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San Francisco's New Mayor Wants Public Transit Improvements

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - San Francisco's new Mayor, Ed Lee, has described Muni as a transit system that's falling short of the mark, when compared to public transit in other big cities.

He has called for improvements to the system.

KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:

"We're way behind on modern transportation and it's embarrassing," Lee declared.

Lee travels often, and in fact he was in Hong Kong when he learned the outgoing mayor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, wanted him to take his place.

"Hong Kong has one of the best transit systems possible," Lee suggested. "The things are clean, they're efficient, they're on time. I never missed any appointment on that, so why can't we get there?"

Lee did acknowledge there was reason to be optimistic about Muni's future.

"We have to recognize and I think people are recognizing that the on-time performance has been the highest it's ever been in years."

Other problems, he suggested, could be replaced without spending a great deal of money, but by improving communication.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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