Was there ever a 79 bus running through the Haight? 02.12.09
Then why on earth does Puma wanna go all generic on our asses? I mean, we appreciate the love, and they were so, so close … plus 8.
Hayes considered for two-way, eh? 02.12.09
A wee little portion of Hayes Street (home to the 21 line) east of Gough is proposed to become two-way, according to a recent SFGate article. It may not turn into a big deal (and didn’t seem like one for most of the time I was reading this story), but a few little bits are worth mentioning.
From a Muni planner, regarding the potential loss of a transit-only lane opened during the evening commute:
But without that transit lane, the buses would be slowed, and that would run counter to San Francisco’s transit-first policy, said Muni planner Julie Kirschbaum.
1. What San Francisco transit-first policy? Oh, that one. If this is a real policy, then great. If it’s one of those feel-good, not-really-enforced-but-is-a-good-idea policies, then not so great. A continued wealth of good ideas with bad execution (i.e., no way to enforce them or fund them) seems to be a chronic problem in the Muniverse, something that continues to disappoint many of us riders. We hope it’s taken into consideration as more than lip service over this issue. The bottom line, though, is that you don’t make roads less hospitable to cars while also making it tougher to drive buses down them.
No Other Option But to Drive 02.12.09
The 43-Masonic completely screwed me Tuesday night. I was running a little behind for my 6:30 p.m. lab, and I was already sweating the fact that the buses — according to NextBus anyway — were running 20 minutes apart. This is unusual for the 43, which usually runs at 10-minute intervals during rush hour.
At my stop around 6:03 p.m. (I checked my watch), a somewhat full bus approached me and the other waiting passengers — and then just kept on going. WTF? I caught the bus driver’s eye. Actually, I chased after the bus, knocked on the door, and gave the driver my best look of desperation. It didn’t work. The driver just looked at me and chugged away.
The bus wasn’t brimming with people. I saw plenty of room in the back and in the front. So why didn’t the driver stop?
Knowing that the next bus was about 15 to 20 minutes behind, I had to muster my car keys and drive to lab. If Muni really wants to make public transit a sustainable and reliable option for San Franciscans, drivers must at the very least stop for their passengers.
I submitted my complaint to Muni. I’ll let y’all know if I actually get a response.
That Now Infamous 33 Driver-Rider Fight 02.11.09
ABC 7′s Dan Noyes sought and got this story and its accompanying video, which shows a Muni bus operator out on the sidewalk holding down a passenger who had allegedly verbally given him a hard time about moving back on a crowded bus.
It’s a crazy story, and it’s been reported very diligently by SFist as well as ABC, so I’ll point you there for the details. Muni’s released statement on the incident was fairly boilerplate, along the lines of:
The SFMTA does not tolerate inappropriate behavior from any of its employees and will
continue to work with all employees to ensure that they maintain their professionalism at all
times.
Well, what did you expect them to say?
Transit News Digest 2.11.09 02.11.09
Rescue Muni discusses an SFMTA proposal to change the way things are done on Hayes Street. Seems like a “too little, too late” solution to this one-way street lover. Our own Tara will be back tomorrow with a Muni Diaries take on the proposal.
ABC 7 has more on one of the peds struck by Muni on Sunday. Turns out the victim was a former Oakland Tribune reporter.
Apparently some aren’t happy that only Johannes Mehserle is being charged in the death of Oscar Grant, and they’re calling for a wider prosecution net to be cast.
BeyondChron looks at how federal stimulus dollars may (or may not) reach Muni. Now is a good time to be in the know, you guys. And in other at least semi-economic news, The Examiner‘s Brent Begin has a story about how Muni is getting the shaft on the vehicles it uses to get to its own emergencies (and these days, there’s plenty of those to go around).
On the lighter side of things (something Muni Diaries believes we can’t get enough of these troubling days), N-Judah Chronicle’s Greg relays a pretty funny story on the N of yesteryear.
Happy riding. Talk to us!
The most transfers in the shortest distance 02.11.09
Muni makes most areas of San Francisco pretty accessible, even if it can take awhile. But, as most of us know, people’s likelihood of using public transit goes down the more they have to transfer between routes to get where they’re going.
There’s a place I go weekly in Bernal Heights, which is about a mile from my Glen Park home. There are lots of places I can go in San Francisco, within a mile of wherever I am, that don’t require multiple transfers, but this isn’t one of them.
If I’m lucky, I can catch the 24 down to 30th and Church and then take the J home. But both are semi-unreliable — the 24 runs either ever five minutes or 20, depending on how it feels. The J runs every 10 minutes or maybe every 45.
If I can’t get the J, I can take the 24 to Mission, then take one of several buses to 24th St., then take BART back to Glen Park. That’s three separate routes. At this point, the whole prospect of using public transit to travel a mile or so begins to look pretty silly — except these are areas I wouldn’t want to walk through alone, especially at night.
Can you think of other short-distance journeys that require so many transfers? Or is this Bernal/Glen Park disconnect the worst of the lot?
– Beth W.
Photo by Flickr user gizzmo2z
Alternative Transportation 02.10.09
This guy has figured out how to get anywhere Muni goes while avoiding the fare. He just needs to hang on tight.
Muni Diaries Pub Crawl Reminder and RSVP Request 02.10.09
Just a quick note to remind everyone about next week’s Muni Diaries pub crawl. If you have Facebook, would you mind stopping by the Muni Diaries Pub Crawl event page and dropping an RSVP? We’d like to be able to tell Lucky 13 how many of us there will be so they can adequately staff the event. The other bars on the list, well, they can just deal. Ha!
Thanks!
Transit News Digest 2.9.09 02.09.09
Not that Muni Diaries would ever dissuade anyone from using buses and trains in the city, but this report from the Chronicle‘s Rachel Gordon, of how several perhaps-more-vital city agencies are pilfering SFMTA, doesn’t paint a pretty picture for our beloved/maligned Muni. Greg at N-Judah Chronicles shares his take, in no uncertain terms, on the goings on over at McAllister and Van Ness.
This whole “economy” thing is bad, folks. We wouldn’t bemoan riding a bike or walking. Just, er, look both ways if you do, as there were two cases of a Muni train not hearing the thunderous sound of an approaching pedestrian and striking them as recently as yesterday. The Examiner reports the other incident, in which a ped got smacked at Fifth and Market. Apparently one of these two incidents involved life-threatening injuries, though it’s unclear which. Yikes.
Speaking of, and this comes to us a little late, the MTA board last week approved “$1.8 million to settle a dozen claims involving collisions with cars, a slip and fall, and doors shutting on a passenger.” Maybe after this weekend, that tally will inch up a bit.
Late Friday, ex-BART officer Johannes Mehserle was released on bail, to celebratory cheers all around, I’m sure. The Examiner has thrown its pennies in the pot (though not quite $0.02, we’d estimate), with an editorial on how truly stinky BART’s “investigation” and subsequent decision to farm that work out is.
If you’ve got something burning in your loins that you feel our readers should know of, please, let it out. The story, we mean. Call us, call us, any, anytime …
Muni Is Like a Crack Whore 02.09.09
Last Friday, Allan at Mission Mission alerted us to this gem of a Tweet from arlenarlenarlen. Indiddly …
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
