Muni Coalition — A Blast From the Past 03.16.09
I don’t know if you know this, but way back when there was a group called the Muni Coalition: Muni Riders for a Better Muni. My former partner used to have meetings at our apartment on Clement Street. The variety of people who came was astounding — transgender, hippies, and all the rest.
This was back in the 1980s.
Matt Bamberg, author of 50 Greatest Photo Opportunities in San Francisco
Bus Etiquette Explained by Tasha 03.16.09
Tasha from Double Fine Productions illustrates a little Muni etiquette:
Thanks, Muni rider Jeremy K and Gabe at Double Fine!
Abusive Operator on the 9 (Also, a 30-minute Wait for the 19?)? 03.15.09
Normally when I head home from Potrero Hill I would take the 19. It’s a thirty-minute, roller coaster ride from the start of the ride, but that wasn’t the case today, mainly because of Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations (Happy Early St. Patty’s Day too!)
So, I decided to use an alternative, which would mean I would take the 9 in hopes of catching the 47. I got on the 9, but missed the 47.
Anyway, I got on the 9 at SF General. When I got to 16th, two guys got on the second rear door. After that, the driver, who was a she, called Central Control, and we were idling there for FIVE MINUTES. Two minutes into when she was making the call, this guy went up to her and started screaming at her. She starting screaming back at him, saying,
“You can’t tell me what I can or can’t do!”
He got off, occasionally returning to the bus to scream her off. After that, her wife, or girlfriend. Or friend. Or whatever, went up and yelled at her. She returned fire by calling her a “bitch”, and some other nasty stuff I didn’t hear because I was in the back.
And all this during a call to Central Control!
So here’s the lesson for these folks: Don’t mess with Muni operators otherwise they may resort to committing dumb acts by cussing you out!
Weekend Photo Diary 03.13.09
Unintended Consequences on the 49 03.13.09
Submitted by Muni rider Erich
The 49. Inbound at 8:45. The bus makes its stop and this guy in wheelchair asks to get off. The driver is kind enough to push him toward the lift but the guy starts bitching him out. He lets the guy go on his own and the guy makes it to the lift. He then proceeds to fuck around in the lift and flip his chair, wedging it in the railing. The bus driver had to stop the bus and call an inspector so they wouldn’t get sued. We walked from there. The guy was still bitching.
If you’ve been stuck, had to walk, or have any other tales from Muni or BART, send it to us.
Your Muni Meltdown™, Brought to You by Twitter 03.12.09
Something nasty happening in the western half of town, as reported on Twitter. Some choice Tweets:
njudah YIKES! Folks, if you’re downtown and need to get home, just plan on MUNI being a big hassle…get a coffee or a cocktail and wait it out.
munidiaries looks pretty ugly out west: http://is.gd/n5QA
AgentNano Looks like there are also delays on MUNI with the N-Judah. Bus Bridge in place between Ocean Beach and at least Sunset, maybe 19th.
rowenoftc Sad N-Judah fail in progress. http://twitpic.com/21fh3
AgentNano MUNI underground 15-30 minute delays on the outbound K, L, M, and T lines, due to equipment problems.
jonsnyder Been stuck underground on the N for like 30 min now. What’s up?
If you know more, or have stories of getting stuck in the fracas, let us know in comments.
Insert Foot Into Mouth at the Montgomery Station 03.12.09
Diary submitted by Muni rider Michael.
I was waiting for the train in the Montgomery station at 11:00 on a Thursday night. Not too many people waiting – a couple sitting together, huddled and talking, a handful of individuals spread out doing their thing.
Down the escalator came a businessman – late forties/early fifties, wearing a suit, drunk but not blatantly trashed. He meandered his way across the space and stopped in front of the seated couple.
“Oh, that’s beautiful….that’s beautiful.” He wandered away as the couple looked at each other. A few moments later, he wandered back.
“Excuse me. Can I apologize to you?”
“Uh…why?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Errr…..”
“I thought she was retarded and you were being the good guy.”
The couple looked back, speechless. The train was rolling up as this interaction was taking place, so without responding to the businessman, the couple got up and made their way to the train.
Sensing a failure to communicate, the businessman yelled after them, “I thought she was retarded! I thought you were being the GOOD GUY! GET IT?!”
I boarded the train as speechless as the couple.
Photo by Flickr user striatic.
Got your own tales of life on Muni or BART? Send us your diaries, photos, etiquette gone wrong . . . we want to hear from you!
Your Turn: Ask Muni’s Judson True 03.12.09
Is there a passenger quota on buses? What is Muni doing to improve its on-time performance? How can we get cleaner buses? Why does the back door never open when I want to get off but always opens when people are cheating the fare? And what was that red puddle on the 14?
These are just some of the questions percolating in our comments section, in our Twitter feed, and on our minds as we ride the bus every day. We know there are a ton more questions out there, so we asked Judson True, SFMTA’s media relations manager, for a little one-on-one. He will be answering some of your most pressing questions in his first Muni Diaries interview. So, what do you want to know?
We will be taking your questions and some of our own, so tell us what you want to know in the comments section by next Friday, March 20, or email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.
Stay tuned!
Transit News Digest 3.11.09 03.11.09
In our last Transit News Digest, we failed to note that former Muni chief Emilio Cruz is back at it, leading a joint-venture of that drastically underfunded Central Subway Project thingy, as reported by SF Appeal yesterday. Thanks for noticing, Rescue Muni.
SF Appeal has another great piece of original reporting out today uncovering the SFMTA’s difficulties in having enough drivers on-board (ha!) to drive the allotted number of buses each day. Nice work on the article, Matt. Stay tuned, Muni Diaries readers, for your chance to ask Muni anything that’s on your mind (well, almost anything).
SF Streets Blog has an excellent piece up today asking the non-rhetorical question: What can the city do make the MTA more accountable? A great read, and be sure to share your ideas with them.
The Examiner digs deeper into just how much of a waste the ill-fated Culture Bus was, and SF Citizen isn’t far behind, comparing the yellow buses to NASA’s space shuttle program. Ouch!
And in happier news (at least for transit nerds like us), KPIX reports that about 8 percent of California’s expected $50 billion in stimulus money will go toward transportation projects. No clear word on how much of that will be for public transit, and how much we can expect here in the Bay Area. And the percentage could always be higher. But we’re happy to see the green river flowing again …
As always, if you’ve got tips, suggestions, or diaries of your own, send them our way.
Transit News Digest 3.10.09 (Update) 03.10.09
Silly me, posting a news digest before 1 p.m.
Update: Just learned that BART directors will a presentation Thursday (March 12) on the agency’s Fiscal Year 2010, assuming it will have one. It expects a $49.3 million deficit next year.
Original post: Earlier today, Greg Dewar posted a quick hit asking for details on a Muni slowdown. Good luck getting that, Greg. If you, dear reader, know of anything, let us know here or on Twitter, or drop Greg a line.
On Monday, SFGate reported another jump in public transit ridership, with 2008′s numbers constituting a 52-year high. It’s great news, but here in San Francisco, as in many other parts of the country, budget deficits compounded by the spiraling economy are forcing fare hikes and cuts in funding. The country is truly a shambles right now economically, but it’s at least encouraging that more and more people realize that public transit, while full of its share of problems, nearly always beats driving. (thx: Rescue Muni)
Nascent online-news site SFAppeal catches us up on just how badly the budget numbers will impact plans for the Central/Chinatown Subway project. It doesn’t look good.
Per that report last week that Muni managed to boost its on-time rates, The Examiner has a theory as to how it happened — discipline from on high. We’d sure like to see a Muni driver slapped on the wrist with a ruler next time he or she starts a route early.
In perhaps more familiar news, a suit has been filed against the BART extension into Fremont. We didn’t realize the backyards over there were so precious. Turns out the group crying foul comprises former BART directors and the Transportation Solutions and Education Fund, so perhaps it’s got merit. They claim the extension is an illegal expenditure of public funds, basically because the rest of the extension into Santa Clara County hasn’t yet found funding. To our minds, this is like saying, “Don’t eat breakfast if you haven’t yet found a way to pay for lunch.”
Oh, and be wary until about 4 p.m., as Muni is advising of delays in downtown San Francisco due to a demonstration.
And to leave you on a high note, SFist spreads word of a TransLink party along Market on March 22. Sounds deliciously deviant and painfully fun.
If you’ve got news tips or stories you’re dying to tell, let us know. And Happy Tuesday!
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