Akit's Complaint Department

Clipper Card Coming to Apple Pay and Google Pay

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 05:05:00 +0000

That's right, Akit is out of retirement for just this special story, after more than four years of not blogging. How are you? I've been doing well; in the last four years, I've got a job promotion with a decent pay raise, and I've been working remotely from home for nearly a year due to this virus. Hoping I can get the vaccine in the coming weeks and eventually return to in-office work.

If you read the blog entry title, the Clipper card will be available with Apple and Google Pay starting Spring 2021. If you want to read the articles, see the Apple Pay article and Google Pay article.

For you very long time loyal readers, I've been blogging about the Clipper card, and it's former name, the TransLink card for such a long time. Since not much has changed, I can help provide some insight in what your mobile phone wallet will do for you. However, since I own an iPhone and Apple watch, information about how Google Wallet may be limited.

Want to sign-up for an email notification when Clipper is ready for Apple Pay? Click here to go to Apple's website to register.

Let's look at the benefits and features that will come with Clipper Card on Apple Pay:

No more carrying a plastic card with you.
For Apple users, it will be available on Apple Watch and iPhone.
Express Transit will be supported on Apple Pay. What this means, there is no need to open your Apple wallet on your phone or watch. Just tap the phone or watch on the reader and it will automatically open the app and scan. But it does require you to activate this feature on your wallet's settings. One thing to note, if you just restarted your phone or just put your watch on, you need to authenticate yourself with your passcode to have the Express Transit feature on standby for your next ride.
Express Transit also works if you are in power reserve mode, but only on iPhone. Power reserve mode is when your phone shuts down due to low battery, but will function as your Clipper card for up to five hours until you can recharge your phone.

Here's some possible features that may come with the Clipper Card, but this comes from learning about how this works from reading and watching videos about the Suica card which is used in the Tokyo, and WMATA's SmarTrip card used in the Washington D.C. area:

You can add cash funds or possibly passes by purchasing them on your phone, and would be available for instant use. There would be no need to reload your virtual card at a ticket vending machine, such as at all BART stations, or visit a Walgreens or retail store.
You will be able to transfer your blue plastic card's data, cash purse, passes, etc. to your virtual wallet by allowing your phone to scan your card.

We've seen the benefits, now the problems:

You can only add your Clipper card to one device, either your iPhone or Apple Watch, not both. You can have it on both, if you have separate cards. Hard choice, phone or watch?
If the ability to transfer your plastic card's data to your mobile device is allowed, once transferred, your plastic card is void. You cannot use both the mobile wallet and plastic card. Please note, this is coming from the SmarTrip website; I would assume it will happen to plastic Clipper cards once migrated to your phone or watch.
If your card needs to be read by a fare inspector or any person who uses a handheld reader, such as a cable car conductor, Express Transit feature on Apple Pay won't work; you'll need to open up your Apple wallet on the device you have your card on.
The Commuter Check debit card is not supported on Apple Pay because I just tried adding it. Unless if Clipper has a separate app that someone can manually enter their card number, you may not be able to reload Clipper card purse funds or buy passes using the commuter benefits card via your phone; you would have to do it at a vending machine or retail store.
If your watch or phone is dead or if you have a battery that isn't holding its charge, maybe stick to your plastic card. Non functioning devices means no working Clipper card.
If you ride Muni occasionally, take at least two rides, and don't ride the cable cars (and they are not operating due to COVID), it's better to use Muni Mobile's day pass for $5, as a single ride on Clipper and Muni Mobile is $2.50. Clipper cards don't have the $5 pass available to purchase.
It is unknown if you can migrate your SF State ID card with Clipper (for the Gator Pass) to your phone. It is also unknown if you can migrate a Senior card, RTC discount card, and other discounted cards to Apple and Google Pay.
One last thing, it's highly unlikely that contactless credit and debit cards, including Apple and Google Pay credit/debit cards will be accepted on Clipper. The major weakness of the Clipper card system is that all card readers on buses are not connected through cellular service 24/7 to verify if the card is legit or stolen. Clipper and formerly TransLink has been in use for nearly 20 years. There's planned 2.0 upgrade coming in the future.

Okay, what would Akit do? I have the blue plastic adult Clipper card, iPhone, Apple Watch, and a commuter debit card. (Remember, you may not be able to have the same card on the iPhone AND Watch)

My option would likely be my Apple Watch. Especially since face masks aren't friendly with Face ID on iPhone, Apple Watch seems to be the easiest choice, I can just tap the watch over the reader. Although, in the case of Muni metro and BART gates, my watch is on my left wrist, so I'll have to move my arm over to scan it. I would also activate Express Transit so I don't have to open up the wallet on the watch and scroll to the Clipper card.
A possible problem is using my commuter debit card as a funding source to reload my virtual Clipper card, since my debit card can't be added to my Apple wallet. Hoping they will have a new Clipper card app that lets me add funds by manually adding a commuter benefits card.
For longer day trips within San Francisco, I would not use Clipper, and instead use Muni Mobile for their $5 day passes (no cable cars) or $13 one day passport that includes cable cars.

Cool tip: Once cable cars resumes service, it's $8 for a single ride. Two cable car rides costs more than an all day unlimited Muni Mobile one day passport good for all the cable cars, buses, light rail, and historic streetcars you want.

Want to see how a contactless transit card works? Watch this video of the Suica card on Apple Pay is being used at a fare gate at a train station in Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNzi5b1Rsxc&feature=youtu.be

The Worst and Absurd Public Transit I've Taken on a 4th of July Holdiay Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 04:47:00 +0000

Akit comes out of retirement... once again. I felt the need to blog because this weekend just sucked trying to get around the city. This has to be the strangest 4th of July weekends I've been through involving public transportation.

Saturday: The scariest stuff I've seen...

I'm waiting for a 47 or 49 bus at Van Ness and Sacramento and I'm looking at the diagonal corner where a mentally ill woman is harassing some people sitting on the street. One of them sitting down decides to chase her and the woman quickly runs away, by walking in between two parked vehicles and into the street. Less than a second later when she runs into the street, she gets hit (sideswiped) by a passing Muni bus, and I was hoping she just didn't get killed. The Muni bus pulled over across the street and I hurried to call 911.

Ugh, the 911 operator is telling me to get to the lady quickly; is the guy nuts? I'm not running through several lanes of active traffic while I'm on a diagonal corner. Fortunately, the fire truck arrived and I'm telling them what I saw. The lady who was hit was lucky, she was walking around when the medics found her. If she entered the street less than a second prior, she would have hit the front of the bus and likely be dead.

Sunday: I experienced one too many moments of absolute absurdity on Muni

(1) I'm on the 47-Van Ness bus going from Market Street towards the Wharf and the bus pulls over to pick-up a wheelchair passenger. I and another passenger are sitting in the designated wheelchair spot, so we both get up, and I'm trying to look for the lever to raise the seat. The bus driver insisted he wants to do it, but since I'm standing there, I insist I handle it. He re-emphasizes that he has to do it because he claims he'll "be fired if you get hurt."

This is one of those "what the fuck" moments when this society is so damn afraid of litigation, and so I let the damn driver do the seat, while all the passengers laugh with me at the amount of absurdity that just happened. It's not like I'm grabbing a wrench and fixing a broken bus. Hell, you are more likely to get injured lifting your bike on the Muni bike rack or ride the running board on a Cable Car than lifting a seat on a bus like any nice person would do.

The driver sounded pissed while trying to act nice when I insisted can do it. But I had the last word right before I exited when a lady was asking the driver why he didn't stop at California Street, so I told her the agency cut some stops on Van Ness to speed up the bus line, but this driver is going so damn slow on Van Ness (like there's no traffic and he's going like snail) it's an insult.

(2) Later that day, I'm taking a F-Market bus substitute and it stops in front of the Market Street Railway museum on Don Chee Way. And the bus just sits there, for five minutes while the driver bails the bus. He's trying to look for his relief driver and all of us are sardine packed in the bus wondering WTF is going on? Eventually he kicks everyone off the bus to ride the next one and the Muni supervisor wearing blue isn't doing shit or even apologizing to the passengers. Yeah, taxpayer dollars being used well.

Monday: Golden Gate Transit just SUCKS

I wanted to visit Sausalito, so I decided to pick-up the 30 bus at the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza because it takes less time than going all the way downtown for the ferry boat. Things went okay until the driver didn't take the Alexander Avenue exit to go downhill to Sausalito, and the driver drops us off at some odd Marin City bus transit center. The driver said to everyone to catch the 17 bus which after waiting 30+ minutes never arrived. Hell, two Muir Woods shuttles came by, and some other buses, all while any Sausalito bound buses never came by; only until a West Marin Stagecoach van came by to pick us all up. I only had less than an hour to enjoy Sausalito before I had to take the ferry back, otherwise I'd be stuck in the town much longer waiting for another boat.

You know what's bad about Golden Gate Transit? EVERYTHING. The 30 bus driver didn't disclose anything to the passengers about not stopping in Sausalito. That alone would have saved me time and money because I would have gone somewhere else. And waiting at the Marin bus hub was a fat insult, just nothing was coming by and all the buses arriving was LATE AS HELL. But what about NextBus? IT DOESN'T EXIST! They can afford wifi on buses, but not GPS technology to tell us when the bus is going to arrive. Oh, and trying to call for assistance to Golden Gate Transit's hotline? The phones are not answered on holidays.

Seriously? Golden Gate Transit is a flat out piece of crap. At least the Golden Gate Ferry service is worth it, because it arrives on-time, it leaves on-time, they have nice employees. I don't know how people can tolerate Golden Gate Transit, it's makes Muni look awesome in comparison to this trash.

And that's my three day weekend.

MuniMobile Smartphone Payment App is Now Available for Everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 17:56:00 +0000

Contrary to the news media saying next week Monday, the MuniMobile fare payment app is now available for download on the iTunes App store for everyone to use.

If you have an iOS phone, go to the App Store and search for "MuniMobile." If you are on a computer, click here to go to Apple's iTunes Preview site to read about the application.

Since I don't own an Android, I can't verify if it's available.

As I was a beta tester, I was able to play around with the app and I did buy a couple of single ride fares to try it out. I didn't encounter any fare inspectors, but all the bus drivers knew what it was and let me through without asking any questions.

The only real odd thing about the app is the Muni logo is backwards when the animated bus passes by from the left to right; the MuniMobile ads posted on the buses show the bus going the other direction with the logo facing correctly.

To learn more about my experiences with the MuniMobile application, visit my other blog entry.

Lastly, if you want a personal recommendation, stick to your Clipper Card; it's the only method to get inter-agency transfer discounts or free Muni rides from Daly City BART. MuniMobile is better for tourists (especially the Passports on sale), people who rarely ride Muni or wants to pay for their rides with a credit card, and as a backup fare option if you run out of Clipper Card money.

Testing San Francisco MuniMobile Fare App

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 07:00:00 +0000

I haven't posted in over a year as I went into retirement from blogging, but Akit's out of retirement for a special edition blog post!

I was recently selected out of 1,600 applicants to participate in the SFMTA/Muni Mobile Fare App beta testing. From what I've read around, about 800 people were selected to be Muni's guinea pigs for this project.

This reminds me of the days when I was a pilot tester for TransLink (old name for Clipper).

Let's give you folks who didn't sign up or selected a taste of how this all works.

First of all, you need to have a phone operating on Apple iOS or Android. Once Muni releases the program to the whole public, you can download it at your application store for free.

When you first use the app, you can choose to register for an account or you can look around the app. But if you want to buy fares, you must register for an account.

The Ticket Choices
You get to pick a variety of options, including:
1: Basic single fare
2: Single ride on a Cable Car
3: 1, 3 or 7-day Passports (valid on all of Muni, including Cable Cars)

The photo on the right is for adult fares, but you can also select Senior/Disabled/Medicare, Youth, and SF Paratransit options too.

The prices are all the same as paying cash or Clipper, and has no credit card surcharge tacked on.

Once you select the item(s) you want to purchase, you simply use the app to pay and it will direct you to a PayPal site to handle it. You can choose to pay with your personal credit or debit card, or if you have a balance on your PayPal account, you can use that too.

Use Your Ticket
Once your payment is confirmed, your ticket is stored in the "My Tickets" menu. Click the ticket you want and it will give you one last chance to back out. If you want to use the ticket, click "use ticket" and the ticket activates immediately.

If you are using a single fare ticket, you should only activate it when you see the bus or train arriving. 90 minute clock immediately activates, and this will also be your Muni transfer; the driver will not give you a paper transfer.

Once the ticket is activated, it will show an animated screen with blue skies, clouds (or is it Karl the Fog?), Sutro Tower, and the Muni vehicle driving by every so often. The expiration will show on the top, and the type of ticket purchased on the bottom.

Just show the screen to the driver to verify it's a legitimate fare, take a seat and relax.

If you touch the screen, the background colors will change. GlobeSherpa who made the application must have done this to prevent people from fraudulently using the app by playing a video clip or showing a screenshot.

If you touch the QR code on the lower right corner, it will show a large QR code that fare inspectors can use to verify your ticket. I haven't encountered one yet, but who knows if they will carry a device to verify the QR code or not.

You can also close out the app and easily return to the Muni app to restore the ticket.

Expired Ticket
Once it expires, the ticket still looks like it's valid, but it's not when you compare the top time of 7:55PM to the bottom time of 7:54PM (left photo), but once you return back to the main menu by clicking on the left arrow on the top and then restore the ticket, it will definitely say: "EXPIRED" (right photo). It's an odd quirk, hopefully something that can be fixed.

In Summary

Why you should use this app:

When you don't have cash or your Clipper card on hand, it's an easy way to pay for your Muni fare.
You want to pay for Muni with a credit card.
If you don't want to disclose your credit card info, you can load some funds in your PayPal account and pay for Muni that way.
You can buy Muni passports without visiting one of the few locations in the city for them.
You can buy Cable Car tickets without hassling the conductor.
It's eco friendly because you don't get a paper transfer or receipt in return.
Faster than Clipper because once you pay for the ticket, you can activate it immediately. If you order something on Clipper via their website, it can take up to five days to activate.
If you activate your single fare ticket after 8:30PM, your expiration will be 5AM the next day (a.k.a. late night transfers). Clipper cards and those paper tickets at the metro vending machines DON'T give you late night perks, just the lame 90 minutes.

Why you may want to avoid this app:

For single rides, you are better off paying cash to the bus or metro operator and getting a paper transfer. You'll always get a minimum of 90 minutes, but most hand torn paper transfers have much longer expiration, sometimes even four hours.
If you transfer from BART, Golden Gate Ferry, Golden Gate Transit, or SF Bay Ferry to Muni you don't get the 50 cent inter-agency discount with the app, it's only good on the Clipper card. Make sure to pay for your ferry, BART, or GGT fare with your Clipper card, and use the same card on Muni to get your discounted ride.
If you transfer from Daly City BART to Muni, you get two free rides, one away from the station on the 14R, 28, 28R, 54, and 57, and one going back on the same bus lines within 24 hours, but it's only on Clipper.
They don't sell monthly passes, it's only on Clipper.
Prepaid tickets have an expiration date. I bought mine on October 23rd, but if I don't use it, it will expire on January 21st. Not a good idea to hoard those tickets.
You have a smartphone with a lousy battery. If the battery dies, you can't use the app!
If you have a credit card that gives you a bonus when using it for travel (e.g. 2% on travel vs. the standard 1%), you won't likely get that bonus because it is charged through PayPal.
If you use a pre-tax commuter benefit debit card, it looks like it's not supported on the app. It's because the credit card processing is done through PayPal which may not be acceptable to the required federal standards for commuter debit cards. Continue using your debit card on Clipper.

CORRECTION: Commuter benefit debit cards are accepted as per SFMTA's website: https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/transit/munimobile/munimobile-frequently-asked-questions#BuyingTickets

However, do not link a your commuter debit card via your PayPal account.

Suggestions on Improvements:
Muni and GlobeSherpa can do a handful of things to make it better.

Make the expiration easier to read. A light blue sky background with white letters is hard on people, especially for the operator to read. White letters is fine, but some black shadow for the letters makes it easier.
I was expecting some more backgrounds in the animation. Why just Sutro Tower? Why not Coit Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge?
When a ticket expires, it needs to automatically grey out and the orange bar is shown saying EXPIRED. It should not be the normal background.
Allow commuter benefit debit cards be accepted to purchase tickets.
Fingerprint scan option to open the app, especially helpful to prevent your kids from accidentally activating your tickets.

Clipper Card on iPhone's Apple Pay Service - Could it Really Happen?

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 14:00:00 +0000

Greetings readers, it's been a while since I've blogged. I'm still happy and well, but I've been sticking to my public social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram more often. I thought I'd write a blog entry today because of what's been happening in the news for the past week.

The announcement of the next generation of iPhones, in particular Apple Pay, is really attracting a lot of news these days as the next cool way for people to pay for stuff at their favorite big retailers without pulling out their plastic credit card. And while the Android platform has been using their NFC chips for a good while to be able to pay with credit cards and read NFC tags, with Apple playing along, that puts a huge chunk of the smartphone market able to now use NFC technology.

But what really intrigues me about the big evolution of NFC to be capable on Apple devices is the opportunity for public transportation to play a role in being a part of it. Simply put, will the Clipper Card be an option for Apple Pay and Android?

Here's the pros if the Clipper Card was available as an option for people to scan their phone to a Clipper Card reader:

No more carrying a plastic Clipper Card in your wallet. Just put your phone to the reader to handle your fare/pass transaction.
Be able to instantly view your card's balance, transfers with the time it expires, and your passes.
Be able to instantly view your ride history, and have instant proof of payment on hand for fare inspectors.
Using the Clipper Card app, be able to add card value or buy passes using a linked credit card with instant available use, without the horrible five day waiting period currently in use for people who buy online for their plastic card. Read about the five day rule here.
Also, using the Clipper Card app, people can also purchase day passes like for Muni. Muni does sell the passports for Clipper, but people still prefer the scratch-off ones or buying it from the Cable Car conductor.
Also, there could be an option for people to not use a Clipper Card, and instead use a registered credit/debit card to make their one-time transit fare payment. It might be a cool perk for those with pre-tax commuter benefit debit cards to simply tap their phone and just deduct the balance from the card; no more need to load the money to a Clipper card, just touch and pay.

But there are some cons:

It may not be possible to have Clipper do this. The Clipper Card system itself was one of the first smartcard systems ever in the United States, and as of today, the system is outdated when compared to other agencies using smartcards. When Clipper first started, it started as the TransLink card program which the MTC awarded a contract to ERG, a leader in smartcard technology for transit systems. But many years later, Cubic, a titan in the transit technology market, bought out ERG and took over its contracts, including TransLink/Clipper. The folks at Cubic had an uphill battle to get their products to properly function with the thousands of ERG cards and technology in use, such as the BART and Muni fare gates (Cubic products). Cubic had to take the right route, they couldn't remove the ERG products already wired and installed and start from scratch (that would cost a ton of money), so they made a hybrid system so both ERG products and Cubic products work together. Since the Clipper system is outdated, it may not be able to take mobile phone payments.
If the above is true, we may have to wait until 2019-2020 for the next generation of Clipper Card technology to have the features. The expected end of life for the currently installed technology is to end roughly around 2019 and that's when the contract with Cubic is to expire. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission intends to put in the next generation of Clipper by starting from absolute scratch, instead of preserving the old infrastructure. A simple way of thinking is, the MTC may be able to save money by delaying smart phone implementation until the 2nd generation system is functional. Click here to read about the second generation of Clipper plans.

Akit's Opinions:
In my opinion, I wish the Clipper Card was available as a smartphone function to just tap the phone to a card reader to ride public transit, or even just allowing people to use a linked credit card to just tap and pay for their rides would be wonderful. Also, with the ability to order passes or load more cash value from your phone means your virtual card on your phone will have instant available use of your pass or funds, without the terrifying five day waiting period or running to your Walgreens or train station to load-up.

But looking at all of the cons, this may be something the MTC may not want to pursue, especially if the Clipper Card program is to be in a coffin by 2019 and a new program will be functional by then. The technology being used today is outdated but functions as expected.

If there has to be a compromise, here's my recommendation:
I feel this may be an opportunity for Clipper to work with Apple and Google to allow Clipper card users to get an app that utilizes a plastic Clipper card and an NFC capable phone to let people scan their card to read their ride history and review their balances on their card (currently, the FareBot 3rd party app for Android can do this). This may also be an opportunity for people to order their passes, add cash value, etc. on their phone, and tag their card to their phone to update the card's data with the new information so people can instantly use the card with the new information.

What's your thoughts on this? Leave a comment.

New Change to BART to Muni Transfer Policy using Clipper Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:00:00 +0000

If you use your Clipper card to transfer from a San Francisco BART station to a Muni vehicle or metro, there's a change in policy regarding the transfer rule.

The old rule:
When exiting BART from any station between Embarcadero and Balboa Park, you have one hour to transfer to Muni. When tagging the same card you exited with BART and use it on Muni, you get a 25 cent discount on your Muni ride. When you are ready to take your next ride on Muni (after the Muni 90 minute transfer expires and its less than 24 hours from the time you exited BART), your next Muni fare transaction is 25 cents off. This is the exact policy just like when BART stations issued paper discount transfers which gave the same benefit.

The new rule:
When exiting BART from any station between Embarcadero and Balboa Park, you have one hour to transfer to Muni. When tagging the same card you exited with BART and use it on Muni, you get a 50 cent discount. There is no discount for a second ride.

Note: This policy is not valid if you have a Muni monthly pass. It must pay in Clipper e-cash funds. As always, if you have a Muni monthly pass on your card, Clipper always seeks the best deal, instead of yanking $1.50 out of your pool of funds.

Also, this policy is not in use at the Daly City BART station. Passengers still get a free ride on any Muni line that serves Daly City BART.

How did I notice the change?
When I go to baseball games at AT&T Park, I have to take BART and Muni metro to and from the park. I noticed when I tagged my card on the Clipper card reader to get back after the game, I had to pay full fare. When I got home, I reviewed my Clipper card records online and found out that there was that change in transfer policy.

Akit's Opinions:
It's a simple change that makes it more simplified for Clipper card users. Instead of wondering if the return ride 25 cent discount works, you just get the full 50 cents off in the first Muni ride away from BART. I like it.

Reference to policy: https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/muni/fares.do

Caught & Confronted Foul Mouthed Town Car Driver Stealing Taxicab Fares (VIDEO)

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 04:34:00 +0000

Earlier today, I confronted a towncar driver who was trying to sell to tourists a $3 ride to downtown. If you watched the video above, the confrontation went ugly and I hoped he realized that he's going to be out of a job very soon and face a $5,000 fine. I intend to report this to the California Public Utilities Commission and SFMTA enforcement.

But before I get to the laws about this, I also found out this mean asshole's vehicle isn't even legal! Here, take a look:

The TCP number listed as per the PUC means it's not legal, so we have a dirty vehicle with a driver who steals fares.

The Laws:

The law about towncars and limos is they cannot do on-demand or solicit for rides. Only licensed taxicabs are allowed to do this. Towncars and limos are limited to prearranged rides (e.g. appointments). In San Francisco, this means only licensed San Francisco taxicabs can pick-up passengers without reservation and on-demand.

Limo and towncar drivers who solicits for rides are doing a lot of things wrong:

(1) They steal work from legitimate taxicab drivers.

(2) As it's not a taxi, the drivers may not be subject to the scrutiny the City and County of San Francisco enforces on cabs and their drivers, such as background checks, testing them on the city map, frequent vehicle inspections, inspecting taxi meters, and liability insurance. A few years back, I had a towncar pull over and passengers yell at me: "do you know where Nob Hill is?" I responded: "You should fire that driver."

(3) Limo and towncar drivers have been known to rip-off passengers by advertising a cheap ride, then jacking the fare or dropping passengers off in some not so nice areas. I've never heard of a $3 and even a $5 fare from Fisherman's Wharf to downtown before.

(4) They take advantage of tourists who doesn't know the laws, BUT I DO.

Why did I record and confront that driver? Here's why:

A week ago, I was waiting at that exact location for a F-Market trolley, but they were taking forever to show-up. During that time, two limos pulled over in front of the stop, opened their door and solicited a "$5" fare to downtown.

The first vehicle driver, I asked him: "Are you aware of the MTA laws about soliciting?" He knew he just got caught by a local resident who knows the laws. He apologized, got back in his car, and apologized again at me. Since he was playing nice, I told him I wouldn't report him.

The second vehicle driver, I said nothing. Instead, I decided to take a photo of his vehicle and record about 15 seconds of material while he took about five passengers. At that point, I decided to take a few minutes at home to report it to the SFMTA, and an inspector contacted me a day later for a copy of the photo and video. I'm expecting the inspector's case to be a slam dunk and a fat $5,000 fine. See video and photo:

Today's lesson!

Today's lesson, don't get cheated by illegal operators. I have a new found respect for cab drivers who do follow the laws and have the right to take on-demand rides. The cab drivers have to make a living, and I hope the PUC and the cops find that illegally operating towncar and that foul mouthed driver, and tow it away.

I KNOW MY RIGHTS. FEAR ME you illegally operating towncars and limos.

End of the Clipper Card in 2019? It's Not a Joke

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 18:54:00 +0000

I got a little clue that the MTC wants to move to the next generation of Clipper card when I read a tweet from the folks from VTA. I decided to dig around the meeting agenda documents available online to the public from the MTC website.

So it's actually true, the contact for Cubic, parent operator of the Clipper Card program, is going to expire in November 2019, that's roughly five years and seven months away. At this time, committees of the MTC are in regular discussions about the next generation of fare payment technology for the Bay Area, and while there's no definite answer, there's some hints on what is going to happen after late 2019:

The setup currently used for the Clipper Card/TransLink system is from the late 90s and within the next five years, the equipment will be reaching the end of its life. The equipment being used right now originally came from ERG, an Australian company originally contracted to do the TransLink/Clipper system; but Cubic purchased ERG and since the network was already established, Cubic had to work with old equipment that's not their own to make it work (it's like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole, it won't fit unless you shave the edges down to make it fit).

The MTC admits that trying to integrate the next generation system into the existing infrastructure would be too expensive and risky. This would mean the next generation fare system may have to start from absolute scratch; this is one of the reasons why they are planning so far in advance for this.

The MTC also mentioned during their planning timeline to learn the lessons from the past to make sure it's a much smoother process. I remember being part of the TransLink pilot program with very few transit agencies participating and limited usage, and it took many years to finally get all major transit agencies to join and be fully integrated.

Lastly, this second generation of fare payment may also bring in new technologies to improve the customer experience. We all know about the headaches and limitations of Clipper, including the 3-5 day wait when buying online. New technologies may allow us to pay for rides with a smartphone or even with credit cards with RFID chips installed.

To read the full MTC documents about the planned project, visit: http://apps.mtc.ca.gov/meeting_packet_documents/agenda_2196/Agenda_Item_3.pdf and start on page 14.

Why the SFPD are Doing Muni Fare Inspections Improperly and Citing Innocent People

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 19:19:00 +0000

This morning, I was reading an article written by Jessica Kwong for the SF Examiner about a Muni passenger who was written a ticket by a San Francisco Police Department officer for not paying their Muni fare with their Clipper card.

The article stated the passenger boarded the F-Market streetcar and used his Clipper card to tag at the entry. Ten minutes later, a SFPD officer asked for proof of payment from the passenger and tagged the passenger's Clipper card at the vehicle's card reader to verify. The card was rejected and the passenger was issued a $200+ citation for fare evasion. However, the passenger retrieved his Clipper card records from the Clipper Card website and it showed he did pay the fare. The passenger intends to contest the citation in court next week.

The news reporter also got statements from SFPD officials and SFMTA/Muni basically stating that a police officer tagging a customer's card on a vehicle card reader is sufficient enough and there's no problems with it.

However, with my expertise on writing about the Clipper Card for numerous years, there's some serious flaws with having police officers and fare inspectors to verify a passenger's card use by tagging a card reader. Here's why:

When a passenger boards a Muni vehicle and tags their Clipper card upon entry, the card reader will immediately verify the transaction with a green light and single beep. The screen will also show the type of transaction completed ($2 fare deducted, transfer being used, or valid pass).
Once the card is tagged, it cannot be tagged again on the same vehicle reader; this rule is called "passback." This is a standard rule used on all electronic transit fare cards to prevent a passenger from using the card for valid entry, and "passing back" the card to their friend or family member to tag the card again so they can score a free ride.
The "passback" is removed after a certain set amount of time for those who ride the same bus again for a return trip (for example, if I board a 6-Parnassus bus at 1PM, have lunch, and board same exact bus at 2:15PM, the passback is eliminated and tagging my card won't result in a rejection).
When a passenger transfers to another vehicle, the card is perfectly okay to tag and get the green light to enter. This is because they are boarding a new vehicle, even if they tag card on bus #1 at 1PM, and board/tag bus #2 at 1:10PM.

PROPER FARE INSPECTION: When a police officer or fare inspector uses a handheld card reader that is issued by Clipper, it will read the card and verify if the card was tagged or not by showing a "YES" or "NO" on the screen, followed a confirmation sound of "ding" or "buzz." If it says no, inspectors can immediately review the card use history clicking on a few screens on their reader to check if there's a valid pass and the last several times the card was used. If it all checks-out fine after the secondary card history check, all is well; but if it shows passenger failed to pay, a ticket is issued.

IMPROPER FARE INSPECTION: If a police officer or fare inspector verifies use by tagging the card to a Clipper card reader, it will either give a single beep/green light confirmation or red light/error confirmation. The single beep/green is because the "passback" was eliminated after the set window ended, but a red/error sound means the "PASSBACK" IS STILL ACTIVE. Cops and fare inspectors SHOULD NOT use this method of inspection because if they get the red light, and are ignorant to realize "passback" is active, the passenger gets a citation and have to waste their time at a court hearing to fight the charge.

As for the statement from SFMTA's Paul Rose saying there's "no concerns" about law enforcement officers verifying via the vehicle's card readers, he is half-correct and half-wrong. Here's why:

Correct statement: This can only happen in the Muni metro. Only if a passenger tags their card upon entry to a subway station's fare gate, and a police officer verifies by tagging the card on a train's card reader, it will give the green light. The rules state when a Muni passenger tags their card upon entry via a faregate, it is not necessary to tag their card on the vehicle card reader when they board the train; but if a passenger tags their card in the vehicle (after tagging card to enter the metro station) and a police officer checks the card, say 10 minutes after on the vehicle card reader, it will result in a red light/denied message and is subject to a ticket, even though they have tagged their card lawfully at a Muni fare gate.
Incorrect statement: There is a serious concern if a police officer verifies a passenger's Clipper card at the vehicle card reader because the "passback" may still be active on the card. Reason for this explained earlier in this blog entry.

Akit's Opinions:
In summary, if we assume the passenger does have proof from the Clipper Card website saying he did tag his Clipper card and was cited by a police officer, he should be found not guilty or have his case dismissed on the grounds that the officer improperly issued the ticket.

Due to the poor judgment of the police and SFMTA, and improper procedures to verify Clipper card use, strict policies needs to be written-up to prevent this from happening again.

Fare inspections SHOULD NEVER be verifying card use by using a vehicle's card reader because of the "passback" policy. ALWAYS use the handheld card reader.

Horrible Budget Ideas from the Geniuses at Muni (SFMTA)

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 15:30:00 +0000

On February 4th, the SFMTA Board of Directors had a special meeting covering various issues and topics. One of the topics they covered is the upcoming fiscal year budget by showing a PowerPoint presentation. Thanks to the public disclosure laws, we are able to view the materials the board gets to see.

To view the budget presentation, click here.

A lot of the material was all blah blah blah that wouldn't matter to me, but I found a chunk of information that made me quite frustrated that SFMTA employees would try to make the Board even think about accepting.

If anyone recalled the Mayor Frank Jordan era, Muni decided to implement a new fare structure where passengers had to pay an extra 50 cent fee to ride express buses or pay for a premium Muni pass, and eliminated all transfers. The citizens hated it so much that Muni decided months later to restore transfers and kill the premium fees for all express buses.

So here's the stuff that made me go nuts:

Page 10: Automatic Indexing
The SFMTA is going to raise the price of its fare products by 3% for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. What this basically means is your Muni fare will increase from $2 to $2.25 ($0.75 to $1 for youth, seniors, and disabled), and monthly passes will rise two dollars for adults and one dollar for discount passes. Some of the fare products like visitor passports and cable car fares will remain the same.

#Muni wants to consider making the F-Market equal to the Cable Car single ride fare ($6). Are you FUCKING NUTS?
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 5, 2014

Pages: 15 and 16: Possible Revenue Sources
I thought they've gone insane by proposing these ideas to generate extra money:

They want to raise the price of riding the F-Market historic streetcar line. On top of the regular Muni fare, a premium surcharge will be $1 per adult, and $0.50 discount for eligible people.
Or instead of a surcharge, one idea is to charge passengers the equivalent fare that Cable Car passengers pay at $6 per single ride on the F-Market.
For passengers who ride the limited lines and peak express bus lines, a surcharge on top of the regular single ride Muni fare of $1 for adults and $0.50 discount for eligible passengers.
A policy to ban "M" Muni Only adult passes to ride the limited and express bus lines, therefore forcing those passengers to either pay for a "A" Muni premium pass or pay the FULL MUNI FARE + SURCHARGE if they only have the "M" pass.
A plan to increase visitor passport fares by $1 or $5.
A plan to increase the "A" pass $2 above indexed price due to BART's increased cost for rides within San Francisco.

However, since the Clipper card would be responsible for many of the fare and pass transactions, it will come at a big cost to Muni to modify the fare structure. They estimate it will cost more than $250,000 to have the Clipper software rewritten with the new rules, but also have to tackle the Title VI equity analysis.

#Muni also wants to charge extra fare for express buses & limited lines? Or if you have "M" pass, pay FULL FARE? Are you FUCKING HIGH?
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 5, 2014

Pages 17 to 20: Possible Revenue Reductions
So by raising money (as seen above), the agency also wants to lose money in their real stupid ideas:

The SFMTA wants to continue the free Muni for youth program at an expense of $2.7 million for the 2015 fiscal year, and $2.8 million for the 2016 fiscal year.
The agency also wants to extend the free Muni for youth program to include 18 year olds which will balloon the program's expenses to $3.6 million for 2015 FY, and $3.7 million for 2016 FY.
If the agency considers number two, they will also have to rewrite what "youth fare" means for passengers. By redefining it to say it's good for 18 year old passengers, Muni is expected to lose up to $2.1 million in fare revenue.
If the agency decides to eliminate Sunday meter parking fees, the loss would be about $9.3 to $9.5 million a year in revenue. This takes into account the agency's estimated 'cost savings' for killing the Sunday meter program.
If a proposal to give free Muni to seniors and disabled passengers is approved, upon the assumption that 50% of citizens are eligible, Muni is going to lose at least $4 million in revenue, and if it's increased to 67% are eligible, Muni is going to lose at least $6 million.

Free #Muni for seniors where up to 50 to 60% would qualify? You got to be kidding. 75 cents a ride is damn cheap. Cost program: $4M to 6M.
— Akit (@AgentAkit) February 5, 2014

Akit's Angry Opinions
I've never seen such stupid ideas in my life. So let's go down the list of their bad ideas.

New adult fare at $2.25 a ride will definitely slow down the system for passengers paying the farebox; although, the agency would consider giving passengers who pay with Clipper a fare discount as a way to encourage more usage and speed boarding times.
I really don't like the idea of charging any premium fee for the F-Market route, especially for those who live near the F-Market line along the Embarcadero. Why punish the average citizen who can't afford the parking rates and make them pay extra to get to their house or workplace? The F-Market has been the perfect alternative for visitors and citizens to get to Fisherman's Wharf without paying the insane Cable Car single fare fee of $6 a ride.
What I hate even more is if Muni charges a $6 fee for the F-Market, equal to the Cable Car fare. If anyone recalls the 74X CultureBus, a premium Muni bus service, they were charging a very high premium fare of $7 a ride (went up to $10), and because of the high fare for passengers, died a horrible death because of severe lack of ridership.
I am very against the idea of making all limited lines and peak express lines a premium fare service. If anyone recalls this, I reported back in 2010 that Muni attempted to make the express lines a premium fare service and rejecting "M" passes, but finally decided in September 2010 to not go forward with the idea. Some people have to commute long distances on Muni, and the limited and peak express buses helps get them to their destination in a respective amount of time. If there's a premium fee, it will force people who can't afford the extra cost to take the much slower local buses. But how about the people who live west of 43rd Avenue and Geary? The only bus line from 48th Avenue to 43rd is the 38L-Geary Limited inbound line, and will you force the elderly and disabled who live deep in the Outer Richmond district to walk several blocks just to save money?
If Muni says okay to a premium fare for limited or express buses, I'm very against having "M" pass passengers get their passes rejected and being forced to pay the regular fare PLUS the premium fee. At least give these people some respect by either honoring the pass and charging a small surcharge or honor the pass as full fare with premium.
I've never liked the idea of giving out free passes to kids. I applauded the MTC board for saying screw you to the kids on the idea of spending public money for free rides for the youth, only to have the SFMTA board decide to spend its own cash for the pilot program. And the youth responded by humiliating themselves in the news media by getting angry (here, take a look at a Chronicle picture of a kid so upset he's not getting free rides on the bus). Renewing the program comes at a huge expense to us taxpayers. Remember kids, the price you pay for Muni rides today is the best offer versus all the other major transit agencies in the Bay Area. And, you get a FREE TRANSFER.
Oh, and let's not forget the idea to give seniors and disabled passengers free rides too. Where do you think that money comes from? The public's pockets. I wonder how many people will try to fraud Muni and the MTC who issues the disabled IDs. Get a crooked doctor to sign-off paperwork and why not apply for a shot a free rides on Muni for life? Sounds similar to people who cheat the disabled parking placard system.
Last but not least, let's talk about the end of the Sunday meter fees. I think charging for Sunday meters is a great idea because business districts gets more turnover (more customers), there's more available parking, and for anyone who doesn't want to pay the meter fees, can opt to ride Muni as an alternative. When Sunday meters was free, visiting neighborhoods with major parking issues like Irving Street from 19th to 27th Avenue was horrible; cars wouldn't move for hours and some people would double park forever waiting like a vulture for an open space. So keep the Sunday meters running.

A lot of times, Muni's 'smart people' likes to rattle the cage and think of these harebrained ideas, including restoring programs like charging a premium fee for express buses when it utterly failed in mere months over 20 years ago. Some of these ideas won't likely be implemented because it will anger the public, but some might fly without a doubt like continuing to give the kids free rides.

When Muni pulls these ideas out of their ass, I'm very grumpy. I would spit on their grave if there was one (can anyone find the CultureBus gravestone?), but for now, it's just ranting on this blog.

If you feel the need to express your opinions about Muni's ideas to raise money and give out more free crap, contact your city supervisor.

Why I Stopped Commuting on Sunset Boulevard - It's Too Dangerous

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 15:30:00 +0000

View Larger Map

Sunset Boulevard has always been a problem for both drivers and pedestrians. The death of a pedestrian who was flung into the windshield of a car at the notorious crosswalk on Yorba and Sunset is probably one of the worst intersections for pedestrians in the city.

I used to commute along Sunset Boulevard to/from the Outer Richmond district and SF State, and I never liked driving it because of the danger factor. I decided to drive along the Upper Great Highway as an alternative because it was safer.

Here's a list of incidents I've encountered on Sunset Boulevard that made me switch to the Upper Great Highway:

1: On numerous occasions, I've stopped for pedestrians waiting to cross at non-signal controlled intersections. Almost every time I've stopped, I've seen other drivers buzz by without even slowing down either on my right or left. I've even stuck my arm out to warn drivers on my left to stop and let the pedestrian cross safely. On a few other occasions, I've stopped for the pedestrian, only to be honked by the driver behind me and that driver merging into another lane just to pass me. Lastly, I've had one incident where I stopped for a St. Ignatius student, only to have a driver cuss me out at the next red light signal.

2: Bad signal timing. The 'green wave' signal pattern is great for drivers as long as you drive at or slightly below the speed limit to keep the cars moving; unfortunately for many years, the city's signal engineers badly timed a signal that encouraged speeding. If you were the lead car waiting at Ocean Avenue (northbound), got the green light, and accelerated to the speed limit (35 MPH), you always got the red light at the Vicente intersection. But for drivers who speed faster at about 40 or greater, by the time the vehicle reaches Vicente, they still have the green for a couple of seconds or blow through the yellow light because they know that going faster than the speed limit guarantees safe passage.

3: Speeding. While the 'green wave' encourages drivers to drive the speed limit, I've seen many drivers speed between Vicente and Ocean because there's no traffic signals for an entire half a mile.

4: Lack of enforcement. I've complained to SFPD's Taraval station to do something about the speeding problems and dangerous crosswalks only to get nothing in return. I've only encountered one pedestrian sting at the Yorba and Sunset crosswalk, and it nabbed a ton of drivers who blew through.

5: Too many accidents. I've seen too many on Sunset. I've seen a car vs. pedestrian crash on Sunset and Noriega, a car going too fast that slammed on their brakes too late and smashed into a stalled car, and a few cars that have flipped over when they go too fast on the curvy road between Sunset & Ocean and Lake Merced & Winston.

This is why I took a different route instead of Sunset Boulevard. The road rage alone really messed up my psyche, and at least the Great Highway was a more smoother commute and relaxing.

City Only Takes Action When Someone Dies
It's not a great thing for me to say this: When the city really wants to invest in intersection and road changes, they only take real action when someone dies. Here's a great example of a major change:

At the intersection of 47th Avenue and Fulton, it was a two-way stop for north and south traffic. Those going east and west along Fulton had no stop sign. Residents in the neighborhood hated the intersection because it was too dangerous to cross and cars had to quickly get through the intersection with major blind spots giving limited view of incoming cars.

The neighbors complained to the city, asking for a 4-way stop. I asked the city myself for the 4-way stop, only to get a written response later on stating they will not change to a 4-way stop because it would "delay Muni." Instead, the city lengthened the red zone so the cars stopped northbound and southbound could see better for incoming traffic.

It wasn't until one day, a pedestrian crossing the street was hit and killed by a car on Fulton (remember, 47th Avenue and Fulton didn't have a stop sign for eastbound and westbound Fulton) that change was coming. After that point, people started leafleting the neighborhood campaigning for a 4-way stop to be at the intersection. In the end, we got our 4-way stop and now it's a lot safer.

Sadly, it took a pedestrian death to make a change. Hearing from the city saying that a 4-way stop would "delay Muni" before the pedestrian death was a horrible mistake.

It makes me frustrated that a lot of these improvement projects comes at the cost of someone getting killed before action can take place. Why did the city and state government (since it's also a state highway) install a brand new pedestrian warning signal along Sloat Boulevard? That's because a Lowell High student was struck and killed by a driver.

However, I will applaud the city for making some improvements without hearing about someone getting killed, such as the traffic calming project along 25th Avenue in the Outer Richmond district. Four lanes was too narrow and dangerous for drivers, but when it was reduced to two lanes (one each direction) and a middle turnout lane, things was a lot better and calmer.

How I Would Improve Sunset Boulevard
If I had all the money I wanted and can flex the laws, here's what I'd do:

1: Reduce the speed limit to 30.
2: Put those radar traffic signs that tells drivers how fast they are driving.
3: Install traffic signals along every intersection.
4: Cut lanes from 3 each way to two
5: Fix the 'green wave' signals to not reward drivers who speed. I've heard of some signals intentionally give a red light when a driver goes too fast, a nice punishment.
6: Improved lighting at intersections. For us drivers, it's our responsibility to identify pedestrians at every crosswalk and intersection we approach. Having bright lights at the intersections during the night helps us see better, especially when a pedestrian is wearing all black or colors that blend into the background, such as wearing green or brown as Sunset Boulevard's sidewalks are full of trees and dirt.
7: Using the extra space from reducing from 3 to two lanes, I would make bigger pedestrian refuge zones with steel barricades at the medians and crosswalk bulb outs so pedestrians would cross less of the road.
8: I would eliminate the Muni stops at Yorba and remove the dangerous crosswalk. Instead, I would move the stops closer to the Sloat overpass and build stairwells, and accessible ramps or elevators so people can use those to get from one side to the other without crossing six lanes of Sunset.

Muni Substituting Diesels on Trolleybus Lines on Sunday - Major Delays to Happen

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 19:18:00 +0000

This Sunday is the big NFC championship game where the 49ers are traveling to Seattle to face the Seahawks. But the more troubling issue is why Muni is not allowing any trolleybuses to run in the city, and instead substituting it for diesels all Sunday.

From the Chronicle, the reason why the trolleybuses are being locked in the garage is a precaution in case there's fans rioting in the streets.

Riots? If citizens wants to riot, they'll vandalize or destroy any Muni bus they please, regardless if it is diesel or electric.

The truth of the matter is, if Muni takes all the electric trolleybuses off the streets on Sunday, you will experience severe delays on all trolleybus lines. There are not enough diesel buses to make-up for a huge loss.

And how do I know of the delays? Last week Saturday, Muni switched all electric lines running along Market street to diesel only (excluding the 14-Mission), but they had a legitimate excuse, there was major road construction on Market and it blocked the overhead wires and the tracks used by the F-Market. I ride the 6-Parnassus, but the diesel buses ran too far apart, with wait times of 30 to 40 minutes; normally the wait with trolleybuses is about 15-20 minutes. Even the bus substitution for the F-Market was terrible, I was waiting 25 minutes for a bus that was sardine packed; after that point, I turned around and went home.

But wait, there's more. This Sunday, Muni is cutting-off all Cable Car and F-Market service and they are also going on diesel as well. For the entire three day weekend, the N-Judah will not run trains from Duboce and Church to Ocean Beach, and instead run much slower and smaller capacity buses. This means that all the diesel lines will be STRETCHED THIN.

I seriously question the SFMTA's choices of cutting-off all the trolleybus lines for diesels. Like I said earlier, with all the lines being forced to diesels, there is not enough diesel buses to make-up a huge gap like this.

Don't Anger the Casino Junket Buses in San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 07:24:00 +0000

The local news is reporting about a plan for the city government to charge shuttle bus companies who pick-up their passengers at public transit stops to pay a fee every time the company uses the stops.

In my opinion, it's a fair compromise that would then sanction/legally allow private shuttle companies to use the stops to pick-up commuters and take them to their technology company jobs. A lot of people enjoy this shuttle service perk because they don't have to drive, and one single bus can take dozens of cars off the congested roads and highways.

On the other hand, protesters have made two points, the use of public transit stops for other than public transit buses is illegal, and that it's driving-up the costs of housing in San Francisco. I can understand the illegal use of a transit stop, but I'm not against tech folks finding residence here in San Francisco; they have the money, so let them spend on what they want. Living in San Francisco is a great experience with tons of cultures and world class food; how boring would it to be living in some city with a not so interesting neighborhood?

If the city just kept giving a blind eye on the illegal use of a transit stop, shuttle bus companies have a couple of choices: Either risk the $271 fine for parking in a transit stop, or double park as the double park penalty is much lower than a transit stop violation.

But there's a bigger question out there: How about the gambling buses?

Way before technology companies made it big with shuttle buses picking-up passengers, the casino junket buses was driving people up to Cache Creek casino on a regular basis by using transit bus stops and double parking on the streets. Now with even more casinos within a reasonable vicinity of San Francisco, I see more of them daily.

I feel the city is still going to give a blind eye on the casino junket buses and protesters wouldn't dare to block the casino buses. Why? Simply my dear, it's the angry old Chinese ladies. If you know about the ones who shove their way into a Muni metro vehicle at Powell station, good luck blocking a casino bus while the pink bag ladies will kick their asses. It may sound amusing, but it's the fear factor that keeps the city government and protesters away.

Youth Clipper Card Applicant Process Streamlined - Photo Requirement Eliminated for AC Transit 31-Day Pass Eligibility

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:09:00 +0000

New word from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is all youth Clipper card users can now obtain their AC Transit 31-day passes without the need to have a specialized Clipper card with their photo on it (only issued by AC Transit). This also allows all youth card applicants to be able to apply through any transit agency's ticket office, email, or fax.

The Commission stated the AC Transit Board of Directors eliminated the photo on card requirement because it was a hindrance to all youth in the transit service area to get a specialized card to be eligible to purchase the 31-day pass.

In the Past
Before the change in this policy, any youth needing to purchase a 31-day pass for AC Transit must obtain a special Clipper card that's only issued by AC Transit. The special card requires the youth to have their photo taken by AC Transit staff and put on the card.

For youth without the special AC Transit endorsed Clipper card, the passenger did not have the option to purchase a 31-day pass on their card, but was still eligible to pay the youth single-ride fare with e-cash.

For youth needing the specialized card, this was a frustrating process for them. No other transit agency required youth card applicants to go through the additional hoops, and that caused massive delays for AC Transit, upset parents who could not get the cards in time for the school year, and youth forced to pay cash fare and spend more money than the price of a pass.

Also, for any youth cardholder that lost their card, the card can only be re-issued by AC Transit, unlike the various and easier methods to obtain a replacement for non-AC Transit youth card users.

Akit's Opinions
It's a great step to streamlining the process, but the question I want to ask AC Transit is: Why did you create a policy to put a photo on each youth card? They knew the Clipper card program will be reaching millions of Bay Area citizens and the number of applicants was going to explode when the 31-day youth mag stripe pass was to be eliminated and only be sold on Clipper cards, and other transit agencies don't take a photograph at all.

What was really the point? Prevent parents from stealing the card and riding the buses for cheap? Like the bus drivers even care to look at one's card or ask questions. They hear the single beep, and all is well.

The possibility of card abuse is real. But by not streamlining the youth card applicant process that's universal with other transit agencies, it definitely outweighs the number of adults abusing the youth card's special privileges.

Muni's 10-Ride Ticket Books (Tokens) Finally Gets a Grave

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 19:11:00 +0000

Quietly announced this morning, the people at the SFMTA announced the upcoming end of sales of Muni 10-ride ticket books sold for Clipper cards. The sales will end starting on January 1, 2014 and any person who has in possession a 10-ride on their card must use them no later than July 1, 2014.

Why are the 10-ride ticket books going to extinction? It's elementary, Watson; you see, the 10-ride books was not sold at a discount, so it's the equivalent as paying in cash or Clipper e-cash. 10 ride books costs $20, but the regular adult Muni fare is $2 a piece, so the ten-ride book basically dug itself its own grave.

A Little History About Multi-Ride Books and Why it's Dying a Horrible Death
Back in the 'good old days' of Muni, they sold tokens in bags of ten. The little coins was sold in bulks of ten so passengers can save 25 cents per ride. It wasn't until 2005 when a fare hike from $1.25 adult cash fare went up to $1.50 caused the little coin's demise.

Since the regular cash fare and passes was going up, people wanted a fare product that was resistant to the hikes, and that was the Muni token. People decided to hoard them by buying as much as they can, that Muni was starting to run short of the coins, had to limit customers to how many bags they could buy, and decided to not produce more coins because it costs more to produce them.

Muni transitioned during that time from actual metal tokens to paper token tickets to meet demand. But with a new policy of no discounts, people who decided to buy them had to spend $15 for a 10-ride ticket book; this meant a very small population of San Franciscans and commuters could use the ticket books because of programs like Commuter Check which had to be spent on physical transit media, like the 10-ride books. This program continued for a long time until the Clipper card came to life.

Strangely, when the Clipper card debut and the new Muni metro station ticket machines opened-up, Muni stopped selling the actual paper 10-ride tickets in favor of having passengers load them onto Clipper cards. But since there were no discounts for buying in bulk, the demise of the 10-rides was going down the drain even more. People who used commuter benefits programs are now able to transfer their benefit funds into Clipper e-cash funds that was universal money good on many transit agencies.

Basically, with Muni's decision to not provide bulk discounts for buying transit rides in advance is the primary reason in my opinion that the ten-ride books are finally being executed by a firing squad.

If you want to learn more about the history of Muni tokens and it's eventual death, read a past blog entry I wrote three years ago.

Akit's Opinions & The Future?
I think it's fine for Muni to finally end the 10-ride books. The end of the books means that the Clipper card sales options will be one less, therefore simplifying the already complex Clipper card program crammed with various types of passes, transfer rules, and many other transit agency policies.

But how about Muni taking on the lead like AC Transit by offering passengers paying e-cash with Clipper to get a discount? AC Transit proposed to passengers that if you pay with Clipper, you will save 10 cents from the adult fare, so instead of feeding a cash box $2.10, you just pay $2 with Clipper. Muni should provide this carrot on a stick to encourage passengers to use Clipper to reduce delays because of passengers paying in cash.

Photo of Muni ticket book by Flickr user: cbcastro using a Creative Commons License.
Photo of Muni tokens in hand by Flickr user: joe.moore using a Creative Commons License.

A Look Into Fare Change Proposals for AC Transit

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 18:05:00 +0000

This afternoon, AC Transit is going to have two hearings about their proposed fare changes to let the general public learn about it and give an opportunity to give their opinion about the matters at hand. The AC Transit board will officially vote on the changes on November 13th, and if approved, will be in effect on July 1, 2014.

Here's their proposed changes:

Local fares:

First ride fare remains the same.
25 cent fee for transfer eliminated.
Instead of a transfer, a day pass is offered.
The day pass can be purchased at the farebox when boarding first bus, or Clipper card users simply 'earn' their day pass after reaching the fare threshold for that day.

Transbay service:

No day pass to be offered for transbay.
No more paper transfers issued. Clipper cards will be only way to process transfers.

Bus Passes:

For adults, the price of the 31-day pass will be reduced from $80 to $75.
For youth, the price of a 31-day pass will increase from $20 to $23.
For seniors and disabled, the price of a monthly pass will increase from $20 to $23.

Fare Discount for Paying with Clipper Card:

Adults will pay 10 cents less than cash fare for local rides.
Youth, seniors, and disabled will pay 5 cents less than cash fare for local rides.

Akit's Opinions
What's the results of these changes? Let's take a deep look into them.

Ending the 25 cent transfers would hurt passengers who ride only the bus a couple of times, but for those who have to transfer multiple times to buses, the day pass is a benefit that saves money. Having Clipper cards offer the day pass when reaching the threshold is a nice benefit as there's no need to worry if a passenger should just pay cash to the farebox or use their Clipper card instead.

Encouraging passengers to use a Clipper card for transbay service is practical common sense. If a passenger intends to transfer to/from a local bus, using the Clipper card automatically determines if the transfer is valid or not, and it saves the agency on paper and trash waste.

It's quite unusual to see bus pass fares drop for adults while everyone else pays a little more. But their explanation that they want to make the pass prices fair for everyone makes sense. They want to make the pass the price of taking the bus 36 times in a 31 day period, therefore necessitating the need to make it even across the board.

Offering a fare discount for paying with Clipper is one of the best ideas ever. It's a great incentive to help board passengers faster because it only takes a second to tag your Clipper card, versus the time it takes to feed dollar bills into a fare box. If AC Transit can run their buses quicker because of Clipper, everyone wins.

What's Worse Than Nail Clipping on Muni? Using Your Speakerphone

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 20:55:00 +0000

The annoying ass perp in pink.

I've blogged in the past about people who have done some annoying stuff on Muni (see questions and thoughts while riding Muni). Number one was nail clipping because the sound is so irritating, but I think I found my new number one annoyance while riding Muni.

If you've watched the season premiere of South Park, it showed an irritated Kyle who is frustrated at Eric Cartman for having conversations on his cell phone by using his speakerphone everywhere he goes.

But while that happened in the animated television world, it happened on Saturday early afternoon when I was taking the 44 bus going northbound. When the bus was in Golden Gate Park to stop in front of the Academy of Sciences, I saw a woman pull out her smartphone and was making a phone call. All seemed normal at that point until I started hearing the automated telephone greeting through her speakerphone.

The entire back half the bus can hear the automated message on her phone and she was able to connect to a telephone operator to ask questions and get responses. To make matters even more amusing, it was a conversation with the operator that would be confidential or a private matter, such as calling your credit card company or your doctor. She continued having the conversation back and forth between the operator, and I can hear the conversation while I was listening to music with my headphones. I snapped a couple of pictures of her so I can humiliate her on my blog, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

Get off the bus and chat.

The people around me was rolling their eyes at her while the conversation kept going on, and it finally stopped when she exited the bus at 6th Avenue and Geary. Thank my patience for not outbursting and telling her to shut the hell up or stop using the speakerphone, because I was getting close to doing just that.

Are some people so oblivious these days they'd pull a stunt like that on public transit? It's a private conversation you fool! Even the automated message on the bus reminds passengers to refrain from using their cell phones to prevent crime; it should also be a crime to yack on your cell phone with the speaker on.

No More Negative Clipper Card Balance to Exit BART - Starting October 5th

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 23:55:00 +0000

If you recall from a few years back, the Clipper card allowed BART passengers to enter the system with a minimum value on their card and exit the system with a negative balance. If the card was unregistered, the card can be easily thrown in the trash and the taxpayer takes the brunt for the lost money. Thanks to some news reporters exposing this problem, it exploded to the point where tens of thousands of dollars was being lost per month because people could cheat the system. I tried to help mitigate the problem by encouraging people not to cheat the system.

Back in September 2011, the MTC estimated the loss due to people dumping their Clipper cards with negative balances was $360,000 in lost fare revenue, and when combined with the cost to procure the Clipper cards, the grand total was $700,000 a year. It wasn't until June 2012 that the MTC had the guts to get the paperwork signed-off to get that loophole closed for the BART system.

The New Official Policy:
Over a year after the MTC approved the funding, BART made an announcement yesterday (September 30th) on their website. It basically says that starting October 5, 2013, passengers will not be able to exit the system with a negative balance on their Clipper card. Passengers with a card balance not enough to exit the system, will need to use an exitfare machine to add funds in order to be able to exit the system.

But there's a few catches with using the exitfare machines:
(1) You can only pay in cash to add additional funding to your card. No credit or debit cards.
(2) It will only top-off to the amount necessary to exit the system. That means once you paid the amount to the machine and exit BART, your card balance will be zero.
(3) The maximum amount of change the machine will return is $4.95. Only have a $20 and you owe BART a dollar? You just got screwed.

Two easy tips to avoiding the exitfare machines:
(1) If you have autoload (in which I personally do not recommend), you don't have to worry about using an exitfare machine because your card will automatically reload funds at a set tolerance limit.
(2) If you do not use autoload, keep an eye on your Clipper Card balance and make sure you add additional funds as necessary at any BART ticketing machine.

SF's 10 Cent Restaurant Take-Out Bag Ordinance - Another Stupid Law from Your City Government

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 17:40:00 +0000

The San Francisco city government is going to regret this...

Starting this Tuesday, October 1, 2013, a city ordinance will now require all food establishments to stop giving out plastic bags, and all delivery and take-out bags will cost a minimum of 10 cents each.

Due to the end of plastic bags, food establishments can only give out: paper bags with a minimum 40% post recycled user content (most commonly used), compostable plastic bag, or a washable checkout bag that can be used more than 125 times (e.g. cloth bag).

But there are a few exceptions that has no ten cent charge that I'll highlight: Bags for things like bulk foods, candy, and to serve popcorn are exempt. A bag used to contain seafood, meat, and frozen items. A plastic bag is acceptable to seal items to prevent damage, mostly liquid items like soups and curries. Lastly, there is no fee if you receive a doggy bag for your leftover food.

It Hurts Businesses
What does this mean for our city's restaurant establishments? For those that has mostly dine-in patrons, the law won't impact them as badly because as I stated before, a doggy bag for leftovers is free.

But for those whose business is a majority of take-out, delivery, owns a bakery, or a fast food establishment, this bag law will be a problem. It casts a negative aspect that every time a patron comes to order a meal, they will be forced to surrender an extra ten cents, by law, just so they can bring it in their office or bring it home to feed their family.

I'm predicting that if the ten cent bag law casts huge negative attention, people will stop going to establishments that exclusively depends on giving customers a bag to take their food items, baked goods, and their burger. And what does that mean to everybody? Businesses will lose their loyal customers, businesses will lose profits, the city and state will have less tax revenue to receive, and with less tax money coming in, less money can be spent by the government for the services used by the public.

Fast Food Restaurants Will Take a Hit
Take a look at McDonalds and Burger King, a majority of their restaurant patrons take it to-go. I feel a lot of patrons will be grumpy that they are forced with the choice of eating-in (if they have the time), bringing their own bag which will then get all greasy and sticky, or fork over the ten cents in the name of greedy city government stupidvisors.

The 10 Cent Bag Law when comparing a Restaurant versus Grocery Store
When you compare food establishments versus grocery stores, there's a big difference with the 10 cent bag law. At least when you buy groceries, bringing your own bag is fine because the products you buy are unlikely going to leak or stink up your bag. But if you buy hot food items from a restaurant, bringing your own bag is a horrible idea because the smell of the food might stay into the fabrics, it might leak and make a greasy or sticky mess, and in the long run, reusable bags means after a small amount of use, people will likely throw it away and not wash it.

Akit's Opinions
I don't like the idea of forcing a 10 cent bag law on food establishments. Restaurants that heavily depend on deliveries and take-out will get hurt the most. Some of you might say it's just ten cents, but for someone like me who doesn't always have money to burn, I might as well get my take-out dinners from Daly City since I work not far at SF State.

Being Patient and Being Rude on the Streets of San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +0000

I've mentioned before that driving can be stressful, but it can also be a pleasure when things go right.

I'd like to share with you something that happened yesterday (Monday) while driving from a neighborhood restaurant to a store where I needed to pick-up something.

An instance of being nice:
I've blogged before about the law requiring all drivers to stop behind a Muni metro vehicle while it is accepting and discharging passengers. On Judah, the street is notorious for stops that would discharge passengers and the possibility of a car would zoom by with total disregard of the people.

While waiting just a block from Sunset Boulevard, I stopped behind a two-car Muni metro N-Judah vehicle and had to wait over a minute for the traffic signal to turn green and the train to start moving. While waiting behind the second car, I noticed several cars behind me, including a taxicab; but fortunately, none of them honked at me or drive like a fool to get around me. When the signal changed and the train moved, everyone just drove on.

An instance of being rude:
While driving on Winston on the north side of San Francisco State University, I noticed a pedestrian wearing black standing at a crosswalk. The crosswalk is not at an intersection, but a dimly lit one that connects one of the university's parking lot to a stairwell leading to the university's corporation yard.

Upon approaching the crosswalk, I slow down and stop. The car going in the other direction does the same by slowing down and stopping.

I lowered my window because the pedestrian was hesitant to cross the street and I wanted to encourage the person to cross as both directions of traffic has stopped. But the driver behind me became quickly impatient and started blowing their horn and flashing the high beams multiple times. I pointed my finger at the pedestrian indicating the reason why I stopped, but the jerk continued to be a prick.

Soon later, the pedestrian crossed the street and thanked the drivers who stopped.

Akit's Opinion
Being calm and polite is the best way to drive. If you want to be a jerk, just don't. I wasn't fond of the driver who was blowing their horn and flashing their high beams while I stopped for a pedestrian waiting to cross the street. I've had some instances where I've stopped behind a metro vehicle, to have another driver get angry that I'm not passing, but I'm not going to risk hitting and killing a Muni passenger.

How I Almost Got Killed Crossing the Street at 9th & Judah Today

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Not long ago I posted a blog entry about bad drivers and pedestrians around 9th Avenue and Judah, and out of coincidence later that day, a pedestrian was hit by a turning N-Judah Muni metro vehicle at the same intersection (via SFist).

Just an hour ago, I left my house and stopped over at Sunset Bakery to pick-up some baked goods, and I waited at the intersection of 9th Avenue and Judah for the pedestrian signal to cross. Once I received the okay from the signal, I crossed the street. At about halfway through the crosswalk, I saw a fast moving SUV making a left turn to go eastbound, and had to slam his brakes because I was still crossing in the middle of the crosswalk.

I yelled "FUCK!" loud when the SUV was approaching and the driver was able to stop with only a few feet between me and death (the bumper).

I was both ticked and really freaked out that this jackass in a red SUV was about to run my ass down and send me on a one-way trip to UCSF or the morgue. He apologized with barely any sincerity, and I gave my last choice words to the fucker.

After handling some other business in the neighborhood, I waited at the 9th Avenue and Judah bus stop to wait for my bus coming in five minutes. I took some time to note down the following violations that was happening in just FIVE MINUTES:

Three cars violating pedestrian right of way, including one when a woman was pushing a stroller and a car making a right turn right in front of the stroller.
Six pedestrians starting to cross the street while the red hand was flashing and less than six seconds left on the clock. Two of the six started crossing the street with less than two seconds.
Several pedestrians crossing against a solid lit red hand during a priority signal for the N-Judah; all pedestrian signals are ordered to stay at no-crossing when the metro has the special signal to turn.
A pedestrian blatantly crossing street against the red while there's incoming traffic; the incoming car with the green light had to blow their horn to warn the idiot.

What a great way to start the weekend.

Nasty Revenge on Neighbor's House in Inner Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Living in the Inner Sunset district has its perks, including the easy access to great restaurants, the N-Judah metro line, and the friendly neighbors.

But this incident I noticed was quite the opposite of "friendly." Last week, I was told by a source that someone's house had graffiti on the walls and the F-word sprayed multiple times.

Seeing that it sparked my interest, I went down to the house and snapped a photo and enlarged them for you to see.

Someone decided to spray paint this green house in the Inner Sunset with the words "FUCK U" three different times. The photo shown only shows it sprayed twice, but it was also sprayed on the far right side of the house.

What I've been told about this particular property is the homeowner is notorious for calling the police on a regular basis because someone parks their vehicle too close to the edge of their driveway.

In some cases the car is determined to be within the legal limits, while other times the car is ordered to be towed by the city's contracted towing company and the fee to retrieve the car is well over $400.00 right next door to the Hall of Justice.

The parking stall is not that large, but not too small. It can comfortably take a sub-compact car and likely a compact, but not a full size.

The homeowner really drives the point home that he/she doesn't like anyone overlapping their driveway by just even an inch by installing the yellow sign on the utility pole (as seen in the photo). Unfortunately, what the owner has done is not a legal parking sign on public property, and does not meet the criteria for posting bills on utility poles.

A legal parking sign is something the city owns and approves, such as a street sweeping sign or temporary tow-away sign. The criteria for private citizens to post items on utility poles is it must conform to the pole (a piece of paper wraps around the pole, a sign doesn't), and it must be no larger than a letter size sheet of paper (which the sign doesn't).

Akit's opinion:
While it's illegal for any person to graffiti someone's house; but frankly, I believe the homeowner deserved it. From asking around, the homeowner loves calling the city to ticket and tow cars on a regular basis, making the person a marked man.

If I was a property owner, I'd be frustrated if someone deliberately blocked my driveway to the point where I can't leave my garage; but if it's a vehicle that encroaches just a tiny bit over, but doesn't cause me turmoil that I'm unable to exit my driveway, likely I'd just leave a courtesy note. The courtesy note would simply just remind the person to not block the driveway in the future.

If I wrote a threatening note or constantly called the cops for the smallest issue, I might as well pray my house won't get spray painted, shot with paintballs, have a rock thrown into the window, or my car getting keyed.

If that green house property owner wants to take some real action without pissing-off the neighbors, do the right thing and pay the $348 fee for the city to paint driveway red tips so people are warned ahead of time to not park within the red zone. If the guy paints his own red tips, that's illegal.

Lastly, if the property owner doesn't want to look like an asshole, please take down the yellow sign. It's like painting a big target on your chest.

The Ten Annoyances Akit Experiences Almost Daily

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:30:00 +0000

I haven't blogged in weeks! Things have been quite busy at my job and now I have a little relief to blog again.

Being a native San Franciscan has its perks, you always know the fastest way on Muni and alternate routes to get to where you need to go, you know the restaurants that are good and pure crap, and you have a bullshit alarm. I'm quite an observant person and that bullshit alarm goes off a ton of times for people doing some stupid crap on the streets of my city; so I want to highlight them:

(1) Idiot Pedestrians - There's nothing worse than the entitled pricks who thinks it's absolutely okay to cross a street against a red signal or jaywalk; and then there are those super entitled pricks who cross in front of an approaching car, as shown in the video above.

(2) Nail Clipping - Nail clipping ain't cool in public. Just yesterday while riding the 6-Parnassus, a lady sitting behind me was clipping her nails during for about 10 minutes. After she finished clipping her nails, I could hear her feet shuffle and her hands sweeping from her clothing; SHE WAS LITTERING HER CLIPPINGS ON THE FLOOR!

(3) Hogging a Muni seat, WITH YOUR FEET - Come on people, don't put your feet on the seat, especially when the vehicle is standing room only. You look like an asshole, and if it was legal, I'd slap you in the face.

(4) Parking #FAIL - It's something I always take with my cell phone when I'm walking the streets. People think it's absolutely fine to park illegally where ever they want. There might be that lucky chance the fine folks at the SFMTA will be around to give a nice fat ticket to the car, but likely car owners will get away with it; and even if they get a ticket, they'll say it's well worth that fine. In the photo above, I caught this car on Saturday parked on 9th Avenue in front of Kiki's restaurant; having a disabled placard is not an excuse to park like an idiot.

(5) Bad bicycle riders - There are some good bicycle riders, then there are the ones who deserve to get hit by a car. On Saturday, I was waiting my turn to cross the street directly across from the Exploratorium at Pier 15 and I see two bicyclists decide to go through the intersection while an incoming car was approaching and had the green light to proceed through the intersection. If it wasn't for the actions of the driver to slam his brakes, swerve, and blow the horn, the two helmet-less bicyclists would have been likely dead. Just yesterday, I can't believe how many people blow the stop signs on the bike route known as "the wiggle."

(6) Illegal U-Turns - Ever since I moved into the Inner Sunset district, I'm not too far away from the 9th Avenue business district. I see tons of drivers making u-turns in the middle of the block, and most of the time, do it unsuccessfully in the first attempt. It turns up to be more like a nine point turn. But as you see in the video, making a u-turn in a business district is a traffic violation, and especially since 9th Avenue has metro rail tracks, those who u-turn might as well be lucky a train hasn't slammed into their car, because in the battle of Muni metro versus a car, Muni metro wins with a flawless victory.

(7) Bad neighbors - I hate my next door neighbors because they don't shut the hell up. They like to talk loud with their window open at 3AM. One night, the idiots decided to crank the music so loud, I can feel my walls vibrate. At least when I yelled at them that I would threaten to call the cops, that's when they stopped.

(8) Stopping at intersections - Driving my car is stressful, especially when approaching an intersection. I always follow the rules, such as stopping completely before the limit line, and at an all-way stop, making sure to go when it's supposed to be my turn. But you always see those who pull a "California stop" by only slowing down at the limit line, but then hits the gas and goes through. There's also those who go out-of-turn at the all-way stop intersections, which frustrates me because they know the basic rule: First come, first served, and if two vehicles stops at the same time, the right vehicle goes first.

(9) Last minute lane changes - Another instance of why I hate driving. People try to make a last second lane change because they don't want to be in the turn lane they are in. Here's a bad one I was nearly a victim of: Three lanes, a Muni bus in the far left lane, and I'm in the middle lane. At the green light, the Muni bus speeds forward to cut me off and cut from the #1 lane to the #3 lane to reach the curb for the bus stop. Not cool.

(10) - I'm leaving this one blank for you, my blog fans. What would you suggest for number ten? Leave a comment.

DPW Gives No Citations and Inspects TWO DAYS AFTER Tow-Away Permit Expires for Champion Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 05:09:00 +0000

Before you start reading this blog entry: If you haven't read the entire saga, start with the initial story, the laws I reference, and a first update.

Calling 311 for a Case Update
After I filed a report with 311, and was forwarded to the Department of Public Works for an inspection to be completed, I didn't hear a peep until I called 311 for an update this evening.

The update I was given by the 311 operator about my case, the DPW inspector went to the location on JULY 29TH. That's TWO DAYS after the construction signs expired and the construction crew finished the job; this meant the DPW inspector could not site Champion Cleaning for breaking multiple laws, including the Transportation and Public Works Codes (click here to review the laws I cite for this particular incident).

Also, didn't the inspector notice the traffic cones with the signs on them too? The cones with the signs are still on the streets today (July 30th). The laws explicitly states it must be posted on wood, metal, a construction fence, and a wood/metal pole (e.g. telephone pole and parking meter pole). Putting it on a traffic cone is unacceptable.

The watch says 7/28. It's an atomic watch. Click to enlarge.

I should also note, as the tow-away signs are still on the streets and was not removed after the tow-away period ended (July 27th), Champion Cleaning also broke another law, Public Works Code 724.3 (a) states: "...and shall remove it immediately upon termination of the permit." The signs, a-frames and cones are still on my street on July 30th, and the inspector missed that one too when inspecting the location on July 29th. See photo with the watch.

It begs to ask the question, why did DPW take so long to investigate this?

Here's an example of a situation where DPW fails at their job:
Today is Friday, and a construction company wants to do some underground work on my street. The project is going to happen on Saturday and Sunday, and I witnessed the tow away signs are being posted this morning, and the signs states the tow-away is effective on the upcoming weekend.

I call 311 at 8AM and complain to the city that the construction company placed the signs with less than the mandatory minimum of 72 hours notice, and they forward my case to DPW. However, the DPW inspector doesn't go on Friday, they go on Monday when the construction project is already completed and the tow-away permit has already expired; therefore DPW cannot cite the construction company for violating the law.

It's the same exact situation to me. I complained to the city on Thursday morning, and they don't send an inspector until Monday when Champion Cleaning is long gone and the permit for the tow-away is expired.

If DPW doesn't quickly investigate citizen complaints of construction companies posting tow-away signs giving less than 72 hours notice, any construction project that lasts 3 days or less can easily get away with breaking the law multiple times and not get caught; this is because the agency won't send an investigator for a few days. By the time DPW investigates, there's nothing to find, therefore no citations issued.

When I called DPW on Friday morning, the lady said it's likely an investigator won't show-up until Monday; I even told her that by Monday, the construction crew will be LONG GONE.

A Horrible Conversation with the 311 Operator
When I was having a conversation late this evening with the 311 operator, he said that if someone's car was towed away, the person could argue at a hearing that 72 hours notice was not provided, and the car should be released at no charge.

Does this 311 operator know how annoying it is to get your car towed all the way across the city to a lot next to the Hall of Justice, and hassle with getting a hearing at the SFMTA office on Van Ness & Market? There is the possibility the city may say the tow was valid when you know it isn't, and you'll be paying over $400.00 for the tow fee, plus any possible storage fees at the lot. But don't forget, if you have a job, taking time-off to go to the tow lot and get that tow hearing means lost pay or losing your vacation time you've saved.

If one of my neighbor's car was towed the same day they plopped that sign on my street, you might expect the the owner of the car to have a fistfight with the constriction workers the next day for calling the tow truck.

If Champion Cleaning gave the required 72 hours notice, this means none of my neighbors' cars would be towed (unless if they can't read).

Note: I do not know if any cars was towed on my block or not. I have to assume it didn't happen.

--------------------

Hello, Police?
I also have to ask the question. As I was present when an infraction was committed (watching Champion Cleaning crews placing the signs), why did the police refuse to help me by telling me to call a different city department? Why didn't the officer at the Taraval station let me file a police report, or why didn't an officer drop by and talk to me so I can sign a citizen's arrest card?

A crime was committed, and if I read the state laws about citizen's arrest correctly, a citizen can sign a citizen's arrest card if the citizen personally witnessed an infraction, misdemeanor, or felony was committed.

Yeah, it makes me look like an asshole by calling the cops and if they arrived to give them a ticket, but at least Champion Cleaning would know that you don't mess with the neighborhood residents, especially those who left their car on the street and took Muni to work.

Don't mess with Akit, you'll get nailed on my blog.

The Lesson?
So what should the city government and construction workers learn from this?

Champion Cleaning must respect the laws regarding 72 hours minimum notice.
Do not put signs on cones.
DPW needs to respond to these allegations much sooner.
The police needs to respond if a person witnesses a crime.
Stop making citizens call in circles to get the proper people to respond to this problem. I shouldn't have to call three city agencies and be told it's "somebody else's problem."
Don't fuck with Akit and his neighbors. If Champion Cleaning continues to do the same practice they've done on my block and others nearby, expect another angry blog entry and a phone call to the Mayor.

Lastly, a commentator said I'm "a pain in the ass," in a good way! Thanks Mike!

The War Against Illegal Tow-Away Construction Zone Signs (Champion Cleaning)

noreply@blogger.com (Akit) — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 00:24:00 +0000

Hello assholes!

The saga continues. Get yourself up to speed by reading my first blog entry about this, and the second one.

On Friday morning, I decided to make a call to San Francisco 311 for an update. The answer I got back was the same old thing: They took my report, passed it on to Department of Public Works, and that was it. I asked the operator to transfer me to the DPW and I spoke with a female staff member on the phone. I explained the situation to her, provided my 311 case number, and said an inspector will be investigating it three days.

Three days? I told the lady the construction signs and crew will be long gone within 48 hours. I tried to put some pressure on her to get the shit done, I also asked her what DPW will do if Champion Cleaning calls for a tow truck when they failed to provide a minimum of 72 hours notice of posting the signs. She couldn't answer.

It seems every time I call the city, many either don't give a damn, don't want to be helpful, or just pass the buck onto some other department. I work for the State of California, but I don't treat people like crap; I treat them nicely as best as I can, and make sure if they contacted me by accident, I put them back on the right path to the right people who can answer their questions.

On Saturday (today), I went out in the morning and on the ride back on the 6-Parnassus, I noticed a white van parked in the middle of the block on 9th Avenue. I decided to hop-off the bus and take a look around. Other than the van in the middle accessing the sewer opening, I saw one of their employees sitting on someone's property and having a smoke break.

Now I'm wondering if any cars got towed or not. Since it's after 5PM and the signs are now expired, parking is now restored. But if they try to pull another fast one and throw some more tow signs without advance notice, I'll be hounding DPW again.

As for DPW, I'll be calling them again on Monday for an update.