Yesterday's rumor from the generally reliable Matier & Ross speculating that Nat Ford was in the running for BART's top spot was apparently way off base. According to a couple members of BART's Board of Directors, the commuter rail agency doesn't want Nat Ford heading up their operation any more than Muni did. The Examiner got a couple directors on record: more ›

Nat Ford might be out at Muni, but as Chronicle super sleuths Matier and Ross report this morning, the much-loathed golden parachutist could be in the running to fill a vacancy as BART's general manager. more ›

At the SFMTA meeting last night, board members unanimously approved Nat Ford's $384,000 separation agreement. That "poof" sound you're hearing is Ford's golden parachute deploying to slow his fall after years of driving Muni straight in to the ground. Ford's last day will be June 30th, so start planning your celebrations appropriately. (Just be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to get to them in the case of another meltdown.) Also making a hasty exit was Carter Rohan, Ford's Executive Deputy Director, who turned in his resignation before the SFMTA board meeting yesterday. more ›

Nathaniel Ford, the (infamous?) San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency chief, plans on leaving his job later this month. The Chronicle, who broke the news, reports: "The governing board will meet in closed session Tuesday to terminate Ford's contract. Ford has scheduled a meeting this afternoon with his top tier of managers to discuss his looming departure. An agency-wide letter to staff members will go out after that." more ›

Way back in the heady days of 2006, when Muni actually wanted to know what riders thought about things like the frequency of buses during rush hour, the SFMTA launched the Transit Effectiveness Plan to study what would - well, make Muni more effective. Unfortunately, the whole thing was short-turned when the agency figured out they were broke in 2008 and instead of using the plan's recommendations to improve service, the TEP was used to decide which routes would get service cuts like those we saw a year ago. Today, however, the agency has decided to bring back the recommendations from the Transit Effectiveness Plan, whether or not they actually have the money for it. more ›

We already know Muni Chief Nat Ford hasn't been around the office very much in the past year, but what of the troops on the ground? Have they been showing up to work at least? According to the most recent round of Muni performance reports which shows a 13.7 percent unexplained absence rate for Muni operators - no, they have not. While that figure doesn't quite hit Ford's personal best, it is an increase from last quarter (and also doesn't include vacation days, like Ford's absence rate). more ›

This just in from the SFMTA by way of the ever-vigilante Muni watchdogs at Muni Diaries: Adult "A" Fast Pass prices will go up to $72 per month starting July 1. Likewise, the Muni-only "M" passes go up to $62. And a ride on a Cable Car will run you roughly the same as two beers at happy hour at $6. Outrage! more ›

On the Bay Citizen this weekend, the New York Times farm team dug up a list of the Muni Chief's absences in 2010, and for one of the city's highest paid public officials he sure isn't around the office that much: more ›

We've been keeping an eye on Nat Ford's possible departure to Washington DC (or Northern Virginia, rather) for awhile now and after today's closed-session, come-to-Jesus meeting between Ford and the MTA board, it sounds like we're still left without a committed Executive Director. The Chronicle's City Insider reports this afternoon: more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's decision to postpone hiring a new Executive Director has exposed our Muni Chief's desire to get the eff out of San Francisco and probably made for a very awkward office environment. According to the Examiner today, SFMTA board chairman Tom Nolan has received word that the MWAA has already reopened their search for a new director and Nat Ford is out of the running completely. While that tidbit is still unconfirmed by the folks in DC, Noland and the SFMTA have scheduled a closed-session meeting with Ford next Tuesday to "talk with him about what he wants and what's best for the agency." We tend to think what's best for the agency is someone who actually wants to be here in town making the busses run properly and such, but maybe we're just being stubborn. more ›

Over in DC, it seems that the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is split on whether or not they want Nat Ford. In an informal poll that doesn't really mean anything, the MWAA's board voted 7-6 for Mr. Ford. more ›

Back in September, rumors went around that Nat Ford had a pretty good chance of landing a top position with the the DC Metro - of course, that didn't amount to anything. Nat Ford is still here, we still have plenty of complaints about the transit agency and there is a finite number of times we can describe Muni as "beleaguered" before we start to feel like we need a new thesaurus. more ›

by Chris Jones more ›

Source: the ever-brilliant Jim Herd at the Anime Costume Parade. more ›

There was a press conference today at 11am with the Mayor and the head of Muni -- no major revelations, but here's the condensed Cliff's Notes version from our guy at the event: more ›

Hey, which would you rather have: a bus that comes on time, or a bus that comes late but has a nifty antenna on top? Well who cares what you want! You're getting the antenna. more ›

Well, whaddya know. No sooner did we lavish praise upon the SF County Transportation Authority than Nat Ford, head of Muni, decided that he might be interested in committing a hostile takeover of the SFCTA... thereby making the TA as flawless as Muni. Good idea! If agency was melting down, and there was another one making us look bad, we might want to buy it and run it into the ground, too! (That's why we're always wishing we could seize control of SF Metblogs.) more ›

If you took Coolidge Corner and moved it to San Francisco, you'd wind up with something very much like West Portal, a nicely-kept secret neighborhood with folksy shops and restaurants and a theater, about a 10-minute subway ride from the Castro. And get this: it's about to get even nicer, thanks to some sprucing-up by Muni. more ›

it's only alcohol.... We're now only gingerly turning the pages. Please don't be pee. Letters: Someone hates Chris Daly. You can't talk to MUNI head Nat Ford when he's in the john? (Cartoon at left.) Cover article: The Treasure Island Music Fest is gonna be awesome!!!!!!! (We have got to remember to pick up tickets for it soon.) $85 to eat in the dark this Friday? (No link to the actual entry on the site.) Wow, everyone seems to love this BioShock game. Liveblogging (in a manner of speaking) Fringe Fest. Meredith eats downtown. But oh no!! SFist Ced says if she keeps up the good columns, he's going to retire Mercredi, c'est Ravioli! Noooo!!! The Donnas are back again, as are the New Pornographers. And the Bouncer's thoughts on autism. more ›

There's probably no shortage of folks who'll claim that this is yet another polite platitude. But check out this leaked Muni memo from Nat Ford: "we need to take steps to ensure that unacceptable conduct does not continue and that people are accountable for their actions and understand the consequences." Okay, okay, it's a memo, not some kind of shift in the Muni zeitgeist. And yet ... more ›

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Well is going to be awkward: a public town-hall meeting with Muni Director Nat Ford. It's this Wednesday, May 16, at noon; at the Ferry Building in the Port Conference Room on the second floor. As is usually the case with anything Muni-related, we have no idea how to get to that location. If manage to figure out how to get there, take notes and pictures! We'd love to hear your feedback on how the meeting goes. Cordial and even-tempered, we're sure. more ›

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It's not as good as getting the trains running on time, but it's a start. Muni leaders have clearly been in over thier heads for the last few days, with trains running ridiculously unpredictably. The inauguration of the T line's thrown the whole system into a tizzy; and so far, dealing with it has simply been beyond the abilities of the people who are supposed to be running the show. more ›