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For the last few days, we've been having a productive email-chat with friend-of-SFist Blarfiejandro, and we just wanted to run a few ideas past you, the clever SFist reader. Whaddya think about this:
Since Muni has been made reluctant, thanks to the union, to release any details from customers' complaints, let's start our own website where people can submit reports. The data from those reports would get forwarded along to Muni, but it would also be aggregated so that the public can see actual statistics on which areas, drivers, and routes are causing problems. And like Chronwatch, you could also see how long recurring problems have lasted, and find out when Muni finally fixes them. Incidents would also tied to your YouTube videos, and Flickr pictures, and a Google map. You could call it "Busgripe" or "TransiChart" or just "Chartr" if you're all twopointohey.
There's a few obvious problems right off the bat:
- Maria Williams, Muni's head of customer service, probably wouldn't like it. She might refuse to accept Chartr's data, which would remove one of the big motivators for submitting complaints in the first place: the idea that your complaint might help improve Muni, or more deliciously, get someone in trouble.
- It sure would be hard to publicize it.
- Someone smart's got to build it and host it.
- Do you really think it could make enough Adsense to defray costs?
In this whole city, do you think there might be at least one person polite enough to broker an agreement with Muni, someone else shrewd enough to market it, and someone else smart enough to build it? Maybe even more than one? As Scott Adams might say, there's a nonzero change that it could work.
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Check out the Neighborhood Parks Council's ParkScan.org as a model. It's an awesome online reporting system for problems in local parks, backed by a staff member who ensures that the reports get sent to the appropriate Rec & Park staff (as well as their supervisor and the mayor's office).
The NPC has designed an outstanding system for enabling individual residents to effect change. You can see the status of your reported issue, and know when it's fixed. MUNI needs MUNIscan bad. :)
Wouldn't Maria Williams have her workload significantly reduced if such a website existed and the public chose to use it rather than the official complaint-submission process?
I would think that funding would be the main issue. I imagine you could find the folks to build it pro-bono, but hosting it (reliably and cheap/free) might be a challenge.
I think it's a great idea. So what if people have to submit a "review" to the site and an actual complaint to MUNI? If it fixes the system (even one baby step at a time) it seems that the people who use and hate MUNI would find it worth it - if for no other reason than to have a public forum in which to voice their discontent.
As far as it being hard to publicize... uhm, how? You have this here blog and I'm sure tons of connections to other media (both traditional and bloggish) outlets. I'm a fan of informative vandalism too - sticker bus shelters, lightposts, etc. Stickers are cheap. So are a large batch of postcards.
Yes you will need people who are not owned by their 'smart's' and a solid place to host it. And as far as revenue goes: find a cheap enough place to host it, solicit donations online and maybe sell t-shirts or something for even MORE publicity. I can see it working.
I've thought of a similar idea myself, and if you have the time to do it, GO FOR IT! It would be useful to any internet-enabled Muni riders.
So what if Muni rejects the complaints? I'd do some outreach to see if Muni is interested in accepting your complaints, and if not, screw'em. The public would looove to see how screwed up their tax payer funded system is.
As far as Adsense revenue, you'll need to figure out a way to get people to view the site often. Allow SMS complaint submissions? User submission ratings? Very web-two-oh.
Call it 'muniR'
Sounds like a fantastic idea to me...a great way to subvert TWU 250a's efforts to keep bad operators from being held accountable for their badness.
Great idea-- go for it.
How to publicize? Just make up a bunch of stickers:
"Muni complaint? www.sitesname.com"
and post them on all the shelters in town. (the new, fabulous ones)
Love it. I'd be happy to help with the project, as I've been wanting to work on a mapping thingie for some time. I don't think it would cost much to maintain -- I'd be happy to pay for the domain name and host it.
This is sorta related ... who do I call to get some leftover trash at the corner of Folsom and Main Street (courtesy Bay to Breakers) picked up by the City?
Survivor, while the idea of plastering the shelters with stickers (or even paper and scotch tape) is grand, I hope it was said tongue in cheek, and if the hypothetical site takes off, it doesn't happen. Whoever owns the domain name could be in a bit of hot water and sent a bill for the removal of the stickers. It's happened before, and it'll happen again. I'd suggest getting really cheap business cards printed with massive lettering, leaving them at coffee shops, Safeway, wherever, and let the word spread. I bet the Chronicle would pick it up, too.
J:
you call 311. or is it 411? 511?
damn, i can never keep them straight.
btw.. the panhandle is still trashed too.