Transit Operators provide service 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays. Our work is both stressful and rewarding. Navigating a huge vehicle in a busy environment while responsible for the safety of our passengers requires skill, focus, endurance, and patience. Operating a transit vehicle is hard on the body, leaving operators prone to injuries of the back, knees, wrists and shoulders. It is at once sedentary, as we are sitting for many hours at a time, and acutely stressful. This combination is known to be high risk for heart disease. We must maintain a high degree of alertness and focus for prolonged periods with the requirement to skillfully execute difficult maneuvers safely many times an hour with 100% correctness. At all times, we must be ready to initiate an emergency stop without warning.

Add to that myriad distractions of behavior by other actors, including the passengers on board, the other drivers on the road, and an ever changing set of obstacles to avoid, and you can begin to see the challenges transit operators must overcome in our work. If we preform all of this flawlessly, it appears perfectly normal and not noteworthy. If we mess up, people can get hurt.

San Francisco can't function efficiently without Muni. We are responsible for half a million daily trips in the city, but are a tiny fraction of the vehicles on the road. If fewer people ride transit, traffic congestion worsens, pollution increases, and there streets become less safe as the chances of collisions increase. Muni provides independence and mobility to people who don't drive, including school children, seniors, those with vision or mobility impairments, and anyone else who chooses not to undertake the hassles of driving a car. 

Everyone is better off when people ride transit. Even people who have never boarded a bus or train benefit from Muni. A person in their car waiting behind a bus is directly benefitting because it's dozens of passengers are not also in cars. As a result, a significant amount of congestion is avoided. This is impossible without the daily efforts of Muni Operators.

It's not just Operators 

I think it's appropriate to recognize lots of other workers on Transit Operator Appreciation Day. Though Operators are the most visible workers, transit systems can't function without the dedicated efforts of many different people. 

Mechanics, Car Cleaners, Fuelers, and Maintainers keep our vehicles in a state of good repair and in sanitary condition. Buses and trains undergo intense use and we could not operate without them. Schedulers, Dispatchers, Controllers, and Transit Inspectors are also essential to the daily buisness of transit, we could not operate without them. Electrical Line Workers, Track Workers, and Parking Control Officers are essential to keeping the right of way for our vehicles clear and functional, we could not operate without them. Fare Inspectors, Station Agents, and Transit Ambassadors are key to insuring passengers are informed and safe when using the system. All of these jobs are part of operating a transit system, and I feel their efforts should also be recognized and celebrated on Transit Operator Appreciation Day.