Last post of 2024 and well worth a read. MUNI is the musculature and connective tissue that binds our city together and makes it work.
Mr. MUNI - Jeffrey Tumin November 19th, 2022
By Rachel Swan, Reporter Dec 31, 2024 - San Francisco Chronicle
When Jeffrey Tumlin took his post as San Francisco’s top transportation official in late 2019, he had marching orders to get Muni running on time and stop the transit system’s equipment meltdowns — with no warning that, in three months, a global pandemic would plunge the transit system into crisis.
Preparing to step down five years later, Tumlin remembered that period not only for the tumult it brought, but for the reforms it inspired. Forced to overhaul the bus and rail system in the course of a weekend, he and his team made adjustments that would stick long after the shutdowns were over.
Innovations in scheduling, aimed to cope with operator absences during COVID, ultimately made buses more reliable. Other experiments, such as Slow Streets program, reflected Tumlin’s philosophy of street design: Sacrifice convenience for cars to promote safety for bikes and pedestrians.
The idea inflamed a culture war, and by the end of his term, Tumlin was among San Francisco’s most polarizing leaders. He’s come to accept that status, openly wondering whether any San Francisco transportation chief can take risks, and try to change the geometry of city streets, without provoking ire.
Tumlin will leave at a moment when the way we move around the city is transforming radically, with self-driving cars on the rise just as commuting numbers decline — a shift that’s caused devastating financial losses for Muni and other transit agencies. San Francisco’s longtime transit director Julie Kirschbaum will replace Tumlin while the city searches for a permanent successor.
In a wide-ranging exit interview, Tumlin shared his thoughts about the future, voiced skepticism of autonomous vehicles and explained why transportation has become such a raw topic in San Francisco.
Outgoing Muni chief Jeffrey Tumlin on the real reason robotaxis are bad for S.F.
Greg