MTA eyes high-tech transit relief
By: Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
October 14, 2008
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| Muni makeover: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is looking to improve its customer service through greater use of improved technology. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Riding a Muni bus or paying a parking citation can ruin one’s day by eating up more time than expected. But a set of new and unique ideas could bring relief to parking and transit aggravation in San Francisco.
The Bay Area’s busiest transit agency is proposing a number of high-tech measures that go above and beyond the usual customer services. Among the proposals is allowing a driver to type a code into a wheel clamp or boot to release it from the vehicle as well as doing away with residential parking stickers by creating electronic parking permits.
The new proposals are part of a proposed five-year, $53 million contract between the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Philadelphia-based PRWT Services Inc. to process citations.
“All of the options are intended to help us improve customer service, mostly through improved technology,” MTA spokesman Judson True said.
Among them is the installation of 100 cameras, costing up to $32,000 apiece, on Muni buses and street sweepers to nab one large contributor to slowing down Muni buses — illegally parked cars. When the cameras automatically detect an illegally parked car they read the license plate, capture an image of the offense and issue a citation.
But those citations could take less time to pay under another Muni proposal to install a number of kiosks in city offices to accept payment of fines and provide parking permits. Each kiosk would cost the transit agency $13,000.
Another matter that consumes a lot of time to set right is the metal boot attched to a vehicle’s wheel. The agency may employ 30 electronic boots, which would result in an estimated 4,000 cars to be clamped per year. Car owners could release the boot by keying in a code they are given once they pay their fines over their phone using a credit card. The driver would have to drop the boot off at an MTA location.
The agency may also do away with those residential parking stickers by creating electronic parking permits which parking control officers could read with a wireless device, a service costing about $500,000 annually. If a driver with a permit relocates to another neighborhood, the device only has to be reprogrammed — as opposed to obtaining a new color-coded sticker.
Under the proposed contract, the MTA would pay the company about $46 million for five years and possibly an additional $7.6 million for the extras. The extras include $3 million for the cameras, $2.1 million for the electrical parking permits and $2 million for the electric boots.
The Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on the contract Wednesday.
Moving propositions
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency may implement the following options:
100 cameras on buses and street-sweepers for automatic citation of those parked illegally. Cost: Up to $32,000 per camera 5-year total: $3M
Electronic residential parking permit, eliminating use of stickers. Cost: $500,000 annually 5-year total: $2M
30 electronic boots. Specialized boots will be released by driver with code once fines paid. Cost: $100 per booted vehicle 5-year total: $2M
Kiosks in city offices to accept citation payments and issue parking permits. Cost: $13,000 per kiosk
Create plan to sell unused advertising space, i.e. back of transfers
Source: Budget Analyst’s report on MTA contract with PRWT Services Inc.
My story
“It does take a long time for some people to get onto trains when they are paying their fare.”
Andrew Kendall, 23,Sunset District
“But I don’t know if it’s a technology issue when it comes to Muni being on time. I think it’s a people thing.”
