way with it and connected in any way with the T-Third "planning". There wouldn't be many people left at Muni of the SFCTA after that, which in itself would count as a massive improvement in the quality of life in San Francisco. Instead, he is number one cheerleader for continuation of putting contractor welfare billions of dollars ahead of rider service. Which is just what he is paid to do, and is just why he has the job. Any PR BS about "unacceptable conduct" is just about creating an appearance that Muni is or will do anything, while the real taxpayer rip-offs continue completely unaffected, as usual. Why should anything change? The system works exactly as intended.

Alex (the other one)

Sat, 19 May 2007 21:30:43 -0800

Even if MUNI were an entity capable of affect, it's not a static entity. Its leaders, membership, and structure have changed quite a bit over the past century (yes, I know that MUNI as it exists today did not exist a hundred years ago).

TinMan

Sat, 19 May 2007 21:09:28 -0800

Sadly, I didn't think that SFist would resort to semantics to defend itself. Okay, the people who run MUNI simply do not care.

MattyMatt

Sat, 19 May 2007 21:01:45 -0800

Muni is not a person, and as such, is unable to actually care about anything.

TinMan

Sat, 19 May 2007 20:35:10 -0800

And I'm sorry to say this, but anyone who thinks MUNI gives a sh*t is also naïve. MUNI does not give a sh*t. The Powers That Be occasionally solicit rider feedback, but they only do this to keep appearances. MUNI simply does not care. They never have.

TinMan

Sat, 19 May 2007 20:29:38 -0800

Dear Alex, MUNI has been soliciting user feedback from riders for *decades*. They know exactly what's wrong. The things MUNI is doing wrong today are the same things they were doing wrong in 1997, 1987, 1977, and 1967. You are the one who is naïve. Sincerely, TinMan

Alex (the other one)

Sat, 19 May 2007 20:15:38 -0800

TinMan, your naïveté really isn't that charming. Simply put, you're underestimating the inertia created by too many hands in the pot of MUNI, and by sheer size. MUNI may know exactly what's wrong with it, but I doubt it. The battlecry of "lynch the head of MUNI" is great for election years, but not so great when you want someone running MUNI who understands all the problems. Even *if* MUNI knew what's wrong, meeting with MUNI customers (albeit out of town ones) and issuing memos directing people to do their job is a really silly way to demonstrate malice or apathy. If nothing has been learned from Gavin being snubbed by the 1-California, it's that directing people to do their jobs will have a positive benefit for the riders of MUNI. How much it will cost the taxpayers is another (laughing) matter.

TinMan

Sat, 19 May 2007 17:17:38 -0800

It doesn't matter how many embarrassing MUNI episodes are captured on video. It doesn't matter how many people complain. It doesn't matter how many people show up at ___ public hearing. MUNI simply does not care. Period. They say they do, but they really don't. They have held so many hearings, gotten so much feedback over decades and decades of incompentent service, they know exact what's wrong. But they don't care.

J

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:59:10 -0800

Keep those video capable cameras ready to go when the bus driver decides to stop for coffee mid-route and other such disrespectful shenanigans.

NoeValleyJim

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:45:11 -0800

Are managers covered by the collective bargining agreement?

Joshk

Fri, 18 May 2007 19:44:06 -0800

I think dantc is right on the money. I took this as a "you are on notice" memo. But, with the ossified unions I wonder what Mr. Ford could do, even if he wanted to. You SFists deserve a beer for this great scoop. It's Friday night, feel free to buy one for your bad selves.

TinMan

Fri, 18 May 2007 19:32:37 -0800

It's MUNI. It never amounts to anything, ever.

Dan Berkes

Fri, 18 May 2007 19:04:40 -0800

In private enterprise, this type of memo from the executive suite is middle management's notice that big changes are going to happen. Middle management typically ignores that notice until it notices that a few of its members have had their fat asses fired. Then, all of a sudden, major good changes happen. However, this is MUNI, so it may not amount to anything.

TinMan

Fri, 18 May 2007 18:27:59 -0800

(yawn) MUNI can heal just fine without our input. All they have to do is hire someone in charge who cares. Someone who wants the service work as well as student-operated Unitrans (UC Davis) or Geneva's (Switzerland) public transit system. MUNI *knows* damned well what's wrong. They simply don't care.

HM

Fri, 18 May 2007 17:32:42 -0800

Now I like NPF, but I see this "leaked" memo as a glorified do your job, and do your job well statement not as an earthshatterin' battle cry. Debating memos is snoring, so I would like to recognize a significant shift in the sfist's attitude towards the system: "Muni can't heal itself without your input" versus "But don't even bother telling people to submit suggestions to SFMTA -- I have never, not once, ever seen that accomplish anything." Whoa! Who wrote that one, Mister? Are you being absorbed by the borg? And is their fancy words and sunny attitude contagious? ack!!1! What about the camafone, yo ;)