Elected Transit Board Charter Amendment

By Jim Reid

A nine member elected Transit Board made up of three transit riders, three transit workers, and three tax payers who will run the new system with the help of a professional transit manager.

The purpose of the petition is to allow the voters to mandate the future of our public transit system now known as MUNI.

A second purpose is to facilitate public discussion of San Francisco's public transit system through the electoral process. And to encourage City Officials along with public and private organizations to draft alternate Public Transit Charter Amendments for voter approval.

To allow San Francisco and California voters the opportunity to discuss the idea of funding free public transit in every City and County in California through voter approved increases in the Gasoline Tax. To mandate the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors to lobby the State and Federal Government to alter any of its laws that obstruct innovative public transit solutions in San Francisco. James M. Reid & The Let's Fix MUNI Committee Name

The City Attorney has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure: ELECTED TRANSIT BOARD; CHARTER AMENDMENT THE BOARD. This measure is a Charter amendment that would create a nine-member Transit Authority Board to manage all ground and underground transportation systems in the City, Municipal Railway and the Department of Parking and Traffic. Three members of the Board would be elected by the voters, three by San Francisco transit riders, and three by City transit workers. Each Board member would serve a four-year term. Board members would be paid $96,000 a year and could not have any other job or business. Board members would be required to ride public transit on a daily basis. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD. The Transit Authority Board's overall charge would be to make San Francisco's public transportation system the best in the world by the year 2015. To reach that goal, the Board would: · Submit an annual transit budget and five-year plan to the Board of Supervisors; · Implement the City's Transit-First Policy, including the development of transit-first streets; · Hire a public transit manager, subject to approval of the Board of Supervisors; · Establish a Transit Academy to train all new employees in customer service, safety, and vehicle maintenance, and require annual retraining of all transit workers; and, · Investigate free public transit, as well as fund and promote a statewide ballot initiative to raise the gasoline tax to fund free public transit throughout California. The Transit Board would also be required to research, fund, and implement: · A new fleet of clean-air transit vehicles; · Computer monitoring of hourly passenger usage and satellite tracking of vehicles; · A "rider card" system, including computer terminals at every transit stop to advise when the next vehicle will arrive; · 24-hour service on all lines with small vans, flexible routes, and schedules based on rider needs. The Board of Supervisors could veto any action of the Transit Authority Board by a three-fourths' vote. Transit Authority Board members could hire lawyers at Board expense to sue each other to enforce any provision of the measure. No Board meeting could be closed to the public. TRANSIT WORKERS. The measure would remove all transit employees from the City's civil service system and place them under a new merit system. The Transit Authority Board could remove any managers and employees who are not serving the best interests of the transit system. FUNDING. The Transit Authority Board generally would be guaranteed the same level of City funding that the Municipal Railway and other City transit-related agencies received in Fiscal Year 1998. The Board would also develop independent sources of permanent funding. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS. The Mayor would be required to ride a different Municipal Railway route each month for at least two hours. Transit workers would be included with police officers and firefighters in the ban on strikes by public safety officers. The measure requests that this Charter Amendment be presented to the voters at a special election in June 1999, and that an election for directors be held in November 1999.

Petition for Submission to Voters of Proposed Amendment to the Charter of the City and County of San Francisco.

To the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco:

We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voters of the State of California, residents of the City and County of San Francisco, pursuant to Section 3 or Article XI of the California Constitution and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 344450) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 4 of the Governmental Code, present to the Board of Supervisors of the City and County this petition and request that the following proposed amendment to the Charter of the City and County be submitted to the registered and qualified voters of the City and County for their adoption or rejection at an election at a date to be determined by the Board of Supervisors.

The Proposed charter amendment reads as follows:

TEXT OF PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT The people and voters of San Francisco realize that public transportation in an important factor in maintaining our standing as a world-class City. Many of our citizens rely on public transit as their only means of transportation. Developing an outstanding transit system will alleviate traffic congestion on City streets and on our freeway system. The San Francisco Municipal Railway has systemic problems that are beyond the control of our currently elected public officials. For these reasons, we submit the following Charter Amendment for voter approval. Describing and setting forth a proposal to the qualified electors of the City and County of San Francisco to amend the Charter of said city and county by adding a new ARTICLE XX PUBLIC TRANSIT as follows:

ARTICLE XX PUBLIC TRANSIT.

SEC. 20.100. SAN FRANCISCO TRANSIT AUTHORITY All ground and underground transportation systems shall be under the control and management of a Governing Board composed of nine members who shall be elected by the voters, public transit riders, and transit workers.

SEC. 20.101. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS The voters of the city and county of San Francisco shall elect three Directors. Registered transit riders who reside in the city and county of San Francisco shall elect three Directors. Transit workers who are employees of the city and county of San Francisco shall elect three Directors. The Board of Supervisors shall provide sufficient funding to the Department of Elections to register all San Francisco residents who ride public transit in San Francisco and all Public Transit workers who are employees of the City and County of San Francisco.

SEC. 20.102. SALARY AND TERM OF OFFICE [Effective January 2, 2000] Members of the Transit Authority Board shall be paid a salary of $96,000. Each member of the Board shall be elected at a general election and shall serve a four-year term commencing on the second day in January following election and until a successor qualifies. No person elected or appointed as a Director may serve as such for more than two successive four-year terms, unless the electors in their category give them the highest number of votes of any Director running for Transit Board. Each Director shall ride "the System" to and from work everyday and document this action in order to receive his or her paycheck. SEC. 20.103. VACANCIES. If a vacancy shall exist on the Transit Board because of the death, resignation, permanent disability, or the inability of a member to otherwise carry out the responsibilities of the office, the Board of Supervisors shall appoint a successor. The Supervisors shall appoint a person who very closely matches the profile of the Director being replaced. The appointee shall serve until the next municipal election, at which time an election shall be held to fill the unexpired term. SEC. 20.104. MEETINGS. The Transit Board shall meet at the legislative chambers in City Hall. Regular weekly meetings shall be held on such dates and at such times as shall be fixed by resolution. All meetings shall be public. No meetings are to be conducted in private. Other meeting rules shall follow those in Sec. 2.103 of the Board of Supervisors. SEC. 20.105. QUORUM, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS. The Transit Board shall adopt the same rules as the Board of Supervisors in Sec. 2.104 and Sec. 2.105 of the City Charter.

SEC. 20.106. VETO BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

With not less than a three-quarter's vote (nine vote minimum), the Board of Supervisors may veto a decision or policy of the Transit Board. The Transit Board may override this veto with a Charter amendment approved by the voters.

SEC. 20.107. POWERS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND MANDATES.

The Directors derive their power from the voters, the transit riders, and the transit workers. Each Director shall devote his or her entire time and attention to the duties of the office, and shall not devote time or attention to any other occupation or business activity.

The Directors shall have responsibility for:
1. General administration and oversight of all ground and underground transportation within the City and County;
2. Full control over MUNI and the Department of Parking and Traffic, including their budgets, assets, contracts, and employees;
3. Introduction before the Board of Supervisors an annual proposed Transit budget and a five-year Transit plan and budget;
4. Full implementation of the TRANSIT-FIRST POLICY, Sec. 16.102 of the City Charter; including the development of Transit Only streets open exclusively to public transit vehicles, passenger vans, taxis, commercial delivery vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians;
5. Development of a management, employee relations, and customer service system modeled after the most successful national companies with outstanding customer service using union based workforces. Implement the new system throughout the Transit Authority.

The electorate shall mandate the Directors to do the following:
1. To make San Francisco's public transportation system the best system in California within five years; in North America in ten years; and in the World by the year 2015 as measured by a national public transit rating agency;
2. To develop a merit based pay and bonus system for all Transit Authority employees that rewards individuals and divisions that meet or exceed published standards of service;
3. To locate and hire the best and most qualified public transit manager in the world to assist the Directors in the design, implementation, and management of the new Transit System. To negotiate whatever salary and benefits are necessary to attract such a person. The Manager to be approved by simple majority of Directors and approved by the of Board of Supervisors;
4. To establish a San Francisco Transit Academy to train all new employees in customer service, safety, and vehicle maintenance. Establish annual retraining of all transit workers including the directors in the latest techniques in customer service and transit technology;
5. To take over management and control of all ground transportation departments, boards, commissions, and agencies within the city and county. To remove all directors, bureaucrats, political appointees, and upper level managers who, in the best judgment of the Directors, are not serving the best interest of the transit system. Within 90 days the Directors shall submit a budget and plan to the Board of Supervisors for each consolidated agency with the intent of providing better service at substantially lower cost to the city;
6. To remove all Transit Authority employees from the Civil Service System and create a new Merit based system to hire, promote, reward, and fire based on Measurable Customer Service;
7. To negotiate with Transit Workers Unions to create an environment of work rules that allow the workers to be the best that they can be and to serve the riders to the best of his or her ability. To require that the transit workers vote annually on which union will represent them. To end the adversarial relationship between union and management and to bring the unions into the management of the system as trade unions were historically established for;
8. To ride every transit route at least once a year at alternate times of the day and night and to make personal contact with the riders, the employees, and the system. To document problems and solutions that were found and publish an action plan and date to be implemented;
9. To educate and communicate with the workers, the riders, and the voters about changes, goals and objectives for the new system and actively solicit feedback and new ideas;
10. To provide postage paid Rider Service cards on every transit vehicle, and to use verified comments received as a basis to promote, reward, or publicly honor transit employees. To fund twice-yearly customer service surveys of all system riders; administered and analyzed by an independent rider group;
11. To actively implement an affirmative action plan to create ethnic diversity in employment on all levels of the system that is equivalent to the ethnic diversity of San Francisco. To actively recruit, train and hire city youth and use the Transit Academy to educate exceptional transit workers. To implement a San Francisco First policy to hire qualified San Francisco residents first;
12. To wisely reduce costs on all levels of the system and to publicly reward any employee or group that maintains or improves service while reducing costs. To recycle everything throughout the System as advocated by environmental groups. To make all purchasing decisions based on seeking measurable better quality at lower cost, not just lowest cost.
13. To actively explore the Idea of free public transit as a way to increase ridership and decrease traffic congestion. To fund and aggressively promote a State wide ballot initiative to raise the gasoline tax a sufficient amount to fund free public transit in every city and county in California.

The electorate shall mandate the Directors to research, fund, and implement the following:
1. A new fleet of clean-air buses, minibuses, passenger and handicapped vans;
2. Computer monitoring of hourly passenger usage to quickly respond with appropriate size and frequency of vehicles to meet rider needs;
3. Satellite tracking system, like NextBus, to prevent any transit vehicle from being to close to or too far away from another transit vehicle and contact drivers for corrective action;
4. To develop a computer database system to register all riders and provide them with a magnetic plastic rider card, like a library card or drivers license. The card will have rider information and most frequent destination. Install at every transit stop, a card reader and keypad that could read and process a rider destination request and inform the rider by computer voice of the estimated time of arrival of the next vehicle and the estimated time to their destination;
5. 24-hour service on all lines with small vans, with flexible routes and schedules based on needs.

SEC. 20.108. FUNDING

1. It is the will of the electorate that the Board of Supervisors support making SFTA the best public transit system in the World. The Supervisors are to provide annual funding equal to 1998 FY budget funding of MUNI, and any other agencies that come under the management of the Transit Authority. This continued funding would be dependent on SFTA meeting customer service standards set by the Board of Supervisors that substantially exceed 1998 published standards of service provided by MUNI, and that 90% of buses and trains arrive at scheduled times. Funding can be adjusted proportionally based on changes in the total City Budget.

2. The San Francisco Transit Authority Directors are mandated to design, build, and operate the best transit system in the World. They will need to develop independent sources of permanent funding. The Directors are to submit to the voters funding initiatives and to fully communicate the benefits and measurable results that they will receive by approving the new funding. Funding sources could include but would not be limited to: · A sales tax increase. · A Hotel Tax increase to allow tourists to ride the system free. · A special Transit Tax on all San Francisco businesses administered by the Business Tax Division of the San Francisco Tax Collector. Because of the density of downtown, it will pay the largest share of this tax, but will be paying the same tax rate as any other business. · Parking Tax increase to encourage public transit use. · A Gasoline tax increase. · A Commuter tax on single occupant cars.

3. Directors are to actively pursue Federal, State, and local funding on every level for every project.

SEC. 20.109. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

1. The Directors may not spend more that $25,000 on an election campaign and may not take more than $100.00 from any individual, company, or PAC. Violation of this regulation will be grounds for dismissal from the Board.
2. The Board of Directors will have the power to dismiss a Director for cause. They may do so by a ¾ vote (seven vote minimum), subject to approval by a 2/3 vote of the Board of Supervisors.
3. The Transit Authority will fund television and radio time and other public media that will include all candidates for the Board of Directors so that the riders, voters and transit workers are educated about all the candidates and all the issues. An independent non-partisan group like the League of Women Voters will be contracted to organize and moderate this public service programming.
4. Fees and procedures for running for Director will be the same as those for Board of Supervisors.
5. Any Director may take legal action at Authority expense to compel the other Directors to enforce any of the mandates contained in Article XX.

SEC.20.110. GUIDELINES FOR ELECTION OF THE NINE DIRECTORS Voters and taxpayers have a financial interest in the transit system and will elect three directors. Regular transit riders who are dependent on the system will elect three directors. Transit workers who are dependent on the system for their job and livelihood will elect three directors. A person may be in more that one of the above categories and therefore may elect three, six, or nine directors. All elected directors must look out for the interests of the constituency that elected them and also give equal attention and concern to the welfare of the over all system. All candidates must reside in San Francisco. The Department of Elections shall use common sense and judicial discretion in facilitating the election of transit directors. The guidelines outlined herein shall be followed and augmented by existing election rules and regulations.

Transit worker elected Directors (three elected): One director must be a transit driver. A second director must be a vehicle maintenance worker. A third at-large director may be an employee of any department of the transit system. Registered transit workers may vote for one director from each category: Driver, Maintenance, and At-large director. A candidate for director elected by transit workers must be an employee of MUNI or SF Transit Authority. Only employees of the Transit system who have registered with the Department of Elections may vote for these three directors. Registered transit workers who are registered transit riders and San Francisco voters may vote for all nine directors.

Transit rider elected Directors (three elected): A candidate for director elected by transit riders must be a regular MUNI or transit Authority rider. ANY person who lives in San Francisco and is a regular transit rider may register with the Department of Elections to vote for these directors. To register as a transit rider one must be a resident of San Francisco, submit an expired fast pass, and record the transit line(s) they ride. It is presumed that the votes of transit riders who live in San Francisco will represent the interests of non-resident riders who cannot vote. A person who qualifies as a transit rider but cannot qualify as a registered San Francisco voter, may register as a rider and vote for transit rider directors: this would include students and non-citizens. Registered transit riders who are also San Francisco voters may elect six directors.

Voter elected Directors (three elected): A candidate for director elected by voters must be willing to look out for the interests of the voters and taxpayers. San Francisco voters who are not transit workers and do not ride the system regularly may elect three directors. Voter elected director candidates need not be registered San Francisco voters.

End of new text of Article XX.

ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THE CHARTER:

The charter of the city and county of San Francisco is hereby amended, by adding to Section 3.100 a new item 3a. to read as follows:

3a. Pursuant to this responsibility, the Mayor shall ride a different route of MUNI (the public transit system) a minimum of two hours per month and document this action with public comment in order to receive his or her next paycheck.

The charter of the city and county of San Francisco is hereby amended, by adding to Section 2.100 to read as follows:

Until such time that San Francisco's Public Transportation "System" is voted the best public transit in California by a recognized Bay Area rider group; each member of the Board of Supervisors shall ride "the System" to and from work once a week and document this action in order to receive his or her paycheck.

The charter of the city and county of San Francisco is hereby amended to add the words "Public Transit Workers" to Section A8.345 (Disciplinary Action Against Striking Employees) as follows:

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the City Charter, the people of the City and County of San Francisco vote to include Public Transit Workers along with Police and Fire Fighters in section A8.345 to prevent Transit strikes and to require the City to negotiate in good faith with Transit Workers as it currently does with Police and Firefighters.

The electorate and signers of this petition request and require that this initiative be submitted to the voters at a special municipal election in June of 1999 and an election for Directors in November 1999.

It is the will of the electorate that the Mayor and Board of Supervisors do all in their personal and official power to aggressively lobby State and Federal Agencies to change laws that prevent free public transportation or otherwise inhibit innovative changes to the Public Transit System.

Notwithstanding any other article, section, or appendix of the Charter, the electorate wills that the proceeding changes take precedence.

The Voters mandate that provisions of this Charter Amendment be implemented without delay and that any legal action that may be brought against the Amendment, for any reason, be set aside until the highest Court with jurisdiction over that legal challenge makes it's final determination. If any section, paragraph, clause or phrase in this charter amendment is for any reason held unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of the remaining portions of this charter amendment or any part thereof. It is hereby declared that this charter amendment and each section, clause or phrase thereof, would have been passed irrespective of the fact that any one or more other section, clauses or phrases had been declared unconstitutional or invalid.

This Charter Amendment shall take effect ten days after the declaration of the official count of votes cast therefor.

BELOW IS A FICTICIOUS NEWSLETTER FROM NOVEMBER 2015 TO EXPLAIN HOW THE NEW SYSTEM WOULD OPERATE:

S F Transit voted Best Public Transit System in the World. INI -Washington The National Transit Riders Association voted SF Transit the best public transportation system in the World over Barcelona, Mexico City, and Rio de Junero. History of the 16 year old system. Seventeen years ago an unknown San Francisco Citizen came forward and proposed drastic changes to the transit system, then called MUNI. Jim Reid was running for Mayor with "Fixing MUNI" #1 on his platform. Under funded and unknown by voters; he spent his days in the subway and riding bus lines talking to riders. In early 1998, when he was running for Supervisor, Reid and a small group of volunteers wrote the Elected Transit Board Charter Amendment. It required City Officials and transit directors to ride MUNI, or not be paid; which appealed to the frustrated riders. A transit riders group rescued another ballot measure developed by a downtown business group. The then mayor did some backroom deals that watered down the measure; but it got the support of most the Supervisors saying: "It's the best that we can do at this time." As luck had it, Reid was selected the official opponent of the compromised measure and had a lot to say about the mayor's failure to fix MUNI as promised. Reid spent eight to ten hours a day campaigning on buses and subway trains. Reid knew he could get the 110,000 votes needed for election from the 400,000+ daily MUNI riders. He became the rider's candidate and rode the bus into City Hall. Some unexpected events and charges of corruption knocked the incumbent out of the race. After his election Reid pass his transit legislation and kept his campaign promise to ride MUNI until the buses ran on time. Today San Francisco has an unparalleled Transit system. Before the turn of the century, no transit rider could imagine having a seat on every train or getting to work faster that they could drive. Despite a million more Bay Area residents, the streets and freeways are less congested today than in 1999. SFT no longer has posted schedules because a transit vehicle arrives within minutes of your putting your plastic transit card into the reader at the transit stop and entering your destination code. A soothing computer voice tells you: "your bus will arrive in three minutes. You can expect to be at Market and Montgomery in fifteen minutes. You may take a waiting 44 bus or walk the six blocks to your destination. The weather downtown is sunny and 72 degrees. Thanks for riding San Francisco Transit." Transit only streets made a big difference for motorists by getting bicycles, trucks, and transit vehicles off other streets. All public transit has been free since 2002 when California voters surprisingly approved Prop 27 that raised gasoline taxes yearly until all public transit in the State became free. A 1998 survey revealed that voters would support better transit even at higher cost. Despite the recession of 2001, San Francisco voters approved several new taxation initiatives to fund public transit projects. In five years voters approved measures that doubled the Authorities transit budget over FY1998-99 levels. This trust by the voters, in the new Directors vision, made the system what it is today. The mandate to take Transit Authority employees out of Civil Service and create a new system based on customer service met with a great deal of opposition and accusations of union-busting. With the help of the three elected union directors, the Board developed a revolutionary system that better served the workers, the riders, and the City. The new Civil Service system was adopted citywide in 2005. Employees and departments got quarterly bonuses and public recognition for exceeding service standards. In his two terms as mayor, Reid rode the system daily and supported the new transit board in keeping the vision on track. Reid went on to be a driving force behind building a model for treatment and housing of the homeless, and in building truly affordable housing for all San Franciscans.

Delays with new Jupiter Metro Cars. SFG #San Francisco The first of the 230 new Jupiter Metro Cars are expected to go into service this week in the three Metro tunnels. Ten-minute delays expected in the tunnels. Delays of up to ten minutes are to be expected until the bugs are worked out of the system. San Francisco Transit drivers are working nights and weekends to test and integrate the new cars into the system. Metro service will run on time during daytime and commute hours but evening and weekend service will experience delays up to ten minutes during safety testing. Empty test cars will not be accepting passengers. SFT Directors ask the riders to plan for short delays. All of the 230 new cars should be operating on the system by late January 2016 in time for the opening of the Worlds Fair on Treasure Island. The new Treasure Island station of the Bay Bridge SFT Regional Transit Network is expected to handle over 100,000 passengers daily during the Fair. (See page three stories)

New Jupiter Metro Cars seat 200 riders with no standing. New Jupiter Metro Cars have body conforming seats that create your own pre-selected personal environment when you insert your SFT card in the armrest. A soft computer voice notifies you when you are about to arrive at the destination that you entered. The new Jupiter cars are expected to run at one-minute intervals during rush hour and every two minutes other times with no waiting or standing. The best of the retiring Breda cars, after some alterations, will join the old Boeings and the other antique streetcars on the Market Street "F" line and became a part of transit history.

The SFT System works so well because the original Charter mandated that the nine elected Directors ride the system everyday. The system was voted best in California in 2005 and the politicians were no longer obligated to ride. Many of them continued to ride because it gave them a good connection to voters in their district and it was a more relaxing way to get to City Hall. One of the early transit directors, Eleanor Johnson, a handicapped woman, insisted that all transit vehicles serve the handicapped and that all transit workers be trained at the Transit Academy to load and unload handicapped passengers quickly without delaying trains or other passengers. Station attendants alerted by the computer system of an arriving handicapped passenger are standing by to assist them to street level. After being elected for an unprecedented third term on the Board through a loophole in the term-limit section of the Charter, Eleanor voluntarily retired.

The plastic rider-card and rider-request computer system that today manages scheduling of the system was science fiction in 1999. A software developer, John Behrens, elected a rider director in 1999, shepherded the system through the early days when riders said it would never work. John worked tirelessly on the project and managed to get Microsoft to contribute 12 million dollars to the project as part of their anti-trust settlement with the government in 2002. He got a Federal grant to finish the system and marketed it to dozens of other transit systems to the financial benefit of SFT. He was put out of office by term limits, he continues to make improvements to the system as a consultant. The entire employee and vehicle scheduling system is driven by the 800,000 rider requests entered at 8,500 transit stops around the City each day. Transit vehicles are rescheduled by the minute based on computerized rider requests, from the magnetized plastic rider cards.

The Transit Workers Union was against the original Charter amendment and accused Reid of being anti-union and a fascist. The Business community thought he was anti-business. MUNI riders thought he was a dreamer, even thinking that MUNI could be fixed.

The transit workers got work rules that actually improved their work environment and relations with the riders. SFT Transit Academy classes trained them in latest techniques in customer service and transit technology. They got a much stronger say in the operation of the system with three of their members elected to the Board. In addition, they saw the directors riding the buses and trains and knew they cared about their day to day problems and their ideas and solutions. Though the workers were a smaller group, they actually got more say in the system than riders and voters because a worker who rode MUNI and was a registered voter got to vote for all nine directors. Rider voters could elect six. Non-rider voters could elect only three directors. It turned out to be a good system of checks and balances.