Flickr photo: AgentAkit

Supervisor Bevan Dufty has called for the MTA and the SFPD to provide an update to the public on SFPD’s Bus Inspection Program, and the agencies have agreed to do so at a November 9 Board of Supervisors committee meeting. The presentation will include an update on the trial program to track officers’ Muni ridership by requiring them to tag their TransLink cards as they enter and exit transit vehicles.

The SFPD’s Bus Inspection Program requires each sergeant in a patrol
division and each officer "assigned to a radio car" to make two transit
inspections per shift, and officers on foot patrol are required to make at
least four inspections per shift, but Muni riders have reported rarely seeing officers on Muni vehicles. Back in June, Tony Parra, the SFPD Deputy Chief and director of Security
Enforcement for the MTA, announced a trial program requiring officers from some stations to tag their TransLink cards when they made transit inspections, giving the MTA and SFPD a way to confirm they’re doing their duty.

Supervisor Dufty said he called for the update in light of recent violent incidents on Muni, and an MTA study showing high levels of fare evasion, though transit advocates have been waiting for an update since the program was announced in June.

"News reports about continued violence on Muni and estimates that up to $19 million is lost every year due to fare evasion, I look forward to hearing from the Police Department and Muni about the Bus Inspection Program," said Dufty in a press release. "Providing basic safety on our buses is critical to the success of our public transit system."

Have you seen more police officers on Muni lately, or tagging a TransLink reader? Let us know in the comments below.