SFMTA boards efficiency plans, approves 2‑year paratransit contract extension with Transdev
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Summary
The board heard a detailed briefing on efficiency and cost‑control measures tied to a multiyear deficit plan and unanimously approved a two‑year sole‑source extension of the paratransit contract to secure approximately $1 million a year in negotiated savings and maintain service continuity.
At a meeting of the SFMTA Board of Directors, agency finance and operations staff presented a multi‑year efficiency plan intended to help close a growing five‑year budget gap while minimizing impacts to core service.
Jillian Johnson, acting chief financial officer, reviewed a five‑year forecast and said the SFMTA is pursuing a three‑leg strategy of internal efficiencies, a regional sales tax and a local parcel tax. Judson True, chief of staff, described benchmarking work comparing Muni motor bus metrics to peers using Federal Transit Administration national transit database data and outlined efficiency actions across people, service and technology: reorganizing divisions, eliminating manager positions, shifting maintenance yard hours where feasible, renegotiating contractor terms and prioritizing capital spending on state‑of‑good‑repair projects.
Board members pressed staff for additional comparative analyses and for a decade‑long work‑order history to aid evaluation. Directors also asked staff to clarify which savings are recurring and which are one‑time, and staff explained that some efficiencies will continue while one‑time adjustments will be used to bridge the near term until new revenue streams begin flowing.
Linked to that work, the board reviewed Item 12: a proposed two‑year extension of the existing paratransit broker and operating agreement with Transdev. Kate Torren (Director of Taxis, Access and Mobility Services) and Erin McAuliffe (Acting Director of Accessible Services) told the board the extension was negotiated to lock in concessions that reduce management fees and administrative costs, producing roughly $1,000,000 in annual savings for the agency over the extension period while keeping service levels unchanged.
McAuliffe highlighted program metrics and modernization steps: competitive procurement in 2016, exercised option years in 2021, recent customer satisfaction of 90% and 95% on‑time performance, a pilot electric paratransit cutaway vehicle, and planned pilots for Clipper access and a regional "one‑seat/one‑ride" pilot to ease cross‑jurisdiction travel. She said the extension would give staff time to finish technology upgrades and regional coordination and to structure a longer procurement for maximum savings.
Teamsters representatives spoke in support of the extension. The board approved the two‑year contract amendment and related funding actions by roll call; the motion passed with unanimous ayes.
What’s next: staff will continue implementing negotiated contract concessions, advance technology modernization projects (taxi debit modernization, Clipper pilot) and return to the board with procurement plans when ready.