>> san francisco is home to some of the most innovative companies of the 21st century. this pioneering and forward looking spirit is alive in san francisco government as well. the new headquarters of the san francisco public utilities commission at a5 25 golden gate avenue is more than just a 13-story building and office ablation. instead, city leaders, departments and project managers join forces with local architectural firms ked to build one of the greatest office buildings in america. that's more than a building. or pre-offer payment to ensure the taxi driver not matter whether the customer can be found, that the taxi driver is guaranteed some return for making the effort to service that order. >> i am glad that is not precluded.

again i would express my strong personal support -- i think some taxicab drivers for that idea -- i will save the pontificating for later. >> thank you for saving the pontificating. >> it's st. joseph's day. >> in terms of the idea that we are opening this information up for the marketplace to develop an app or a series of apps, and let the best man win so to speak, it is something we are all excited about. what are the next steps available for us to make sure that this information does result in better taxi service for our city? >> next steps, that harkens back to one of my mottos in this job, one foot in front of the other.

we have not gotten through most of the contracting process, we have established this regulatory framework; we are very anxious to get this underway in a short period of time and that is reflected in the schedule that we have for the contract. we are of the americas cup coming up, from many people today business is tough out there. all customer interest aside there is an urgency getting this deployed for the members of the taxi industry who would like to have more access the business opportunities. >> i think in short we expect to be executing a contract as a result of that competitive process with the company to create the virtual hub,

with these regulations in place. we would have the means of feeding the data to that hub and from there the process to be as short as 60 days? >> that's the goal. >> and at that point the data would be available for developers; the technology, already exists. it could be an existing app maker who plugs in and goes from 700 cabs to 1700 cabs; it could be a new player. that part we would not control the timeline but given what we have seen in terms of the demand for this kind of way to access transportation, and we're fairly confident that that would happen fairly quickly. >> mine is quick. director heinicke covered most

of the things i want to talk about. thank you for the research; you have made a lot of progress. congratulations to you and your staff. >> thank you. >> i want to go back to mr. -- made the point when he invested a lot of money in apps, i think director reiskin said, even if they invested in apps, they can be used in open architecture. have you taken into consideration what is out there? >> it is appropriate to allow companies that have a pride in their brand, to develop their own apps; if they want to offer and app with only their taxis, we should allow that exist. we don't want to interfere with

that brand. we want people to be able to get taxis a lot easier than they can today. >> nothing precludes luxor or yellow to create their own proprietary app. we can have a larger app repository, right? >> correct. >> i'm comfortable with the data transferred to the system; sounds like the feedback that ms. mcguire and uber, that responsibility rests with the developers of the app, flywheel or taxi magic; that is feedback that needs to go to the driver when they choose which app when they choos e which app they will work with on there end, that is up to them? >> no.

>> in terms of sending a vehicle number or badge? >> the situation which ms. mcguire refer to is a function of the flywheel app, it identify the driver by name at one point; they have evolved the app; then now to define the driver by a name, at one point it was a nickname. part of the data that comes out of the dispatch system is what driver is behind the wheel, but apart from that there is no driver personal information coming through unless the app provider puts it out there and again that is something we address the terms and conditions. >> is and that the issue? if they are in industry,

privacy concerns about some of the information we would put in our terms and conditions of the app provider, you cannot put commissioner maguires name in a way that the customer or police officer would see it. that is something that should be addressed in the contract design stage. my point would be that since we will be holding that information, and really our only control with what the app designer does is to the terms and conditions is i urge to be sensitive to the issues the drivers are raising and include that in the terms and conditions so that these apps are not free to use however they see fit. >> that would apply to the customer data as well. >> we would control for the design of the portal what information is getting sent out to the app developer; it may be that this a-k data

elements, not all of it is necessary for the dispatch service; it won't get to the app developers in the first place depending on how we set it up so we want to suppress driver names , two different levels. >> this application does not mandate; as we develop the terms and conditioners i ask you to be sensitive and provide information that is truly needed by dispatch or for regulatory purpose. >> thank you. >> first off, i want to thank you for all of the work that you do for the industry. you are doing a great job. don't take my questions wrong. i do support the citywide application. maybe what i'm looking at

is something of a simplified version. when you uphold the data, you can have the information here, all the calls that we have in, but you still have to know who is the driver closest to that location so you will still have them on gps or smart phone. that is my personal hangup. i would making it harder for ourselves? should you be an easier application? when i log on, i am such and such and identify where you are. the reason support this is the fact that when you look at taxi magic and all the applications out there yes we have those but the problem is we still lost market share. how do we regain market share? you fight fire with fire, that is why i support it. >> i want to thank director --

for all your hard work and i agree with what director lee said, we are going to compete with the models out there; we have to be up with the times and technology. i have the taxi magic app, i have used it. when i was waiting for my cab i saw a desoto cab, i could have abandoned the taxi magic all. the reality is that we have to evolve with technology and with the handset. that being said, i support this and happy to move forward. >> chairman nolan: is there a motion on the amended resolution? >> motion to approve. >> i would be happy to second and throw a few comments. >> will get the pontificating after all. >> could not resist. this is for the members of the public. a lot of what we have heard

today isn't about this application; a lot of what we heard about his frustration about uber and other things that are being provided but in a way this application is a response to that. it is my firm belief that the best way to compete with and neutralize these threats to the cab industry is to build a better app. there are several issues at play; the number of cabs and supply, not before us today; there is reliability and i continue to be a strong proponent for the premium dispatch, preregistration akin to what uber has, so the driver knows there will be someone at the end of the call and vice versa the customer knows they will show up. the third element is enforcement; we heard a lot of calls about enforcement for uber and sidecar.

we also heard complaints about taxi zones, hotels owns, illegal town cars. it is in our jurisdiction to enforce. i'm glad to hear there are four more inspectors. (applause) but today, i think the best thing we can do is let people know that there is a cap system out there that is less expensive than these other situations and we are going to make it more efficient and reliable. i am happy to second it. i will end my pontificating. i will give my congratulations to director reiskin and haiashi to push it through. >> chairman nolan: all those in favor? opposed? >> motion to conduct a close session. >> chairman nolan: we are in

closed session. thank you ladies and gentlemen.

>> item 13, >> chairman nolan: we are back from the closed session. >> it is appropriate to have a motion to disclose or not disclose. >> chairman nolan: all those in favor? opposed? we have a motion not to disclose.

thank you very much.

>> on december 28, 1912. san francisco mayor, sonny jim rolph stared into the crowds of those who have gathered. a moment in history. the birth of a publicly own transit system. san francisco municipal railway. muni as it would become to be known. happy birthday, muni, here is to the next 100 years. the birth of muni had been a long-time coming. over the years the city was disjointed privately owned companies. horses and steam and electric-powered vehicles. creating a hodgepodge of transit options. none of them particularly

satisfying to city residents. the city transit system like the city itself would have changes during the san francisco earthquake. the transition that will pursue from this aftermath would change san francisco's transportation system once again. facilitated by city boss, abe ruth, ushering in the electric city car. the writing was on the wall. the clammer had begun for the experiment including public transit people. owned by the people and for the people. the idea of a consolidated city-owned transit system had begun traction. and in 1909, voters went to the

polls and created a bond measure to create the people's railway. would become a reality three years later. on december 28, 1912, mayor sonny rolph introduced the new geary electric streetcar line and the new san francisco railway. that he said would be the nucleus that would host the city. and san francisco gave further incentive to expand the city's network. a project by way of tunnel leading into chinatown by way of north beach. in december the first streetcar was driven into the tunnel.

just two years after its berth, muni had added two lines. and k, l and m lines that span out from westportal. in 1928, the j line opened heading west to the beach. in 1944 san francisco voters finally approved muni take-over of the market street railway. by then motor bus and trolley bus improvement had given them the ability to conquer san francisco's hills. after the war most of the street-car lines would be replaced with motor or trolley bus service. in 1947, the mayor recommended replacing two lines with motor coaches. and it appeared that san francisco's iconic cable cars had seen their final days.

entered mrs. cluskin, the leader to save the cable cars. arguing that the cable cars were a symbol of the city, and she entered a charter placed on the november ballot. it passed overwhelmly. the california street cable railway was purchased by the city in 1952. there were cut backs on the cable car system and in 1957 only three lines would remain. the three lines that exist today. in 1964 the cable car's future as part of california's transit system was sealed when it was proclaimed a national historic landmark.

in february, 1980, muni metro were officially inaugurated. in that same year, muni received its first fleet of buses equipped with wheelchair lifts. in 1982 when the cable car had a shut-down, they added an alternative attraction to the cars. the festival was a huge hit and would continue for the next four summers in a permanent f-line that would extend all the way to fisherman's wharf, by 2000 the f-line was in place. and in 2007 muni extended the third line to the southeast corner and returning to third

street. for the first time in 60 years. in the course of last 100 years, muni's diverse workforce forged by men and women of innovation have reflected the many cultures that flock to the city. muni's ground-breaking antidiscrimination has guaranteed equal opportunity for all. the city's policy mandates the course for the future, as they work diligently to increase options and increase multialternatives, and deduce -- reduce the carbon footprint. it continues to improve the systems. during this sen -- centennial year we reflect on the transit

system. driven not >> the renovation of balboa park, the oldest in the city of san francisco, and now it is the newest part in the city of san francisco. through our partnership, and because of public investment from the two thousand eight fund, we are celebrating a renewal and an awakening of this

park. we have it safer, happier, more joyous. >> 3, 2, 1, [laughter] =--[applause] >> it is a great resource for families, to have fun in the city, recreation. >> this is an amazing park. we have not revitalized it without public and private investment. the critical piece of the process of this renovation was that it was all about the community. we reached out to everyone in this community. we love this park dearly and they all had thoughts and ideas and they wanted to bring their own creativity and their personality to bear on the design.