still here. it really developed a tremendous fondness in me for these mechanical giants. then, as willie will know and rudy will no -- rudi was deputy mayor for willie, deputy mayor for me, we're joined by a distinguished public utilities commission of that i had the honor of nominating and putting on the commission, dr. flynn, if you would give him a round of applause. [applause] as rudy knows well, the problems are either how you fix it when something goes wrong or how you fund it because public transit systems are expensive. when i became mayor, one of the first things we found was that there was not a staggered bus line. do you remember that?

one half of the fleet, which was around 300 cars, was breaking down continually. that got my attention very quickly. i think we did do the first staggering purchases for the muni railway so it would never happen again. thanks to the good stewardship of mayer brown and others and the good stewardship of ed lee, it never is going to happen again. then, in around 1983, into my office what gordon swanson, then the head of the chamber of commerce, and rick, who suggested doing and historic trolley festival, and that historic trolleys festival was set to just operate during the tourist season from fisherman's wharf down to castro just for

four months. the next year, 1984, was the democratic convention, it was easy for me to convince him to continue that that year. then, it was expanded to a five- year plan, and it existed for five years. well, it has been a few decades since then, and the historic trolley festival is still going on. [applause] now, i understand the route is going to be extended. one of the great things about this city is you have people who really do care, not a year in and year out, but decade after decade after decade. rick is one of those people, so you would do me a great honor if you would give him a big round

of applause. [applause] i will tell you a little story -- we were standing in this little museum, which you all have to go in and see. i asked him if it was his idea, and he said, "no, it was your idea. [laughter] really not so. another great event during my tenure was the cable car refurbishment. cable cars are amazing. the last remaining cable system in the world, and the cable itself is very complicated because it is still with -- steel with hemp in the middle, and as you know, it is of the marijuana family and there are not a lot of legal producers.

we had to find hemp to redo the cable and also restore those cable cars. we went out and we ask the business community if they could raise $10 million, which was our match, for the federal money of, i think, $42 million. i will never forget, in walks ken of chevron with a million- dollar check. not ask, just walked in, believe it or not. those were really the good old days. i asked if he would lead the effort, and he did. that raised the $10 million. the federal grant was forthcoming, and the cable grant system was restored. today, it is the significant symbol of our city. today, you have not only the

millions of riders that were mentioned, but i guess you have at least 700,000 a day on this system. it is incredible. it is special. it needs care, concern, funding, fixing, and that is really what all of this is about. for all of you that are here today to say happy birthday, but also we want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem, i want to thank you. what makes city's great are people who care. never forget that. so in this room, you have a heritage, and you have a legacy, and that is, i think, the finest and most unusual public transportation system in the united states of america. let's keep it going, strong, fixed, and funded, for the next

100 years. thank you for letting me be part of it. [applause] thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much, senator, for being here. if you and the mayor would come over please, we would like you to unveil the logo here. this is the muni centennial logo, which will brand our yearlong celebration. ready n began. go! [applause] nicely done. good team work. by the way, let's recognize the mta graphic designer who created the logo. [applause]

which, of course, features the historic street car number one, the first car to be operated when muni was launched december 20, 1912. recently restored, this hundred- year-old trends or course sits right outside here, and we will be taking rides on that later on. soon to be as famous as thomas the train and the little train that could. so, streetcar no. 1 will be ready for boarding later on. our next speaker this morning is supervisor david chiu, who was elected to represent district 3 in 2008 and two months later, elected president of the board of supervisors. his district is -- well, filled with the musty places in san francisco. north beach, fisherman's wharf, chinatown. he is an avid transportation supporter and a member of the chu -- muni centennial of

honorary committee. ladies and gentlemen, david chiu. [applause] supervisor chiu: good morning. what a beautiful symbol of our centennial, although after the story, i was hoping there was a little marijuana leaf some were buried in that rail car. i am honored to represent my colleagues here. we have been very happy to be partners of moving this incredible transportation system into the 21st century. i know that most of my colleagues were recognized earlier, but i did want to take a moment to recognize one of our colleagues who has done so much to help perform muni. supervisor sean elsbernd, thank you for being here. it is amazing that over a century ago, the cable car was invented. there have been so many stories in the city of what muni has meant to us. when i first came to the city, i obsessively wrote the cable car, and it is what led me to start writing muni -- riding muni and

is why i do not have a car today. i personally could not imagine my life without muni, although my staff told me i need more of a life. whether you grew up here, whether you are a bit generation san francisco, or whether you are one of the thousands of is that emigrated from other parts of the world, we all have our stories. love it or hate it, muni is san francisco's favorite four-letter word. we know that in california and the united states, it has mostly been the century of the car. our city has held on to our transit system, unlike so many others. you only need to wake up and -- every morning and get on to understand how important the system is to all of us, but also, when you wake up in the morning and ride the systems,

you know we face still many challenges. i have more confidence to it in 2012 for the first time in a long time that our mta leadership is poised to improve our muni railway and make it were the of the next century. we could take time to applaud the men and women who every day are working to make the mta better. [applause] but i will tell you, we all know that you cannot do it alone, and we all will have to make tough choices. we all will have to make real improvements that help to improve the public confidence in our system. we know we are going to have to use technology and other things to make our experience is better, but i want you to know that from the board of supervisors, we will -- we will continue to make sure that our muni system will remain, hopefully one of the best if not

the best, transportation system in the country not just for the last hundred years, but for the next. thank you very much. [applause] >> supervisor david campos, who was elected the district 9 seat. he also has extensive experience in the transportation arena. he once drove to los angeles on highway one in two hours and 46 minutes. he is the chairman of the joint city and school districts select committee, and he is here to tell you all about it this morning. please welcome david campos. [applause] supervisor campos: thank you very much. it is truly an honor to be here. i am here in my capacity not only as a supervisor but also as the chair of the county transportation authority. i want to acknowledge our vice- chair, supervisor scott wiener, who is in the audience.

we work with the mta, and our responsibilities are many, but it includes long-term transportation planning for the city and county, something that requires the agency worked very closely with the mta. we are also the body that oversees the transportation sales tax for the city and county of san francisco, and i am very proud we have a very strong working relationship with the mta. i want to work knowledge our new director of transportation, ed reiskin, who has hit the ground running and really brought in a new wins. the fact is that for so many of us, muni is what makes it possible for us to live in the city, allows us to get to and from work, allows our kids to get to and from school. even though there are some issues that people have with the system, i think we should be very proud of it. one of the things i want to thank the mayor about is that in the last few months, we have

been focusing on the issue of how we make muni and public transit more accessible to families and children in san francisco. we have a responsibility to make sure that not only would protect the infrastructure of the system, but we also focus on creating the future generation of riders. that is why i am proud that even though we're still trying to work at the details, that the mayor and board of supervisors and regional bodies are working to make public transit accessible to children in san francisco so that we have the future generation that will seek public transit as part of their lives. i want to thank you for that, and i want to thank the board of directors also as they are looking at that issue. the last thing i will say is that it is really important to us to make sure that as we move forward, we think of ways in which we can improve the agency, that we can make it even more accountable than it already is, but in talking about

accountability, it is important to make sure we bring all parties to the table. i especially want to college the work of the workers who make it possible for the system to run. the reality is -- let's give them a big round of applause. we may have differences of opinion on how we get there, but at the end of the day, the goal was the same, and i think that in san francisco, it we know anything, we know how to get things done, so let's make that happen. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you. next, a man who has dedicated his life to public service and is recognized as one of the region's foremost leaders in the chest vacation area. tom nolan has been a member of the mta board of directors since 2006 and chairman since 2009. he is also the executive director of project open hand the daily helps so many people in need. he is up already. i was going to say he had a

little hit any surgery, so he is making his way here. tom nolan. [applause] director nolan: thank you very much. it is an honor to be here on behalf of the mta board this morning. every time i have a chance to speak about being on the mta board, i begin by saying how proud i am of what we do. every single day, we move 700 people throughout the city, and we did it very, very well. all kinds of different modes, we do it on behalf of the people. i am delighted to be joined this afternoon by the vice-chair. thank you very much for being here. we are very fortunate to have the leadership of ed reiskin, who has done an outstanding job for the agency, and we look forward to his continued leadership. i also want to take a moment to acknowledge two of my

predecessors as chairman. mr. flynn, assuredly the gold standard in san francisco. thank you for what you have done, and my immediate predecessor, let us with a great deal of compassion and dignity through some extremely difficult times over the past several years. thank you for being with us. was it over the course of the last hundred years, and unique as a perverse workforce, forged by women and men as innovation and dedication, as reflected the melting pot of cultures that make up our very vibrant city. throughout this centennial year, we're taking moments like this to look back at the first 100 years. our transit system is like none other in the world, to celebrate where we have been and where we plan to go in the future. muni was a contributions to san francisco will continue to do and very challenging times. tomorrow, and unique, and the entire and she returned to the task of increasing mobility

options -- muni and the entire mta return to the task of the increasing mobility options. the intrepid spirit of the people of san francisco epitomizes the city's municipal railroad and its work through all these years. while our challenges are great and daunting, our determination is even greater as we begin our second hundred years. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, tom. who is this a ed -- this ed reiskin everyone is talking about? he has provided a brand of leadership that will take the sfmta well into the coming years. he will be launching the agency's new strategic plan this july 1. san francisco, a great city, and excellent transportation

choices. please welcome ed reiskin. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is such a thrill just to see all of you here, to be here, and it is such a thrill to have this job, to be able to serve as your director of transportation. i think i have the best job in the city, and i really see it as a privilege and an honor, and i in turn want to honor those who came before me. the leadership of the agency, the commissioners, the directors, but even more so, the women and men who for 100 years have been working hard to make muni work -- the operators, mechanics, accountants, analysts, engineers -- [applause] and our great partners in labor represent them, without whom we

would not have the system we have. millions of hours of effort and love and expertise have been poured into the transportation system of san francisco over the last hundred years, and that is something that san francisco should be very current. as we look forward to the next 100 years, we have a lot to be excited about. this is a great time for transportation in san francisco. we have great things on the horizon. we are in the midst of approving a two-year operating and capital budget that represents significant investments into our transit system and into our transportation system. we are improving muni through the trans effectiveness project, making it function better, more effectively, -- through the transit effectiveness project. we are improving taxi service, so we see great things ahead as we move into the next century of service for muni and the mta and helping to make moving around

san francisco better, easier, safer, and more enjoyable for people who need to get around in this great city of ours. it is an honor to serve the people of san francisco and the people of the bay area. i want to thank the great leadership represented by those behind me and the men and women of the mta for making any success we have possible. before i relinquish the microphone, i am going to ask our operations folks to start moving car number 1. they are going to turn it around so we can take a ride on it, and then we are going to put it back in service for the people of san francisco home it was meant to serve --whom it was meant to serve. [applause] >> thank you. we called tom nolan mr. transit, which means rick will be mr. streetcar.

nobody has worked harder to bring historic street cars back to san francisco. from the trolly festival of 1983 that was championed by senator feinstein to the f line of today, rick has been on that mission here today, the f line is america's most popular streetcar line, and it is the only guy in the bay area to actually pay the proper fare when he gets on and off the streetcar. i know you other people have not done it regularly. please welcome rick. [applause] >> thank you. i just wanted you to know there is a future after radio. [laughter] that was a long time ago, i can tell you. senator feinstein, mayor lee, and they are brown, supervisors, other officials and guests --

mayor brown, supervisors, other officials and guests, muni is today what it is because of people like mr. flynn devoted their lives to it. i am joined by several directors, including our vice president, who leads a lot of our efforts. doug is the man who, when he was deputy mayor and planning commissioner, had a lot to do with the embarcadero uc today. -- you see today. he has given so much of his time to san francisco to make it a better place. we joined today in celebrating america's first big city publicly owned transportation system owned by the people themselves. today, it is a landmark of the progressivism that has marked our city for a century. the historic streetcar we rededicate today, is a city symbol of the history. it carried generations of san

franciscans around the city to shop, to work, to learn, to play. it almost certainly carried my grandparents when they lived on utah st. and is america's first publicly owned big city streetcar, it almost certainly qualifies to be sitting on display at the smithsonian, but we in san francisco had a better place for it than that. because we put our history to work. we embrace our hats, but we give it a job to do to benefit our present and helped enrich our future -- we embrace our past. we invite the world to use our streetcars as part of our regular transit service to get to places they want to go to and to have fun in the process. these museums in motion have proven their value here today, the f line is america's most

popular street car line and attract as many rides every -- riders every day as our other lines combined. senator feinstein gave me too much of a role in this. this would not have happened without the mayors who have been involved in this through the years, starting with been near feinstein -- then mayor finds that appeared when i was in her office, she looked, listen, and said, "alright, i will do it, but i do not want to see any junk out there." we have watched the street cars go by. i think we have done a good job of keeping it classy. after the mayor said the very high standard for this service, muni has constantly delivered on it, starting with me when he ran the public utilities commission. he has insured that it rose to a level that is worthy of san francisco. his successors both in the

governing body and in management. ed today and his predecessors have kept that going. it is their work, not the work of the volunteers like myself, who are responsible for this system being what it is, and it is time to honor them for that. [applause] i want to particularly on our people who we do not see. we all see the operators, and many of them are wonderful with the riders, a model for operators on every line, but i also want to acknowledge the maintenance folks who have not been mentioned today. they do an exceptional job of keeping these cars running well. want to particularly call out a man named carl johnson who has been doing this for 30 years. [applause] he now heads the maintenance department, and his leader, carol gilbert, who is a true artist on streetcars.

they really care. they give their heart to this. i have heard from transit agencies and advocates all over the world asking how we did this and more importantly, how they could do it. there are always people who want to learn from us and emulate it. i start by telling them that you need a city government and transit system like san francisco's where transit is not treated as the ride of last resort, where leaders understand that attractive transit drive incremental sales tax and property tax revenues and adds to rather than detract from the urban fabric and the ability of our city. other cities have followed our lead, and we can be proud of that. the example we follow today's battle the the past and present, but also the future. muni service built this city over the last century. today, the investment we made in the t line is revitalizing

neighborhoods. these historic street cars on the f line which have already helped transform the northern embarcadero, enabling the star attractions, will help mayor lee in his initiative to revitalize mid market. streetcars are a colorful connection between the mid- market neighborhood and vibrant communities elsewhere along the route. with some creative promotions, they can bring more people to bid market, which i call the heart of market, and helped drive the artist and technology communities now getting established there. our nonprofit pledges of our help to you in helping put the existing service to work to help you meet your mid-market goals. we also look forward to the permanent implementation of additional streetcar service along the whole wing of the embarcadero, the e line that mayor brown foresaw as being a

powerful tool to help develop the unmatched waterfronts of the poor. finally, we look forward to expanding on the original vision of senator feinstein from her days as mayor. leveraging this investment, we have already managed to attract maintenance facilities any historic street cars like the one we are going to ride by extending service to reunite the two halves of fisherman's wharf, revitalize up what our, answered the -- revitalize aquatics parke -- aquatic park and serve the marina. bring the historic streetcar service to more of our publicly owned waterfront would be a fitting way to help launch the second century of america's first publicly owned transit system. it would be a capstone to a new landmark of our city that started 30 years ago with the vision of a mayor.

to all the civic leaders here today who have made this historic streetcar service and muni the valuable contributors to our economy that they are, thank you. [applause] >> thank you. now, before we take a ride, i would like to recognize the other centennial committee members and dignitaries. please stand and give us a wave. >> one, two, three -- there you go.