Transit-News Digest 1.29.09 01.29.09
Late Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the stimulus bill, which will provide much-needed mass transit funds. Elana Schor at TPM detailed the mass-transit funding in the bill, which still awaits watering-down debate in the Senate.
Closer to home, SFist_Dan gives us all a much-needed update on the state of TransLink. Put it this way — it’s running about as well as Muni is.
Greg Dewar adds more information to Wednesday evening’s incident in the Sunset involving a car getting pummeled by the N. Greg extended his post with a pretty scary olfactory incident of his own witness later that night. Greg also offered up a seemingly great idea to avoid transit-funding cuts, one he scribbled down at a bar a few years ago, to boot.
KPIX tells us BART’s decision to hire big-name lawyers to conduct a probe into the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant.
And SFGate reports of one example of confusing Muni signage. Word of the wise to SFGate: While technically accurate, this is the tip of iceberg. Read: All things NextBus.
If you know of news we missed, let us know!
Outtatha way, buddy! 01.28.09
Greg Dewar reports of a car that got smashed on the N tracks out in the Sunset, thereby snarling traffic coming out of the downtown corridor.
Here’s a photo, courtesy of Greg:
We don’t know whose fault it was, so, everyone, cars, peds, Muni operators, be careful out there, eh?
Transit-News Digest 1.27.09 01.27.09
It’s been a busy few days, mostly with up-and-down news concerning transit budgets. Greg at N Judah pointed to a possible sign of hope amongst the doom and gloom of DC/Sacto cuts to Muni, while on the national level, TPM, Transit for America, and Matt Yglesias all discussed the cutbacks mass transit is suffering as the so-called stimulus bill keeps getting watered down in Congress.
KPIX and SFist continued their coverage of the fallout from last month’s BART Police fatal shooting, including some new footage of the Fruitvale incident.
And finally, in our favorite local transit-drama story of the week (so far), we have reports of Mayor Newsom in France extolling the virtues of high-speed rail (yes, yes, we’ve been saying so all along), then comes news that Newsom has ordered a temporary halt of the Transbay Terminal (which would serve as the terminus for said high-speed rail) construction project. And conveniently for us, Greg from N-Judah tars and feathers Newsom for giving French high-speed rail a stroke while virtually ignoring Muni here at home. Come to think of it, can San Francisco even be called the governor’s mayor’s home any more?
As always, if you’ve got more news from the past three or four days that should be mentioned here, let us know.
There’s hella room on the back 01.27.09
Note: This is similar to a post on the Toasted Blog. The original post can be found here.
Why I ride Muni
I don’t have a car
I need it to get places
I’m too lazy to walk
So when the bus is full, why won’t people move to the back — and worst of all, how come Muni drivers rarely enforce the moving back thing, let alone play that annoying automated message,
For the convenience of the people boarding the bus, please move to the rear of the bus
The thing is, operators, from my perspective, care more about the front than the back. If the front isn’t clear, the bus passes people up. Which is another thing I hate.
Marley and Ro: Muni’s new dining guides? 01.26.09
While on the 1-California last week to see Muni Manners at Pecha Kucha, I snapped a picture of this curious ad:
“Marley & Ro — Muni: A Dining Adventure at Every Stop.”
Is this a new PR campaign by the SFMTA, now that CultureBus is no more?
I checked out Marley & Ro’s website and also found another picture of the mysterious (to me anyway) ad campaign on a bus shelter. More after the jump.
Poo-flinging at 16th St. Mission BART 01.26.09
I was heading home Friday afternoon from a very fruitful jaunt to Thrift Town. I entered the 16th St. Mission BART station, and was delighted to discover a good-looking guy playing some kind of rock music solo on his cello. I’m a sucker for rock cello, so I leaned against a wall near him to listen.
That, unfortunately, is when I spotted the guy who had wedged himself between the trashcan and the support column in the breezeway. He was dressed in jeans and a rain poncho, and his hands were deep in his jeans. I don’t mean in his jeans pocket; I mean in his jeans.
Next to me, one of the emergency doors opened and a janitor stepped through with a mop and bucket full of soapy water.
Transit-News Digest 01.23.09
Welcome to the first of what we (who have day jobs) hope will be a semi-regular feature on Muni Diaries: The Transit-News Digest. The aim is to compile these lists every few days or so. Yes, some of these stories have been commented on already on the site, but for what it’s worth …
And as always, let us know if you have news we missed!
Construction affecting 31BX, 38, 43, Jan. 26-Feb. 16, 2009
Riders will pay for BART budget deficit
Regarded criminal attorney to defend ex-BART cop
Fare evaders beware — no cuts planned to Muni inspectors
Muni pares back service on new CultureBus line
Music’s over for Muni station’s future as jazz club
S.F. Insider: Commuter benefits law in effect
Olfactory flashback on the 38 01.23.09
Yesterday afternoon while on a crowded 38 bus, a young man stepped in front of me and I noticed a scent that was really familiar, not totally unpleasant, but it made me cringe for some reason. I thought, “What IS that?!”
A minute later I realized that this young man was wearing Ralph Lauren’s Polo Sport cologne, which my college boyfriend would spritz on with liberty every morning during his lengthy morning routine.
I hadn’t thought of him in ages but I still remember every detail of how he would get ready in the morning. While I tapped my fingers he would be putting this American Crew gel in his hair, prescription toner on his face with Johnson & Johnson cotton pads (he only ever bought this brand because it was the least linty), followed by copious amounts of liquid deodorant under his arms, and of course, the Polo Sport cologne.
Funny how much you think about just because of a cologne on some random kid on the bus. I had to change my seat.
David Chiu — president of the supes and Muni rider 01.22.09
The word on the street is that David Chiu, our new president of the Board of Supervisors, is a Muni rider like the rest of us. The Chronicle’s City Insider reports that Chiu doesn’t own a car and gets around town on foot, bike, and Muni:
He said he gets around town biking, walking, using a car-share program and riding Muni. He has a monthly Muni FastPass and regularly rides the 1-California, 19-Polk and Van Ness Avenue lines.
I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for the supervisor on the 47 and 49! Let us know if you have other sightings of our city employees.
The strange customs on planet BART 01.22.09
I felt a little flummoxed Tuesday night on the Embarcadero Station platform when I spied this:
I was even more confused when I turned around and saw five or six more. I thought maybe they were put there to catch drips from leaky roofs, but the black sludge in the bottom of that bucket was dry, not wet. Then again, at Montgomery Station on Wednesday morning I saw a pile of damp washcloths/rags also surrounded by the orange cone/caution tape combo, so maybe it’s to catch leaks after all. I hope they can get those leaks fixed before … well, just how much water runs in the pipes overhead in those stations, anyway?
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
