Comments on: Why Some Muni Drivers Refuse to Do Anything When Something Bad Happens

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:18:38 +0000

I just saw this on a 38 Geary last night! I called 911 because I’m a guilty kind of person, I would feel awful if I didn’t do anything. But now I want to know what was going on!

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By: NoeValleyCat

NoeValleyCat — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:54:53 +0000

Yes, danger is out there. And as a MUNI bus driver, you accept a certain amount of that danger as being part of your job. Obviously you aren’t buying into combat duty, but a certain amount of bs just goes with the job. However, whether or not to intervene during an assault is not determined by your job, but by you sense of conscience. This includes not just drivers but passengers too. Wouldn’t this world be a great place if more people felt that “it’s just the right thing to do” to help someone who is in danger?

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By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:46:12 +0000

One of my favorite 22 drivers got assaulted by teenagers who refused to pay their fares. Luckily all they did was throw their sodas at him, but it was scary nonetheless and this driver was one of the good guys… Always had a smile and something nice to say, always made people pay their fares and was not afraid to say something if something iffy was happening. Haven’t seen him in years, sadly.
I’ve seen the ‘emergency, call 911′ signs on several buses before… Most of the time I think it’s in error but I did call 911 once when I saw the sign on a 19 Polk, and the dispatch people took it really seriously. So I guess that’s an option if people actually call when they see the sign.

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By: jeff

jeff — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:15:22 +0000

I agree with Erik. In an ideal world, operators would focus on the task at hand: operating the train or bus. I’m sure these violent episodes on Muni can traced back to a thousand reasons, and perhaps a lot of it is owing to the economy overall. I’d like to see a better relationship between the SFPD and Muni, wherein the police didn’t have to charge Muni for things like patrolling buses and trains (isn’t SFPD’s jurisdiction San Francisco, and except for a few brief spillovers outside city/county limits, Muni’s is as well?). We have a new chief of police, so maybe we’ll see what happens.

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By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:08:39 +0000

I would prefer that the driver concentrate on driving the bus whenever possible, not on playing cop or fare enforcer or referee. Do they have some kind of panic button that can let their supervisor of the SFPD know that police attention is needed on a particular bus without having to actually pick up the phone?

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