Taken with Transportation

The road to school should always be a safe one, and it also can be a fun one. The San Francisco Safe Routes to School program works to make walking, biking, rolling, and taking transit to school safer and more accessible for all SF kids. In this episode, we speak with SFMTA Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator Crysta Highfield and Transportation Planner Ben Frazier about their work on the program, along with San Francisco Bicy...

In late-March 2014, San Francisco adopted Vision Zero, the road safety policy to eliminate traffic deaths and reduce severe injuries in the city. This episode of Taken with Transportation looks at the impact of that policy and what has changed over the last decade. 

We discuss the origins of Vision Zero, as well as the work the SFMTA is doing today and will do into the future to make San Francisco streets safe and joyful. ...

There are things on our streets that we probably take for granted but most definitely help us move around cities safely and efficiently. We’re talking about street signs, street markings and parking meters. 

In San Francisco, the SFMTA Street Operations shops handle the signs, street painting and meters we depend on, whether we are getting around by walking, driving, cycling or scooting. In this episode of Taken with Trans...

If you're new to San Francisco Muni, using it can feel overwhelming at first. Well, don't worry. Whether you've just moved to the city, are planning to visit and don't want to rent a car or have lived here for some time but haven't taken advantage of all Muni has to offer, we at Taken with Transportation have your back.

In this episode, we offer a practical how-to guide for getting around on Muni. ...

26 years ago this month, Fannie Mae Barnes made history when she became San Francisco's first female cable car grip. In this episode of Taken with Transportation, Barnes talks with host Melissa Culross about that experience. The episode also features Willa Johnson, the second female grip.

The women discuss what it takes, physically, to be a grip and what it was like to break the glass ceiling that hung over San Franci...

Specially decorated cable cars climb the hills of San Francisco throughout the year in honor of different communities and cultures. It's one of the ways the SFMTA celebrates the diversity of its staff and of the city. 

In this episode of Taken with Transportation, host Melissa Culross rides the cars decorated in honor of Filipino American History Month and Native American Heritage Month and talks with Cable Car Divisi...

One of the most misunderstood roles at the SFMTA is that of the parking control officer or PCO. In this episode of Taken with Transportation, host Melissa Culross spends time on the streets of San Francisco with PCOs Scott Ong, Todd Baxter and Ruben Reveles, as well as Parking Enforcement Assistant Director and Captain Kent Chiu, to learn why parking enforcement is essential and what parking control officers do. She discovers that ...

Every successful school day begins with students getting to class safely, and crossing guards help children and their parents in San Francisco navigate intersections near school campuses. In this episode of Taken with Transportation, we learn about the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's School Crossing Guard program. The program is part of the agency's larger effort to create safe and inviting streets.

September is Transit Month in the Bay Area and Taken with Transportation is celebrating with San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni, riders. Host Melissa Culross talks with riders in multiple neighborhoods who use Muni's buses, streetcars and light rail vehicles as their principal means of transportation. Culross also speaks with SFMTA Transit Director Julie Kirschbaum about service improvements and investments the agency is...

Accessing public transit can be more difficult for people in a particular San Francisco neighborhood than it is in other parts of city. So the SFMTA is designing a supplemental transportation program for this area.

In this episode of Taken with Transportation, we talk with SFMTA Transportation Planner Christopher Kidd, San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, Bayview-Hunters Point Community Advocates Environmental Justice ...

Traffic signals play a vital role in managing transportation, but have you ever thought about how that management works or how intersections are designed? 

In this episode of Taken with Transportation, we talk with SFMTA Senior Traffic Engineer Bryant Woo, Traffic Signal Electrician Dennis Verhalen and Transit Signal Supervisors Ferdinand Lumbad and John Affolter about how San Francisco intersections, from the most complex...

San Francisco's incredibly popular cable car service turns 150 years old on August 2, 2023. 

In this episode of Taken with Transportation, host Melissa Culross speaks with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Market Street Railway president Rick Laubscher, SFMTA cable car maintenance supervisor Dennis Dea, cable car operators Val Lupiz and Derrick Johnson, riders and business owners about the history and mechanics of the...

In this episode host Melissa Culross speaks with longtime (and recently retired) SFMTA Director of Accessible Services Annette Williams and Nicole Bohn, Director of the San Francisco Mayor's Office on Disability, about transportation accessibility and the role activism and advocacy have played in making transportation more accessible. July is Disability Pride Month, and this episode celebrates that by highlighting a bit of the...

An important part of the SFMTA’s commitment to safety is maintaining a clean fleet of Muni vehicles. In this episode, we meet three members of our transit car cleaning staff: Manager Myra Phillips, Assistant Supervisor Anthony Jackson, Jr. and Cleaner Ronald Brown. They’ll take us through the cleaning process and explain how the team keeps our buses, streetcars, light rail vehicles and cable cars spick and span. It’s a dirty job, b...

The hard-working 22-Fillmore is one of San Francisco Muni’s longest running bus lines. We hop on board to learn about the history of the 22, as well as its modern-day impact on the city it serves. 

San Francisco Transit Riders Board member and retired SFMTA Manager of Service Planning Peter Strauss walks us through the early days of the line. We also talk with Muni operators Earl Scott and Julio Ruano, who drive on the 22-line, and ...