Mobility for Everyone

Sometimes people may not be able to use standard Muni and taxi service in San Francisco. So, we offer a variety of options from paratransit to shuttle services that help older adults and people with disabilities get where they need to go. In this episode, you’ll learn how we customize and administer these options. San Francisco Paratransit Operations General Manager Yevette McNeese, SFMTA Mobility Management Center Manager Catherine Callahan and Mobility Management Specialist Aurico Daga are featured, as are several city residents.

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MELISSA CULROSS, HOST: There are people in San Francisco who have places to go and things to do, but standard Muni or taxi service may not work for them. So, we’ve developed programs to help them get out and get around.

YEVETTE MCNEESE, SF PARATRANSIT OPERATIONS MANAGER: Mobility management has really changed the way that we’ve done things, and I foresee a lot more changes in the future. 

MELISSA: Welcome to Taken with Transportation, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Official podcast. I’m your host, Melissa Culross. We begin this episode at a health and wellness fair at the OMI Senior Center near San Francisco State University. We’re talking with Anita, who has been a Muni rider since moving to SF in the 70s.

ANITA: I was going to college in Southern California. Came up to the city, visited. And I go, “Oh.” Love the weather. I’m from Portland, and I said, “I love the weather.” And the bus was only a nickel, and I said, “Oh, I won’t have to drive. If I ever live in California, I’m living in San Francisco.” So, some years later, here I am.

MELISSA: We ask Anita how she gets around these days.

ANITA: I have a senior Clipper card, which I use quite a bit. I do drive if I have to get a lot of groceries. I do drive. I used to haul my kids and groceries on my hips. But I take the bus probably three or four times a week, and you can go all over the place. 

MELISSA: Anita tells us that over the years, she’s become an expert at navigating public transit…from making transfer connections to staying on top of Muni arrival times.

ANITA: 3-1-1, I always used to call them to find out when the bus was coming before I had a cell phone. And that service, those guys were great. I have a cell phone now, so I can look up things and look up the schedules. But Muni is great. The fact that you can go pretty much everywhere on the bus. Like they say, “Take the bus. Leave the driving to us.” It’s true. You can get around, young, old. And as I said, when my kids were babies, I hauled them on my back and my hip. So, Muni helped me back then. And there’ll be a time when I won’t be driving, and Muni is just a block, half a block from my house. So, they’re one of my best friends.

MELISSA: But not everyone can use Muni. Not because they don’t want to, but because it’s too challenging, physically.

YEVETTE MCNEESE: Even though a Muni bus may stop at someone’s corner, they may not be able to walk two houses down to the corner. So, it was very essential to get people with different abilities to medical appointments, out to shopping, to their daily social events. :16

MELISSA: That’s Yevette McNeese, general manager of San Francisco Paratransit Operations. We’re in her office overlooking the Bay and discussing how we customize different transportation options and services to meet the variety of needs people may have. First of all, we offer traditional paratransit service that allows people with disabilities to schedule door-to-door van rides. That’s a requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but not everyone is eligible, even if they have a disability. So, we also offer services that go beyond what the ADA requires. And we administer all of this…through what’s known as mobility management.

YEVETTE: Mobility management puts it all together and tries to make everything efficient. So, we’re at a point in society where efficiency is really important. Uh, it’s important for the environment. It’s important for those who wanna travel. And it’s important for the city, as far budgetary spending. So, when you have mobility management, you can look at the different aspects. One may be better for one passenger, and one may be better for the other. So, it gives you a database. It gives you different selections for them to use for transportation. So, mobility management has really changed the way that we’ve done things, and I foresee a lot more changes in the future.

MELISSA: Across town from McNeese’s office is the SFMTA Mobility Management Center. It’s managed by Catherine Callahan.

CATHERINE CALLAHAN, SFMTA MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER MANAGER: The Mobility Management Center really acts as a central hub for anyone who is curious about services for seniors-slash-older adults or people with disabilities. And the agency’s involved in catering to those two populations to figure out what the best resources and the best transportation solutions are. Whether that’s taxis or paratransit, we help people figure out what is going to be the best solution for their specific circumstances and needs. 

MELISSA: Does the Mobility Management Center have programs for people outside of those two groups?

CATHERINE: For the most part, we do help and provide services for folks with disabilities and seniors. However, we also interact with a lot of different agencies that connect people to services or friends and family of people who are looking for any sort of transportation support. And we also help people out who call and need information about how to get around because they’re visiting. And we often talk to people who are visiting from other areas and are connected to paratransit where they are. And they’re looking to get transportation services when they are visiting us in San Francisco. 

MELISSA:  Callahan tells us about some of the specific enhanced services that go beyond traditional paratransit and that we referred to before. She begins with a relatively new one.

CATHERINE: The Essential Trip Card program started when there were service changes at the beginning of the pandemic where the lines were changed and service hours were changed. Folks still needed to get around. They needed to get their essential needs taken care of. Hence, the Essential Trip Card program. So, that is a discounted taxi program. In addition to that, we have our Shop-a-Round program, which existed before the pandemic. And that is specifically a program that helps folks get to grocery shopping, get to specific markets and have the added bonus of getting some support with up to three bags. Uh, with that program, there’s also Shop-a-Round Taxi in case you need to go to a grocery store that isn’t on our schedule for the week, or you need to go at a different time. And our Van Gogh program is geared for leisure and pleasure and community. And acknowledging the fact that, like, being out enjoying life, enjoying cultural events, going out to lunch together, going to the museum … those are all things that enrich life, as well. 

MELISSA: Shop-a-Round and Van Gogh are group trip programs, and we want to hear from some of the folks who use these services. So, we head out to a supermarket on Sloat Boulevard to catch up with a Shop-a-Round shuttle and chat with the customers using it to get here. We ask Bonnie Bhattacharya how she feels about Shop-a-Round.

BONNIE BHATTACHARYA: Well, it’s my lifeline because I have to do my own shopping, and I can’t walk to Safeway anymore. So, this…sort of…I get my groceries, fresh groceries, from here. At least I survive by myself with the service. 

MELISSA: Paula Bizcarra is also a passenger on this trip.

PAULA BIZCARRA: The bus drivers are very nice. They help you with your groceries, and they put the groceries in front of the door. They put the groceries inside the car. They’re wonderful, just excellent. And I’m very happy to have that ride because I’m kinda blind with this eye. I cannot see very well.

MELISSA: And June Tracy tells us that Shop-a-Round offers more than just a ride to the store.

JUNE TRACY: Most of the clients are seniors or disabled and often live alone. So, it has a social aspect as well as getting the groceries home. Because, uh, you know we, we’ve all become friends. We know each other’s life, and we chat. And you know, something to look forward to. 

MELISSA: Like Bonnie and Paula, June gives the Shop-a-Round shuttle a great review. She just wishes we provided fliers she could hand out to let more people know about it. 

JUNE: I’m 65, but I’m, I…over 65. I’m actually 80, but I’m not disabled, so I still use public transportation. And I see someone carrying a lot of groceries, and I say, “There’s this wonderful service.” And I try to write down the number, and… But if I had a brochure or something just to hand somebody. Like, sometimes we’ve been shopping here at Lucky’s and other places, and someone will come up and approach us or the driver and say, “Oh, what’s this service?” and “Tell me about it.” :27

MELISSA: So that said, now seems like a good time to talk about getting the word out, not only about Shop-a-Round, but about all our services. We absolutely need to make sure people know what we offer, and that’s where Mobility Management Specialist Aurico Daga comes in. He handles our outreach efforts. 

AURICO DAGA, MOBILITY MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST: As important as transportation is to, you know, live a life and live it fully, it’s often something that can be forgotten almost compared to other, you know, essential needs, too. Like, you know, making sure that your insurance is in check, that your Social Security’s still coming. Um, arranging your doctor’s appointments and things like that. So, being proactive about finding outreach is super important, and it is kind of like a central thing in terms of how we plan our outreach strategy. 

MELISSA: That strategy includes working with neighborhood centers and senior centers, setting up tables at community events and holding information sessions over Zoom. Daga says the number of outreach events we do varies from month to month and even week to week, depending on what’s happening in the community.

AURICO: Oftentimes, you know, outreach opportunities are based on things as simple as weather (laughter). If there’s gonna be an outdoor something or other or even what other, um, organizations and community partners are doing. I’ve gone out my way before, visiting various senior residences and, you know, um, apartments and things like that to talk to service coordinators and say, “Hey, do you want me to come over for a presentation?” But oftentimes, it’s folks that usually find us and say, “Hey, we would really love to have you come and present to our community here.” Or even to staff members, as well. Like, I’ve done presentations for case managers, social workers, you know, behavior assistants and things like that just to kinda show them the ropes of just all that we have to offer and how to access it. ‘Cause it can be quite intimidating at first when you look at it from a fresh view.

MELISSA: And Daga makes sure his outreach efforts are engaging and even entertaining, as well as informative.

AURICO: If you’re gonna be with me for any presentation, I always like to treat it almost like it’s a little comedy show. Because no one likes going to a presentation with a guy in a suit being very boring (laughter). Um, we’ll, we’ll still be learning, of course. My other thing I wanna talk about with outreach is that, um, it’s something I always love to do just because beyond showcasing all these resources and programs and things like that to help folks get around town, it’s also just really heartwarming to kind of be with my neighbors and community members and kind of, um, educate them about these things but then kind of also give them, like, almost a sense of hope. When you find resources, and you can find things to kind of, um, make you think, “Okay, maybe things are a little bit off right now, but if you keep trucking along and going to this program and do this, that and the other, it’s going to be better.”

MELISSA: What about when we have a table at a community event and aren’t doing a formal presentation?

AURICO: People are approaching us a lot of the time, just inquisitive about what we are and what we’re doing. You know, we got the same SFMTA logos and everything. And we got all the trappings that make us look like any other part of the, um, transit agency. And so, you know, instead of, um, answering their question directly of, um, “Oh, you know, what are you guys, what do you guys do?” I usually try to flip it back and just say well, you know, “How do you get around town? Do you just ride Muni? Do you drive? Do you walk?” And, you know, usually those are the answers, right: “I take Muni, I drive, I walk.” But then, there are other folks that might end up turning to me and saying, “Oh, I don’t do that. I usually stay home, or my friends give me a ride.” That’s when it becomes a great opportunity to showcase to people, like, you know, we all know the buses and the trains and Muni Metro and Muni buses and all that. But um, we kind of forget that there are other services and programs specifically meant for older adults, people with disabilities or any person who just might have trouble using the regular buses or trains. Those are always really fun conversations ‘cause I always love to pick and probe at people and just kind of figure out, “What are you looking for? What do you need? What do you want?” And then it’s just pointing them in the right direction. 

MELISSA: For Mobility Management Center Manager Catherine Callahan, her work, including outreach, is a bit personal. 

CATHERINE: You can’t tell this listening to it, but I’m a wheelchair user. So, even that visual for people when I’m out doing outreach, is a way to pull people in. There are so many people who are shocked to even learn that transit is accessible. The assumption is that it isn’t (laughter). So, one of, like, my big joys here is really spreading that word and making sure that people know that there are ways to get around. That SFMTA and the greater Bay Area is doing what, what it can to make sure that people of all abilities can get around. :41

MELISSA: All of this brings us back to the OMI Senior Center. We’ve got a mobility management table at the health and wellness fair here, and Aurico Daga is describing the different transportation options to Tina Huang. 

AURICO: So. you know what? Here. For next time, if you guys wanna do a group trip, we have this program called Van Gogh.

TINA HUANG: Oh!

AURICO: Yeah…

MELISSA: Huang is a case manager with the Glide Foundation and organizes group outings. In fact, she brought a group to this fair and is excited about the services we offer.

TINA: When I heard about this, I said, “Oh! That’s amazing!” Yeah. I, I haven’t known…don’t know about that. Yeah. I think it’s a good idea to get the group of people to get in one line to the destination, right? 

MELISSA: Anita, whom we spoke with at the beginning of this episode, tells us more about how her family gets around.

ANITA: Now, my husband used…after his surgery, he used one of your, your programs, okay. The essential…essential trips. So, he used that for about a year after his surgery. There are a lot of services that we try to, you know, look into. But Muni’s been my pal for over, what, 50 years that I’ve lived here. Yeah. 

MELISSA: You can help us make the services we have been talking about in this episode better by taking our Accessible Transportation Needs Assessment Survey. Catherine Callahan.

CATHERINE: It’s very brief. I encourage everyone to take it. It’s, like, three to five minutes. You might spot us out in the community. You can also go online on the SFMTA website to take it, and there are paper forms. 

MELISSA: To find the survey on our website, just go to SFMTA-dot-com-slash-accessibility-assessment. You have until Jan. 15, 2025, to take the survey. At the end of the day, all of these transportation services are about people. They exist to help people get around the city. And they exist because of the people who run them. San Francisco Paratransit Operations General Manager Yevette McNeese.

YEVETTE: In this service, you have to have very caring and compassionate employees, which we do have. It takes extra effort to serve our clientele and make sure that they’re okay because we, we have to deal with medical emergencies on buses, all different things. So, it takes a special person to do the job and do it well. 

MELISSA: Thank you for joining us on Taken with Transportation. We’re a production of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and you can find the latest episodes at SFMTA.com-slash-Podcast, as well as Apple, Spotify, our YouTube channel or wherever you listen. I’m Melissa Culross. Be well and travel well.