SFMTA director of transportation steps down

Following Friday’s Muni mess—and previous meltdowns saddling the city’s transit system—San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin officially stepped down, according to CBS SF reporter Susie Steimle.

In a letter sent to colleagues, Reiskin writes:

I want to let you all know that I will be stepping down from my position as the city’s Director of Transportation and as your colleague this summer. The employment agreement I have with the SFMTA Board of Directors ends in August, and it’s become clear that this is the right time for change. I’m extremely grateful to the SFMTA Board for providing me with the privilege to serve in this capacity for eight years, and to all of you for the honor it is to work with all of you. Your individual and collective commitment , professionalism, knowledge, and experience are what’s responsible for the significant achievements this agency has realized during my time here.

I will continue to give me heart and soul to this job up to my last day, and as someone who will continue to ride Muni and enjoy the streets of San Francisco each day, I’ll be confident in the fact that the SFMTA is in your good hands.

Reiskin’s departure follows Mayor London Breed request on Monday to the SFMTA Board of Directors that they begin a national search for a new director of transportation.

In August, Mayor London Breed warned SFMTA and Reiskin with a letter demanding “improvements across the board.” Using a scorecards system, the city noted how the agency continued to flounder on several key fronts, including on-time performance, transit bunching/gaps (i.e., when buses or trains following one after another in short order), and collisions.

In the last month alone, Muni saw issues with its new train doors, which, in one instance, dragged a passenger along a platform, and the systemwide shutdown of light rail service last Friday.

Muni had also issued a public apology in August about its chronic issues, which also include trains packed with passengers during rush hours and falling short of the 98.5 percent goal of having vehicles to begin service at their scheduled times.