Muni director announces resignation, saying it's 'clear this is the right time for a change'

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency announced on Monday that he planned to retire this summer.

In a letter to Muni staff, Ed Reiskin said that his employment aeement with the SFMTA board of directors ends in August, "and it's become clear that this is the right time for a change."

Reiskin was named director of transportation in 2011 -- and leaves amid a rising tide of discontent over the state of Muni -and contentious union negotiations with bus and train operators. 

"Clearly it is time to make a significant change so that’s what we’re proposing," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. "I want to thank the people of San Francisco who really rely on our public transportation system and have been patient with us as we have tried to address what we know as real challenges in our city."

The lettering came after what may have been the agency’s most challenging weeks in a while. 
On Friday April 26th, some riders were forced to walk or take buses because Muni Metro service was interrupted for hours between Powell and Civic Center Plaza when lines reportedly came down on some tracks, which caused a power outage. 

The previous day saw two separate incidents of power failures, one of which caused a loss of commination between trains. 

"I think that one of the biggest frustrations that we here on the elected side of government is that often times we highlight or flags things for this agency. We talk about them in advance and yet the agency is not nimble enough to respond in an effective way to help to avert some of those problems," said Ahsha Safai.

The supervisor for District 11 in San Francisco sits on the Rules Committee, which appoints SFMTA Board Members. Fellow comittee member, Board of Supervisor’s President Norman Yee said Reiskin’s resignation is the opening for top to bottom changes the agency has needed for years. 

"I think it’s an opportunity for all of us to look at the agency itself and see how we can fix it so people can actually be successful in this job," said Yee.

Across the Bay, BART's General Manager Grace Crunican told the BART board of directors earlier this month that she'll step down July 9. BART's Chief of Police Carlos Rojas will be retiring early in May.