Taken with Transportation
Business & Economics Podcasts
Welcome to Taken with Transportation, the official podcast of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).
Each episode will take you along for the ride as we profile the people and policies that make accessible, equitable transportation in San Francisco possible. These stories will cover everything from the city’s streets to the inner workings of the SFMTA and offer insight and perspectives you won’t get anywhere else. We’re passionate about the work we do and want to share that passion and commitment with you.
About the Host: Melissa Culross comes to the SFMTA from the radio industry where she spent three decades hosting broadcasts and creating content for a variety of stations, including KCBS, Star 101.3 and Alice@97.3 in the Bay Area. Melissa has been drawn to storytelling her whole life and has been a regular San Francisco public transit rider since moving to the city in the 1990s.
Location:
United States
Description:
Welcome to Taken with Transportation, the official podcast of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Each episode will take you along for the ride as we profile the people and policies that make accessible, equitable transportation in San Francisco possible. These stories will cover everything from the city’s streets to the inner workings of the SFMTA and offer insight and perspectives you won’t get anywhere else. We’re passionate about the work we do and want to share that passion and commitment with you. About the Host: Melissa Culross comes to the SFMTA from the radio industry where she spent three decades hosting broadcasts and creating content for a variety of stations, including KCBS, Star 101.3 and Alice@97.3 in the Bay Area. Melissa has been drawn to storytelling her whole life and has been a regular San Francisco public transit rider since moving to the city in the 1990s.
Language:
English
Website:
https://www.sfmta.com/Podcast
Episodes
A Safe and Fun School Commute
5/17/2024
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 Bicycle Coalition Safe Routes to School Program Manager Kenny Kruse.
We also attend a couple of Bike and Roll to School Week events where we have a chance to talk to elementary school commuters and their parents. Plus, we hear from San Francisco Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Myrna Melgar, as well as Dolores Huerta Elementary School Principal Edward Garnica.
And finally, we learn what a bike blender is and get to see it in action.
Duration:00:12:26
Keeping the Vision
4/16/2024
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. Appearing in the episode are SFMTA Director of Transportation Jeff Tumlin, Board of Directors Chair Amanda Eaken, City Traffic Engineer Ricardo Olea, former Streets Director Tom Maguire and former Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health's Heath, Equity and Sustainability Program Megan Weir.
Duration:00:19:04
Paint, Paper, Metal and Machines
3/21/2024
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 Transportation, we pay a visit to those shops and speak with Traffic Paint Shop Supervisor Brian McBride, Meter Shop Manager Tony Massetti, Temporary Sign Program Manager Gretchen Rude and Traffic Sign Shop Manager Noel Laffey. We also get a chance to talk to Thermoplastic Crew Six lead Jarrett Laws and Traffic Sign Installer Patrick Rose as they are on the job.
Duration:00:18:33
How to Muni
2/20/2024
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. Host Melissa Culross speaks with SFMTA Senior Manager of Revenue Collection and Sales Diana Hammons, operators Lynnette Richie and Arnold Gray, station agent Rigo Ortega and Deputy Chief Security Officer Teresa Scism to go over all the ins and outs of the system from how to pay your fare to how to be a courteous passenger. A couple of regular riders even share their experience on Muni and offer a bit of advice.
Duration:00:13:48
Breaking Glass Ceilings Halfway to the Stars
1/22/2024
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 Francisco's beloved cable cars for more than a century.
Duration:00:12:52
Celebrating Culture and Community on a Cable Car
11/27/2023
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 Division Manager Fred Butler, SFMTA Board of Directors member Lydia So and various agency staffers about the heritage cable car program.
Duration:00:11:07
More Than a Meter Maid
10/26/2023
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 they are much more than just so-called "meter maids."
Duration:00:12:18
School Days
10/5/2023
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.
We talk with SFMTA Crossing Guards Christian Frederick Lauser and Arturo Garcia, School Crossing Guard Program Assistant Manager and Acting Manager Karen Wong, SFMTA Parking Control Officer Angie Barosso, McKinley Elementary School Principal John Collins and San Francisco parent Hoa.
Duration:00:10:32
Transit Month on Muni
9/21/2023
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 making, as well as Director of Transportation Jeff Tumlin about his favorite Muni line and the first he remembers riding.
Duration:00:16:42
Connecting Community to Transit
9/5/2023
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 Director Dalila Adofo, SFMTA Planning Director Maia Small and neighborhood residents about a community shuttle that is expected to begin running in Bayview-Hunters Point in 2024.
Duration:00:14:37
Stop and Go
8/16/2023
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 to the simple, function and about maintaining traffic signals. They help us understand how the work they do keeps the city moving.
Duration:00:12:56
Happy Birthday to a San Francisco Treasure
7/31/2023
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 cars, as well as the impact they have on their city.
Duration:00:13:23
Bringing Everyone on Board
7/17/2023
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 work that has been done to break down barriers disabled people have faced over the decades.
Duration:00:13:58
Cleanliness Is Next to...Comfort and Safety
6/30/2023
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, but our very dedicated car cleaners do it well and with pride.
Duration:00:09:22
Welcome Aboard!
6/15/2023
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 we check in with some businesses along the route.
Duration:00:08:45
"Welcome Aboard!" Trailer
6/7/2023
The first episode of Taken with Transportation…”Welcome Aboard!”… is coming soon and will take you for a ride across San Francisco on the 22-Fillmore public transit line.
Duration:00:01:02