Many cities have rolled out 311 for non-emergency calls, a companion number to 911 that hopefully reduces the burden of non-critical calls on the actual emergency lines. Baltimore’s police department was the first to roll out 311 in 1996 and the FCC approved its nationwide use in 1997. As part of its “On the Job” series, the San Francisco Chronicle paid a visit to the city’s 311 customer service representatives. San Francisco’s 311 went live in March and handles more than police calls, taking point on all manner of city service queries. About 6,000 calls come in per day, and a significant portion are about the MUNI bus service. The article of course has prime examples of those off-the-wall inquiries, like “how long does it take to build a cable car?” There’s a serial caller who takes great pride in reporting graffiti, several times a day. Some people call to ask what time it is.