earlier, supervisor brinkman mentioned the an exexpress is up and running. we launched on june 13 to relieve overcrowding on the light rail line. this has been in operation a little over a week and we are pleased to report the ridership is growing daily and feedback from our customers is positive and constructive. this service has been a model for what we are considering a proactive line management program and we have achieved record-setting on time performance with the service. also notable with this pilot that the vehicles have special paint schemes and new signage to make the route very simple and recognizable for customers. that seems to have contributed to the growth in rydership. the success has directly translated into reduced crowding and more comfortable conditions on our rail line, and it's helped us with those heavy stops

such as carlin cove, and we used m.t.a. ambassadors to support this launch. again, customary information being key here, to make sure it was a success. we have received positive feedback, and we will come back to you in about another month or two to give you an update on how we are progressing with this project. mr. chairman, members of the board and public, that completes my executive director's report. >> thank you, mr. ford. members of the board, questions or comments? >> mr. chairman, you do have members of the public that wish to address you.

mr. chairman, there are several members of the public who have turned in speaker cards and i understand you have set a time limit of one minute. >> also, let me say in the beginning that two items -- two items that are on the calendar, one item is on the calendar this afternoon. for those who have come to talk about the personnel issues involved in the transition, that item will be heard aft a

closed session this afternoon. and secondly, there are no sanction items on our agenda, that's why we're limiting it to one minute. we have heard repeatedly from folks, so we're anxious to hear from you. let's go. >> christopher fulkerson. >> thank you, directors. should be appropriate to say i'm in solidarity with today's taxi demonstration as a matter of legitimate concern for laborers who are true to their work and unreasonable and ignorant threats to these. one unreasonable threat to these is the m.t.a.'s obsolete con flation of service with more cabs. malcolm heinicke is most consistent on this mistake. i'd like to ask what good service makes good dispatch?

don't you understand? of the recent recommendation, the most useful to genuinely improving taxi service, making a google map type of publicly operated cab dispatch. that would answer mr. whit's recent remarks about involvement of the public. what better way to solve problems than to empower the people with this themselves. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm a taxi driver for 21 years. i've been a resident of san francisco for 40 years. in my opinion, something has that he now gets a pension of $400,000. that's the amount of two medallions that were sold. why are we selling medallions

when we give him a huge pension? what's the point? you're wasting money and saving money at the same time. he should not get a pension. i don't see anything he's done of any use to us. and i'm glad he's retiring. i'm glad to see the back of him. anyway, we should carry on -- i agree with all the cab drivers who are outside demonstrating. there was a lot of them, more than i've ever seen since i've been driving were out today. and they all represent the cab drivers. you're going to have a problem. >> thank you, sir. next speaker. >> barry toronto. >> good afternoon, barry toronto. quickly i want to bring two issues regarding the park garage contracts. i've done some research. san francisco general hospital garage is operated by p.p.m.

p.p.m. also has marina security services as subcontractors for security. the general managing partner is actually the general managing partner for both companies. sam sedesi runs p.p.m. and also security services. what's up with that? it's a conflict of interest. it's immoral and unethical, or it's illegal. why isn't anybody doing anything about that? you're just enablers, like the people who covered amy whitehouse the other night in belgrade. at closing, the policy does not give the authority to change r.f.p.'s. giving him the authority to not accept contracts or to go out to bid again but not to change r.f.p.'s. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> brad newsham fold by john

hawn and herbert winer. >> i'd like to thank tariq mahmoud for sticking his neck out and declaring the strike we're in the middle of right now. it's a real testament to what one person working his rear end off can do. he has given real genuine voice to the real genuine frustration that cab drivers feel out there. and i appreciate that very much. i would also like to say that whenever -- the one thing tariq has done is he has opened up a discussion or room for a discussion about what an idiotic idea it is for the cab industry to be used as a revenue stream by the sfmta. this cannot last. it won't last. i would like to leave this for mr. ramos' welcome. i would like to say whatever happens in regards to the sfmta and the cab industry moving forward, i'd like to put in a good work for christiana.

i'd like to see what she could do if freed from this idea that the cab industry should be enslaved here. >> next speaker, please? >> john hawn. herbert winer. >> good afternoon. i hope that the -- >> state your name for the record. >> john hawn, san francisco cab driver. and i hope that the board of directors would not take the suggestion that was suggested in a may 6 memo that regarding the allocation of credit card fees, that you simply endure the firestorm of the protest and the strikes and then just move on. i hope that you would consider some ideas and suggestions, one that i have would be that the rear seat payment terminals is causing the credit card fees to be superfluously high, 5%, and that removal of the credit card fee -- i mean, removal of the