According to a recent telephone survey, the more frequently people ride the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's buses, trolleys, and trains, the lower they rated the transit system's service.
That's just one of the fun facts in this year's annual ridership survey, which is on the agenda at today's SFMTA Board meeting, the Ex notes.
This isn't the quarterly customer service satisfaction survey some of you might get in your inboxes (if you don't and wish you did, here's where you can sign up to receive it!): Per the Ex, local opinion research firm Corey, Canapary & Galanis questioned 568 adult English, Spanish, and Cantonese-speaking San Franciscans who ride Muni, on the telephone, between June 16 and August 3.
The Ex reports that 68 percent of the survey respondents who ride Muni once a week (or less) rate its service as excellent. That number dropped to 63 percent when people who ride Muni five days a week or more were questioned. So Muni is basically that friend who seems like a blast when you run into them at some party every couple of months, but if you see them more than that, you're all "oh, yeeeeeaaah, that's why we never hang out."
Fourteen percent of survey respondents cited "station and vehicle cleanliness, as well as overcrowding" as the area Muni needs to improve the most. Respondents also had critical things to say about their fellow passengers, citing as "major issues" the problems of "Boarding before giving people a chance to exit, not giving up a seat for seniors or those with disabilities, littering, talking too loudly or playing loud music, blocking the aisle, pushing or bumping passengers, rudeness to the driver or other passengers, and least of all, taking up more than one seat," the Ex reports.
If you want to get the full scoop on what those 568 people who answer the telephone when an unfamiliar number calls have to say, you can hit the SFMTA Board meeting today for the full "discussion and possible action regarding the Muni Customer Satisfaction Survey," which will include a slide presentation! The party starts at 1 p.m. in City Hall room 400.
Related: Muni Will Never Suck Again, Now That Their Long-Standing Driver Shortage Has Ended