on, that will benefit with solving these problems, you may remember that we talked about a number of vehicles that sustained heavy damage or a period of years that were kind of in vehicle and in a separate category, and what we did was work out a program so that we could begin to get what will essentially be ten vehicles that had structural damage, and back into service and there are three vehicles that are back in right now and two of them are in service and one of them are being tested and we expect to have three vehicles back by the end of the year. that is a straight up addition to our car availability number and it will allow us to do some things with the service that i will talk about in a moment. and we will continue to look at the way to overhaul these cars, many of the things that you are seeing, and i will focus on one point in particular on under

infrastructure, and trained subway entries, and three, all of our systems come in through three portals. and we need to have, to run the kind of service that we should be running, with we need to have those entries be successful at least 98, 99 percent of the cases, that means that you have somewhere between 15 to 30 trains a day have a failed entry, a failed entry is very, very detrimental to the service because it allows to operate at a lower speed, safely and you increase the safety margin and it backs up all of the service behind it. we have now gone through a process in the last four or five months where every failed entry, is taken out of service because it is for a train control program and we have replaced a number of components and these are 15-year-old rail

cars that were never replaced things like excuse me, like cards, in and out of the system that talk or facilitate symptoms there are not cards that were overhauled at the time and what we are doing now is today we went through the last couple of weeks later and we will now come and replace the antennas and so it is, what we are doing, is catching up and we will continue to catch up, and make sure that the vehicles are as reliable as we can. but they, along with looking at the infrastructure and to show you how sensitive, if you will, these infrastructures are in addition to vehicle issues, you have either train control issues and the counter that you have heard about that causes disturbed blocks and gives it the permission to go in and the other thing that we have seen as we analyze these incidents

is that a greater and greater percentage of these is once they have and fail and go into it manual and they are able to reacquire the automatic control later on and to that, it means that we have to work with the operation staff to make sure that the proper signage and procedure is followed and the train is positioned in the right spot and the train enters at the right speed. and so, we are making both on the vehicle side and the infrastructure side, substantial investments, the track replacement projects and there are three that are significant and moving forward right now, and mmt and down at the turn around outside between the mmt and the portal and we will be moving forward on the sunset tunnel and most significantly twin peaks tunnel, which carries the bulk of our rail service and so there is a number of actions in that area, and in terms of

service, we have talked a lot about how we can better manage the service, and in driving, the on time performances this is one of the variables that we have to do and the point to make here, is that in reviewing all of these incidents, we are analyzing, the roles and responsibilities of all of the responders and you have an operator who could assist with trouble shooting and communication. and you have a first line transportation supervisor who sometimes responds and we are entirely dependant too great of an extent on the controller, and working and particularly on the mechanics in the field that we call mru, and a lot of times when you think about the number of trains that we are scheduling through, 20-some odd trains an hour to go through the subway and if you have a delay or a break down, there has got to be a very, the right call needs to be made about how

to respond, whether this is a safety sensitive critical issue. or whether you can move or you can off load the train and move it to a place where you can move, excuse me, move by the train. so, how will you use the existing technology and how will you have, what our supervisors are trained to do and how we worked with them, to effectively give them the tools to trouble shoot and then where we positioned them to become critical to better management of the system. and one of the things that i talked about was the schedules. we have right now our scheduling around fleet availability and a number of cars that we can safely do and one of the things that we looked at in particular, and it would take us, it is going to take us two or three or even four cycles of schedules before we are able to work through all of the issues in the schedules. and part of it again, stems from capacity of the system and

particularly the cars. and but, at the same time we are moving devicively to do a number of things first of all, coming in june, at the end or excuse me, at the end of this month. we will go to a different operation at the embarcadero and we are calling it a fall back operation, but why we are worried about it at all is what we found was that three lines k, l, and m all turn around there. and we looked at the schedule time this they were all schedule to have five minutes to make that turn. and only ten percent of the cases were they able to do it on schedule. >> so you have a train coming out of there leaving late and it leads to bunches and gaps. it leads to everything, being late behind it. is he we were able to take a look at the operation to analyze both using the control,

and the train control system and the two pocket tracks where they turn around and we now believe that we will be in the position with this new fall back operation to reduce the time by two minutes which will be significant. and all of the trains picked that up and we have gone through it and through the exercise and the walk through and it does not require, additional investment and we will be a critical first step, and we also need to move decisively to deal with the bottle necks in the system, and fourth and king we are moving forward to get priority for the trains so that it does not sit for 90 seconds through the cycle. and we are looking at west portal as well. and one of the things that we have done in the last point on there is over the years, as we have had incidents, we have, or we may see a lot of double xs, painted on the ground at various places on the system.

it requires a train to come to a complete stop in many cases, you know the double xs were put in as ten or 12 years ago. and because of some kind of an accident or incident, we are now going through with safety, at each of those locations and see if we can address that. so, with these steps, we are trying to take some other actions, and in addition, we have a very sophisticated train, control system. we have kind of the new and the old blended over day. and so, with our train control system, one of the things that we believe as a major customer service benefit and initiative is starting next month, we will begin testing double birthing. and double birthing, the problem that that solves is if you have been on a train and you are sitting in the station and you are looking down and you see the platform or if you are and you say why, why can't

i get out here? and you hear the announcement and the next stop and you are saying, no i am in embarcadaro and i will get off now. what this does is allow us to at certain times that it will enable the system for two trains to load and unload in primarily, i think that the way that this is what we need to test. but where we will be using it is in the three downtown stations that they have the longest platforms as well as the biggest crowds in between mongomery and powell and civil center and so that is something that we will work through and come forward with a test regime and in addition, one of the things that we are looking at, and you have seen a lot of the expansion plans, and so i will particularly along it with the arena and the additional events, one of the things and as we contemplate how we will

fit in things like the e, line and the additional service is that we need some flexibility in the system and that means that we have got to be able to to more efficiently move the trains so if you have an lrv and an historic car and something happens to one of the cars, it would be very nice to be able to send a trap around something like that rather than having to jerry man der something to push or pull it. one of the things that we have asked our signal manufacturer to do, is to get a good concept model and then we would probably come forward and take a look at it is to provide some modern train control system for the street. and a way to protect the trains and allow us to single the track and allow us to run against the current of traffic where we are meeting and you could run the tracks up and the adverse direction train if you needed to.

and i think that is very important as we if we are able to expand the capacity to run efficiency and we will once again look at the summer test and the possibility of using the through-car trains in the subway, again, the constraint there is the vehicles. specifically the coupling or the joining of three vehicles, which not only holds them together, but transmits all of the electrical subsystems together. so these vehicles were i went back and one of the things that we are blessed with is a lot of constitutional memory and i was able to find out from several people when these cars were brought on board. we did not test them, and we did not require that they be tested for three car trains. so this is a bit of a new

ground for us in some respects but we will from the train, control, perspective, and the system perspective there is no reason that it will not work on it. and we will envision something like doing it from saint francis circle to the subway and to relieve the grounding and i think that those are the kinds of things that we will have to continue to look at and we will try to make the progress in a number of initiatives and customer communications will continue to do that. and there is a project that will enhance that. we are continuing to pay a lot of attention, excuse me, on all of the causes, all of the issues, related to the rail system. and again, i would want to publicly acknowledge, the benefits and the support that you as a board have given us, to be able to particularly use

our capitol resources to help to support the service and so with that, this is you know, this is where we are. and these are some of the actions that were implemented to address the concerns and to improve. but it is my feeling that with these kinds of things in place and that continued support we will see the improvement in the performance. >> directors? comments or questions? >> i have a bench. >> heinieke. >> thank you, for having this hearing. and as you know, it is personal to me because this is my every day commute and i'm glad that i am able to have this commute so i can comment with you, and i appreciate you recognizing the problems. and addressing them here today. i will just generally, riding the muni metro is frustrating. and the frustration which i

want to talk about specifically occasionally we are shown how great the service can be. and then, in quite often it does not live up to that and my fellow riders and i are left wondering why is it? that we can't have that same smooth service that we had yesterday. and i realize now that you know, it is a frustration, and you get shown a little bit of greatness on one day and then on three successful days you don't have it and why can't we have it every day? >> and i appreciate the explanation for the multitude of problems that you face on a daily basis and at the end of this, i want to be sure that we are addressing some of the big ones and i will ask for some way to sort of measure whether this is working. and whether director haily can fix this or we need to go a different route and talk about bond measures or whatever for a whole new lrv fleet. but i will say that the current

status is not good enough. it is too, scatter shot and too inconsistent especially when we have the infrastructure with the tunnels that should be a great service and which we do see every now and again. so the frustration is that we see these things, sort of on a daily basis, anybody who asks the muni downtown in the morning knows that on many if not most given days there is going to be a significant slow down at vaness. and i am gathering from what you are saying that one of the problems that we are seeing there is failed portal, entries from the trains coming in and slowing down the rest of the group. i just, if nothing else i want the people outside on that train just going at 50 miles an hour outside of a church station to understand what is going on. and from what i have understand from this presentation and the previous discussions there is obviously a bit of traffic and you have several lines coming

together there but the problem with the situation with the failed entries at the portal. >> that is correct. and the reason that i applaud your... detailed experiences as a rider, because the reason that you are seeing it or feeling it more ad vaness is why you may feel the delay is longer or picking up again is because the... once you are given the permission as an operator, to go into the subway under manual control or under your control, the procedure allows you at some point and in the first point is that the bottom of van esss >> right. >> which is at the bottom of church and debose. >> and where we allow the operator to attempt and require it is va. aness. you may not imagine that you will sit at vaness for as long

as a minute to 90 seconds and what the operator is doing is going through the protocol to reacquire the control and depending on that is a judgment call between the people managing the service as to whether or not they want to do that but that is in fact what happens. >> so that is one common slow down is at vaness station and one significant problem about that is the failed atcs, acquiring the triangle and what i understand, to be telling us is that he is working on something to fix that. >> so we will start with that. >> the second one comes at the other end. and the back of it up at montgomery and becomes significant and i understand from my conversations with you. >> now it is smooth sailing and all of a sudden you are leaving the station and there are,

because there is nothing stopping them but we know that there is something stopping them which is this slow turn around back around. i get it, that makes sense. and what i understand from you is that we have a proposal that will go ahead and alleviate that situation. >> well, it will, if they will make it better and if i say done correctly, the schedules, it needs to be supervised. it needs to be supervised effectively so that you realize the estimated two minutes and up that we should save in turning the trains around. >> on this, and i am sorry this is going to take a while and it is easier because tom is not here and she is more polite than he is. and let me make sure that the record got that, please. cheryl. >> i think that the scheduling,

and maybe this is just me but the average metro rider is less concerned with the schedule and a meeting of schedules than they are with the time through the tunnel. because most of us do not go down there thinking that we are going to catch the 7:53 train there is enough that we go down there and catch the train, but what aggravates people is when it is slower than it should be and it is in the rush hour because of the turn around. >> i realize this is not a magic wand but i want to say that is a problem that people experience and i am glad that hear that you have a way to address that issue. >> the other advantage of proper and effective blind something., if you will for lack of a better term to balance everything, is that you can make a decision there, to rebalance the line, if you do have a problem, to change an n,

train to an m, train or kt. just heard loud and clear, and it is a desire fr* on our part to minimize the

>> the next thing, there is a mechanical issue and it's unfortunate that the tunnels weren't built with turnouts and ways to deal with this the way you deal with a highway, but it is what it is and we have the situation when we have a train stuck in the tunnel, we need to fix it quickly. you have touched on this a little bit in your presentation. but more training to do instant

troubleshooting and instant overrides and address the situation that we're often waiting for a mechanic or supervisor to arrive and in the process, slowing down the whole system. >> the shorter answer is yes, and here is what what we're doing the operators have principally over the years been focused on troubleshooting doors. what common problems and they are walked by the controller through had a troubleshooting procedure and when you have seven doors, you -- we can safely operate with as many as two doors and cutoff, and so we want to keep the train in service, not lose it for a door. so that is one instance where the operators do

some troubleshooting now, but it's not just the operators. i think what we have done, we have developed a set of troubleshooting trees, if you will, for common problems. no propulsion, no green light and we can walk operators through, but part of it is that we have taken a look at the training and roles and responsibilities for our supervisors. right now the americas make the call and we have transportation supervisors on the rail side and the bus side. , but i think with rail instances we have to recalibrate their role, so they can play a greater role in assisting the operator, and if necessary move a train in an emergency, support an operator moving a train.

i think we have developed kind of some additions to their job duties and what they have historically have been doing and we have been talking to them and the union about that. because it's really critical, especially if you are in the rush hour, especially when you have trains so close together, train two minutes behind or even closer and the trunk of the subway, that if you have to wait for a mechanic, and we have got a limited number. so it's really about us working as a team, and leveraging the people and the resources that we have out there. and in some cases, it's stretching people out of what they have historically done or out of their comfort zone, but it's not something that is beyond their capabilities and

we're confident we can work through issues with that. >> i strongly urge that and i'm not sure if that requires cba changes and levels of that, but really, the operator is the front line for muni there and if there is anything that we can do to make the operator not only an operator, but a problem-solver, the way a pilot or a bus driver or somebody else would be, i think that will really speed it up. the time thing, there was some mention of maybe triple cars. i would also continue to suggest that you consider shuttle service during the down-time hours i don't get on at castro street station so i can usually get on, but there are an awful lot of people at castro and church street stations and i think we need to consider those people's needs especially with west portal or castro shuttle service. so with all of that, i will repeat what i said before. i am a fan of the system,

because i know how it works when it works great, but it's not working great often enough. and so my final question to you is how are we going to measure the results of these things? john has identified the issues as a rider, i think he is hitting all the right issues, because that is what i see. but he may not be able to solve the problems with just these fixes. and so i am willing to be patient to see if these fixs have a meaningful impact. but i think we need a return date. i think we need a measurement statistic and i don't know if it's on-time or time in the tunnel, but we need to let him do these things and encourage him to do these things and thank him for doing these things and see if it's enough. if it's not, we have to go to something bigger because there will only be more demand. so i am appreciative to him for identifying these issues and

identifying solutions, but i want a return date whether it's enough and whether it's work or to give him something bigger and better to fix it. >> i think it's a fair point and i want to acknowledge the incredible work john is doing to take the system that was put in place 20 years ago. had very little in the way of investment and upkeep since then and he is trying to play catch-up and strategic, because we can't replace everything at once. in terms of coming back, some of what we're talking about will happen with the change in summer schedule that includes shuttle service, provided that we have the vehicle availability, that we need. so probably fall, late fall would be a good time to come back there is a lot of different ways that we're measuring, and john made reference to one k

mean destination, on-time is a prop b measure that again most people don't really know what the schedule is. so measuring adherence to the schedule doesn't necessarily av all of that meaning to people, but it's a decent proxy. we are measuring bunches and gaps, something that we incorporated with the strategic plan that you put in place. and then for some of the specific initiatives that john was talking about, such as the embarcadero turnaround, we're going to be measuring the actual turnaround time. we have the analysis that john's team did to determine what the current turnaround time is on average and what the extremes are. we're going to be measuring specifically that. i think we have the ability through the next bus system to evaluate the delay -- some of the days you were talking about, such as the average time to get from church to van ness

station and to get from church to embarcadero station. so there are a lot of ways that we have and use on a regular basis to measure the performance, to evaluate the changes that we're making. >> can i ask about that? >> yes. >> mean distance between failure and on-time performance. we are doing them and they are good measures. two objective criteria had a that are most important are time between west portal and montgomery -- excuse me embarcadero, and visa versa and number of trains on a daily basis. >> the number of trains we measure daily and we have the ability to get travel time data between travel points and it's somewhat of a manual process. we have been working with our it folks to evaluate .

on the tep or tep pilots, we really need a way to more easily and systematically measure that time. so we'll certainly incorporate that here and welcoming on ways to make that easier in future to report on any given time point neuter. >> if i could recommend or ask, whatever the right word, is that we take a benchmark of mean distance between failure, on-time performance, number of trains into the system on a daily basis and if i may ask west portal to embarcadero and visa versa, which i think is the single most important measure for your average rider and benchmark those to-date and schedule the hearing in the fall, after john has worked the magic with the few wands we have given him,