five minutes is 302. what is significant about that is if you go back to the front, you will see how many trips that is. you'll see the impact of that. what is significant here is if you take of those 302 delays, over 200 --there is one listed as automatic train control, which has to do with the interface between the train control system and the equipment, and those are chiefly responsible for the delays. this is something that is within our control. it is not something that is caused by anything other than the aged and conditions of our fleet. we purchased the the fleet all at once. beginning in 1997, the cars did not have a midlife overhaul. we want -- we run rail service

some 21 hours a day. the level of service has increased, not just for a third street, but over time. we have a number of programs that we're putting in place in terms of overhaul programs. we want to fix some of the lrv's that are wrecked, and we're also introducing a program to do a key component rebuilds. on a typical weekday, we have some 15 delays per day that are caused by problems with our vehicle systems. the principal cause of 40% of those delays have to do with doors and steps. doors and steps. our equipment is particularly complicated in the sense that it is unique, and when it operates on the surface, it is in full control by the operator, and the

doors and steps, except on third street, are low. when you get into the subway, the doors and steps are up by an automatic train control. it is a very complicated system, and it has become, as the equipment has aged, it has become a problem. that is something that we need to get after. we will talk about that in a moment. when we have delays, and i have talked a lot about -- talked to various supervisors in committees about switchback. we provide a monthly letter about switchback as simply a service management technique that is available to us to try to recover from a delay. we do not have things like express tracks. we do not have the extra cars were we can store trains and plug in if we have delays.

if we have a significant delay, what we can do is make an adjustment. the thing i would like to point out, two things to point out. number one, we do switchback a relatively small portion of powertrains, number one. number two, if you look on the box this says off-peak, what that tells us is the overwhelming number of switchbacks occur after the rush hour. so we're trying to get people to and from work and then it rebalance the line. get the trains in the right place. supervisor cohen: can you tell us what the hours are for rush- hour? >> yes, generally what we consider to be rush-hour is 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the morning, and the evening is a little bit longer, generally from 4:00 p.m. tuesday 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m., depending on the

line -- to say 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m., depending on the line. >> we're talking about the t- line. i am curious to know which one it is, 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m.? >> i would say 7:00 p.m. and one of the things that i also want to point out and go back to is what i was saying earlier about the design, the way that third street was perceived. on third street, there are, on what i described as third street proper, went to get over the bridge, there are four places where we can make switchbacks. that gives us considerably more flexibility in management -- in managing service than we do have on other lines. that is simply a service management technique, and we do not have a goal with switchbacks. what it tells you is the less switchbacks, and this is what we

talked a lot about, the need to do a switchback is a reflection on the quality of service. so the less switchback you have, generally the better the service. that means you do not have delays. you do not have spaces or what we call it gaps in its lines. if a vehicle is supposed to be there every 15 minutes or 10 minutes, it comes. but at the same time, with the collaboration and oversight of your board and its members, we have been able to double-your colleagues and you have done an excellent job of holding as accountable, so that we now have much better defined protocols for when we do switch frames, we have adjusted signs in the subway to make announcements. no more than five minutes behind it is a train so that passengers are off-loaded and get on a second train.

we will continue to follow-up and report on our progress with that. the biggest challenge would switchbacks for us that remains is making sure that we help the operators of the passengers know what is going on as early as possible. we're doing it to the extent we can with signs, but that is an area where we need to continue to emphasize and make improvements. supervisor cohen: i have a question. supervisor mar: please slow down. supervisor cohen has a question. supervisor cohen: thank you. >> i am sorry. i do not have another appointment. i did not want to dominate the time. i am sorry. supervisor cohen: no, no we invited you here. i have all afternoon. we're in no rush. you talk about switchbacks and how you notified the passengers. how do you notify passengers that do not speak english if your operators only speak

english? >> a couple ways. what we did, i guess during the holidays, december-january, because this was something that has been an ongoing problem. what we do is try to use the existing systems, like next muni in the trade patrol system to get real-time information to manage the system. there are two things of significant that have helped us a great deal with switchbacks bit of the first one was in december or january, we finally have the destination sites on the cars, the overhead signs in the station, and then that woman's voice from new york who comes on and says "next train is coming in two minutes." they are in sync now. that was an ongoing problem for a while. the point of that is not just to

notify people, but to try to notify them as early as possible. because sometimes if we make a decision -- say a train is leaving in embarcadero, if we make the decision to switch the train back, we can let people know at embarcadero, so they know that either they are going to be asked to get on it the following train at balboa or 19th avenue, wherever. so that is one thing. the second thing is that we had -- and this has allowed us to monitor and report to you on a monthly basis, the fact that the biggest complaint about switchbacks was that it put me off my train and i had to wait 10 minutes for another train, and that does not seem right. what we have done since then is that, and we're able to track this with something called the line management center, which

is a new real time management technology that we have, for the first time, the ability to see where every train is. so when we make the switch back of a train to adjusted, we're able to see where the second train is. we will not offload a train if there is not a train no more than five minutes apart. the third leg of the stool in this is to have the control center talk to the operator and have the operator, as early as possible and as frequently as possible, make announcements to say this train is going to x, not going all the way. supervisor cohen: i would like to interject. i understand, and this is a good that it if you speak english. but if i speak cantonese, how my notified? >> again, i think in terms of

the languages, that is something that we need to look at. we have done a number of things on an ad hoc basis, special events, to get people out. but i think in terms of on a regular basis, that is something -- i think that is something that i would like to come back and talk a little bit more about what we might be able to do to improve that. supervisor cohen: from this point on, you can continue with your presentation. i will not ask any more questions. i will save them for the end. supervisor mar: that is an important issue that i would have expected the mta staff to be able to respond to in much more specifics. because how terrible it would be for somebody of limited english- speaking ability to have to deal with that and not know where they are. i really commend supervisor

cohen for bringing that up, at the hope that mta comes up with a much better response for that. >> ok, i hear you, and we will be back to you with a specific plan on that. the point i was trying to make was that, i think for the first time, we have got an infrastructure in place, and we have trained ourselves that part of any service management practice is the customer notification goes to the top of the list. not that we're perfect or not that there's not room for improvement. you are smiling, so you would agree that we're perfect? supervisor cohen: i am is smiling because i agree that you're not perfect and that there is room for improvement. [laughs] be my guest. you can continue. >> ok, are we ready to go back? supervisor cohen: we're ready to

go back. >> all right, thank you. the next one is -- well, maybe we're not ready. ok, we had been asked just to generally touch on a safety and security. i will leave this one alone. mr. mason is here if you have questions about that. i would be happy to support him from the service side. but just a quick overview and looking at how our fair inspectors and transit assistance work on the line. in their part of the overall service team. finally, i think, while we're very pleased with some of the things that are going on, there is, in fact, lots of room for improvement. and i think that, first and foremost, as the data indicates,

the single biggest area for improvement would be high and the acceleration of improving the reliability of our vehicles. i am is suggesting a number of things that are in place and we're putting in place, and that is again doors and steps. they are part of a longer-term overhaul program. our feeling is that with the quality of service right now, that we have to a accelerate that program. there is approximately 137 cars that are active fleet. we need to move to replace the doors and steps and rebuild them within a year, because that will give us the biggest bang for the buck. they represent 40% of our vehicle pleas. second, the next two really have

to do with some of the quirks or uniqueness of our system, and that is to put more of what we call mechanics, and you may see them on the platforms during rush hour at places like embarcadero or civic center, but there what we call a mobile response unit. they are people who are very good at supported operators and troubleshooting trains. right now, they're spread too thin throughout the system, and it takes us to long to respond to late. when you have a train every couple of minutes in the subway as we do, it is very important that you make the decision to take corrective action very quickly and not spend any more than a couple of minutes trying to remedy a train. it is better to try and move a bad train at. we need to look to both our deployment and the numbers of mobile response to the third thing related to that is to support the operators in terms

of helping them with things like travel trees or to help with some kind of in-service equipment issue, items number two and three balance that. the other thing we need to do is we are experiencing what i would describe as we are in a catch-up mode in terms of getting back to the number of operators we need, and the most important thing to improve the services to have enough people to get it on the streets. we're moving aggressively with our training program to get operators trained, and we're moving forward on that. the next kind of set of actions that we could take a look at is to look at places on the line that we talked about that are particularly congested, especially on the ocean avenue side, with the idea -- we have at least two blocks that have more than one stop. in some cases, we got two stop

signs. they're there for a reason. we would not do this into a deadly or instinctively. we look into the necessary analysis. but there also locations that we believe can be candidates to help with this. the third thing is, i think that this is not meant to be a universal answer for service issues on rail lines, but the answer to most of our issues, as i have pointed out, has to do with our vehicles. right now, we probably should be scheduling 125 + cars a day. we only have 114 that we put out, given the cars that we have. we are in the process of doing the best we can to overhaul them, increase those programs, increase the frequency. at the same time, there are not a lot of new cars coming in. the problem is across the rail

system, but is mostly on the 30 n-line, and which -- but mostly on n-line. for that reason, last monday week launched the n-express service. during the peak periods, we run limited top -- limited stop or express trains downtown, and then we reverse it in the evening. it is one week, so i would temper my comments with the fact that it is one week. but it has been -- the results have been much better than we hoped are expected. the ridership started with 300 -- 350, on that order, of people on monday. by friday, it is pushing almost 700. the buses have run very well.

i think we will continue to monitor it, but it has been -- most of all, we have not taken any service off the n-line in terms of rail service, but it has opened up space on trains. i have not heard the cries of help from what they describe themselves as the lost souls for a week. so it has also had the benefit of predictable, reliable traveled to downtown, but also added some capacity for people inside, places like church. i see no reason if we ask ourselves the question, if we look at the k-t line, how do we

want to get people downtown? is there an opportunity, or should we be looking at some kind of supplemental services as well? and we will continue to use the ted program data and other things to look at that. this concept is not developed to the extent that the n-express was developed. it was talked about during the service restoration task force last fall, but in light of the success -- initial success, the six-month trial that was scheduled for the n-express, i to get would be worthwhile for us to look at supplementing service with this kind of thing. finally, our parking patrol officers do an excellent job in a real difficult environment, especially off the 280 freeway,

opening the streets. between what we can do is take a look at the whole corridor from the bridge. the only thing i would add is that we have been delayed twice in the last six months in the to get lee. we have lost not just rush-hour but a major time span for the drawbridge that is going up that the port authority owns. we're going to talk with them about making sure that we -- to see if we can work with them to limit the hours that that bridge opens. i meant to add that to the list. on the traffic management. , i am sang to partner with the parking patrol officers -- on the traffic management point, i am saying to partner with the

parking patrol officers. part of it is the police and our parking patrol officers. part of it is seeing whether or not we can adjust the signal priority to accommodate that. is all about trying to get through some of the bottlenecks. that will make a big difference in improving the service for everybody on all ends of the line. even where we have had a number of concerns, particularly during special events and waiting on trains. this is not meant to be an exhaustive list by any means. it is just something that we would offer as things, some of which we are doing, and other things which are very much in our control. i think we need to move forward and look at these kinds of things to help focus service. i appreciate your time, and i will certainly take any more

questions you have. supervisor cohen: i am curious, is mr. mason going to come back and speak to the safety and security? we kind of skipped over that slide. >> do you want to talk about it? >> this is mr. mason. >> [inaudible] >> good afternoon. i am director of safety and security enforcement for the mta. i want to talk about what we're doing on the t-line with the inspectors in the muni transit

assistance. they're deployed on a daily basis, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at night. they ride the t-line. they start out add muni metro east, right off of cesar chavez. they ride the t-line to get to their post and back. we have folks that are dedicated to the k-t line on a daily basis. they do monthly focused inspections at different stations along third street. we have the muni transit assistance that are concentrating in the bay view area. they write buses and trains throughout the area. they are a uniformed presence to be -- to deter crime. we work closely with the bayview district police station, with the fare inspectors and the muni transit assistants. we look at different hot spot locations.

we work with the sfpd. we use their numbers to deploy the muni response team, and we see the areas where we have major concerns. we will deploy the inspectors with the muni response team out there also. john mentioned the pco's. they held go out, and they go to different locations on the lines. if there are traffic problems, they can direct traffic and help the transit vehicles get through safely and in a speedy manner. supervisor cohen, you mentioned switchbacks. we have tfi's the go out and perform customer service that to speak cantonese. they give direction to the non- english speaking public. if we know ahead of time, we're

able to send those folks out there. we deploy them to those specific locations. are there any questions? supervisor cohen: not yet. supervisor mar: i did have one. after the march 2010 killing and if you other incidents that happened, there was concentrated targeted enforcement and armed police that were accompanying the transit inspectors. there were other efforts made to try to raise a feeling of safety, especially for it -- not just notriders but anyone filling -- not just chinese riders but anyone filling a vulnerable of someone trying to rob them. a 57-year-old woman was thrown off the platform on the t-line.

oftentimes it was not between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. what has been done since the different incidents, and another is a history of violence against african-americans riders, too. >> since then, what we have done, there is a monthly meeting to discuss the crimes at different locations and the time of day. we deploy officers according to those statistics that we receive on a monthly basis. the officers are deployed to the hot spot areas. over the past few months -- actually, the past 10 months, we have seen crime on our system decrease since we started using those numbers. supervisor mar: and the targeted

enforcement lasted for how long? >> the targeted enforcement is ongoing. it is never-ending. we do this on a monthly basis. supervisor mar: is it throughout the whole line? >> it is throughout the entire system and also certain platforms. the bay view area, we work with the district station in that area to address that. we have undercover officers that are out on these platforms throughout the day. supervisor mar: certain areas might be more dangerous than at bell ballpark or other parts of the extended lines. -- certain areas might be more dangerous than in balboa park. i want to make sure we target certain areas with domestic incidents, some people feel safe, even beyond that 10:00 p.m. time that the tfi's are there. >> the tfi's are just a

uniformed presence. they are there, but they're not the crime fighters. they're not crime stoppers. if they see an incident, they will notify our control center, to look at sfpd out there. these folks are just there for inspection. supervisor cohen: the tfi, transit fare inspectors. their sole purpose is to deter fare evasion. then we have the muni transit assistance. they reduce the violence and crime. >> right, there were closely with the schools in the bay view area. supervisor cohen: thank you. explain to me how the ambassadors factor in. >> that might be john.

supervisor cohen: when john comes back, i will ask him then. adrianne pond -- supervisor mar: now it is more immigration and engagement. >> means the transit -- muni transit assistance, they were closely with the program. with the need transit assistance, have a writing system, also. we worked to make sure we are not riding up on each other. supervisor cohen: thank you. that was another question i had, how are you guys partnering. >>