Weekend Photo Diary: They didn’t see me 08.07.09
Photo by tangobaby from the Muni Photos Flickr pool
Amazing photo by tangobaby that I don’t really want to ruin with words. So I won’t.
Instead, I’ll recap a pretty busy week here on Muni Diaries. I’ll start with the post that kicked the week off for us: the July post of the month. Honors this month go to Plug1′s photo post: The Proof-of-Payment game. Later Monday, we posted a report of the M crashing into a car over the weekend, a story that was quickly eclipsed later that day in the now-famous SUV sandwich with F trains for bread. Later in the week, for whatever reason, old news about MTA’s purchasing an insurance policy came to the fore, and our weeks-old question was answered.
Also on Monday, we published the first of two posts by our favorite Muni mom, Beth W. One was about a cool new feature on txtmuni, an SMS service for bus predictions. The other was our first Muni poem, a villanelle.
Where the #$%! is Muni’s photography policy? 08.07.09
Image by Plug1. Click here for a larger view.
Muni Diaries would have withered and perhaps disappeared if it weren’t for some of the amazing photographs we’ve published of life on Muni. We have a category here on the site for what we call “Photo Diaries,” little slices-of-life that take place on Muni. We like running our Weekend Photo Diaries over the weekend, when traffic on the site slows down and we give readers a chance to get away from their computers. Muni photos, in a word, are vital to the continued existence of this site.
That said, we’ve witnessed some particularly troubling events in the past concerning our (and by “our,” we mean you, us, the riding, internet-ing public) capturing and posting of photographs on-board Muni vehicles.
Well, veteran San Francisco photoblogger Plug1 has taken it upon himself to get to the bottom of Muni’s vague policy regarding this subject. Below is a chat he had on Twitter with 311, and after the jump is his take on what’s going on. It also appears on his blog, WHAT IM SEEING.com. Perhaps the vagueness won’t surprise you. But there is some hope yet …
Muni Mind Reader: The Chomper 08.07.09
Photo by Flickr user ClO0over
Find an empty seat. Sit down. Relax. Then have your mellow totally harshed by this renegade: The gum-chomper. This week, Tiffany (aka: Muni Mind Reader) ventures into the thought-patterns of the magnificent Muni masticator, and brings us the following report.
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp. There’s really nothing like a good piece of gum, is there? Yummy! Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp. Some people like gum because it freshens up their breath. Or if you’re watching your weight, you can get one of those fruity flavors that can fool you into thinking you had a high-caloric treat.
I like gum because it puts me into this Zen-like mode where the hustle and bustle of the crazy world around me, especially on the bus, just melts away.
The Snake-eating-tail Problem of Muni Fare Increases 08.06.09
Photo by Flickr user eb78
This sad story comes to our inbox from Muni rider kevinas:
I was riding the F line on Saturday morning, going toward downtown. The car stopped in front of DeLessio’s cafe, near Valencia, to pick up passengers. One young man got on and placed a dime in the fare box. The driver told him, “The fare is $2, not ten cents.” The kid said, “That’s all I’ve got.” The driver replied, “That’s not my problem.” The kid got off through the back. Shortly after the car started going again, he trough a rock or some similar object at the car, smashing one of the windows, and covering a terrified woman in broken glass. Fortunately, it did not appear that she was hurt. I briefly considered chasing the kid down and doing my best to whoop the shit out of him. But I thought better of it.
Yeah, we know the $2 fare can seem steep. But smashing a window? What’s that really gonna solve, eh, kid?
Muni’s new insurance policy — too late to cover this weekend’s West Portal crash? (update) 08.06.09
Photo by 2girls1queen
Update (August 6, 2:17 p.m.): SF Appeal helps answer the question this post asked 18 days ago. Thanks, guys!
Original post: Regular service has resumed after yesterday’s West Portal accident, but the fallout is far from over. The SFAppeal reports that 48 people were injured, four of them critical. Ahem, anybody smell a lawsuit coming? This brings us to a KCBS story that a reader sent to us about how the MTA board approved the purchase of something known as catastrophe insurance, which pays for lawsuits. Pretty sad that such a policy is warranted.
But lo and behold, a mere three days following the board’s vote, an accident more or less validates that decision.
Since the MTA board just voted to purchse the “catastrophe insurance” last Wednesday, we’re not sure if a further vote is necessary to enact the insurance policy. Or does the Board of Supervisors need to approve this?
And does the policy cover Saturday’s crash? We doubt it, unless this is a magic policy that’s magically already in place. It would be nice, if only to cover Muni’s already-broke ass. If the policy isn’t in effect, we foresee the potential for multiple lawsuits. If that happens, does Muni fall into an even deeper hole? Ugh.
Really, Muni operator? Manicure on the bus? 08.06.09
Photo by Denay
Muni rider Denay sent this jewel to our inbox:
My friend and I were riding the 33 to our local friendly Comcast (sarcasm) and we witnessed an off duty muni driver clipping his fingernails in the back. He didn’t even bother to collect the freshly shorn nails off the floor!
Can we get a “ewwww”? We all know that people who ride Muni should not resort to manicures on public transit. But now operators are doing it, too? As Charlie Brown would say: Good grief!
Suspected Animal Cruelty on the 43 08.05.09
Photo by Flickr user Corgi_T
After the failed mob that I had planned last Saturday, I decided to go to the Aloha festival. I took the F, 30, and the 43 there, although the F I rode was a bus. But what was more interesting was when I was on the 43.
Anyway, this guy with a skateboard and a dog gets on at Divisadero at around 2:10-ish. His dog figures out on how to take off his muzzle, and when his owner finds out the muzzle was out, he screamed at the dog and forced the muzzle back on the dog. He then proceeded to literally pick up the dog on his back, as if a person was getting a wedgie. After that, they both proceeded to the back, the dog went and took up two seats first – and this was the most shocking thing I have ever seen done on an animal – the owner literally shoves the dog into the window seat on the very back of the bus. The owner takes the aisle seat, with a skateboard.
Sad. If you’ve got Muni stories, whether they’re uplifting or depressing, send them to us …
Smoking Bus Driver Caught on Video 08.05.09
[Regrettably, the video originally embedded in this post has been removed from Flickr.]
Last week, we posted a photo by crow_soup that purported to show a Muni bus operator smoking inside his bus. This blogger believed the evidence shown there, but some commenters questioned what was actually being shown.
So crow_soup went and shot himself some video. Video showing irrefutably that the driver in question is indeed tokin’ it, right there in the comfort of his comfortable bus driver’s seat.
Anyone care to argue now? Oh, and hey, crow_soup, I’m also with Rachel: Are you going to report this outrageous behavior?
Thx: @crow_soup
Is That Guy Doing Crack? A Muni Villanelle 08.04.09
Photo by Flickr user mojito
What with all the heavy Muni news of late, we decided to end the day with some light-hearted fare. Beth, the newly minted Muni Diaries poet laureate (who happens to have a daughter named Laurel, aka cutest baby in the world), has penned this villanelle* for us all:
The Muni bus is lurching side to side.
The driver barks at riders to move back.
I clutch the germ-infested post and ride.A pee-soaked man and teenager collide
While a third dude hits them with his backpack.
The Muni bus is lurching side to side.A skeevy guy is humping my backside.
Two kids are eating transfers as a snack.
I clutch the germ-infested post and ride.Someone’s cologne is strong; it hurts my eyes.
A woman boards, live chicken in a sack.
The Muni bus is lurching side to side.An N-Judah nearly hits us, broadside.
Taggers scrawl their names in ink of black.
I clutch the germ-infested post and ride.A dropped hamburger dinner starts to slide
Towards my shoes. Is that guy doing crack?
The Muni bus is lurching side to side.
I clutch the germ-infested post and ride.
“What’s a villanelle,” you ask? Well, clicky that linky up there to find out more about the somewhat-obscure poetic form.
Here’s another Muni-inspired poem by Beth, posted at New Verse News.
Where does the jurisdiction end for fare inspectors? 08.04.09
Photo by Flickr user Troy Holden
Muni rider Andrea sent this tidbit to our inbox just now:
This morning about 8am at Embarcadero Station I saw a Fare Checking Officer check someone’s proof of payment OUTSIDE the POP area.
The man did exit EMB station, and as there was only one Fare Checker checking fares, she didn’t see everyone’s pass. I doubt she saw my pass as it was pretty crowded. I did what most of us did which was take out the pass and hold it out for the Fare Checker to see. Whether she saw me or not is anyone’s guess. The man walked over to Peet’s to get coffee. As he was waiting for his morning latte, the Fare Checker left the POP area and asked the man for his POP. He produced his fast pass without incident.
My question is this, did this man need to show his payment status? He was outside the POP area. If he didn’t have his fastpass on him would his ticket for a violation been valid? Did the Fare Checker have the authority to check someone’s fare outside of the proof of payment area?
So, yeah, what’s the protocol here, eh? Should inspectors have the right to chase people down outside the POP area? Doesn’t that in turn prevent their checking for POP inside the ordained POP section? Our heads are spinning a little over here. Help us out in comments, please.
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