Market Street Railway is delighted to join many others in welcoming Ed Reiskin as Executive Director/CEO of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The Chronicle’s Rachel Gordon has an overview today of what he faces in his new job.
We’re pleased that he has already asked to meet with our leadership and learn more about our support activities for the F-line streetcars and cable cars, and we’ll be doing that in the next few weeks. We agree with the Chronicle article that he faces a tough situation, with very tight budgets and very high expectations. We respect the many competing interests he faces but believe he will support a fair allocation of resources to these highly popular services. We also believe his community orientation will lead him to support recommendations we’ve made to speed F-line service, such as allowing all-door boarding with Proof of Payment (POP); additional vehicles on line to meet demand, and full, permanent operation of the E-Embarcadero line to meet both America’s Cup demand and the growing transit needs of South Beach and the northeastern waterfront.
One more thing: while as a non-profit we can’t endorse candidates for public office, we thank Mayor Lee for supporting the appointment of Ed Reiskin, and the SFMTA Board for appointing him. Understanding the community’s needs and desires for its transportation system is a key to success for any SFMTA leader; Ed Reiskin has already proved his understanding of the community at the Department of Public Works. We hope the winner of November’s mayoral election, no matter who it is, will give Ed Reiskin a full and fair shot at professionally managing SFMTA. Contrary to some of the snarky (and clueless) comments we read on blogs, it’s a very tough job, one worth paying well for.
