To close out the year, we've asked contributors to choose their favorite stories of 2017.
Reporter Jessica Park selected When It Comes To Fare Enforcement, Muni's Inspectors Rarely Stray Far From HQ, which ran on March 1st.
"This was the first data-driven story we published at Hoodline and it was one of the most rewarding stories I have worked on as a young journalist," said Jessica.
"We received the data in the latter half of 2016, which consisted of more than 60,000 Muni citations that were given to riders between January 2015 and February 2016."
Cleaning up the data so it could be properly analyzed was a laborious process, "but when we finally completed the work, we were able to put this together with all of the appropriate details and information," she added.
Like many Hoodline stories, our analysis of where fare inspectors were writing citations was inspired by a tip from readers. In this case, a few tipsters noticed that riders at stops closest to SFMTA headquarters seemed to receive more citations than passengers farther down the line.
"Through this story, we were able to have a better understanding of the Muni transportation system, as well as the roles that transit fare inspectors and the managers play in the city."
Overall, nearly a third of citations were given out within half a mile of the office, more than half were handed out within one mile, and 85 percent total were issued within two miles.
Distant parts of the city appear almost untouched. To understand why, we contacted the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates the Muni public transportation system.
It told us that the inspector force is small, it's not intended to maximize citation revenue, and it intentionally starts fare inspections from headquarters and the biggest transit centers in the city, then works its way outwards.
Continue reading Jessica's favorite story of 2017, When It Comes To Fare Enforcement, Muni's Inspectors Rarely Stray Far From HQ.
