Photo by Troy Holden
What are the passengers’ responsibilities when a Muni bus breaks? Rider Rose sent in the following account last week when a series of unfortunate inconveniences ended in the passengers having to call 311 for the N-Judah driver:
I would have to say that living on the N is both a blessing and a curse. Every morning I hold my breath and hope that I get to work on time.
This morning was unusual since I was running quite late and I got on at nine thirty. Usually at this hour the train is empty since it has already ferried the early morning commuters. I should have taken this as a bad omen and taken the 71 instead buy I got on anyways.
First the lady driving is heard yelling at the passengers to step back from the yellow line. She spends about 15 minutes doing this and then stops the train. At some point they must have stepped back since we finally started moving again. Then as we entered the tunnel and continued on our way to Van Ness station, the stairs were not rising as they should. Once we got to Van Ness the train stopped. We were informed that she was waiting for Central to help her with the steps but she refused to let everyone off. We were on that train for at least another 15 minutes before she opened the doors to let us off and wait for another. While we were waiting she told us to call 311 and tell them to get us off the train, totally inexcusable for passengers to need to do this.
There are some logistical issues at play when Metro trains experience mechanical problems. But not letting passengers de-board? Having passengers call 311 to ask to be let off. Reminds me a lot of the time I was stuck in a plane on a tarmac, within sight of the terminal, for 9.5 hours. The pilots eventually bogarted the gate anyway, and were allowed to de-board. But I digress. What in the world could explain an operator not being allowed to let passengers off a broken car?
If you liked this Muni diary, you might like:
Like Sex, Love, Lust … Muni? Click 
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
I would have bet someone were to get desperate and pull the door emergency handle.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Was on the N a couple of summers ago inbound at 19th Ave. when a car ran the red light and struck the train. The driver ordered everyone to stay in the train (no injuries; little damage) and the passengers just snorted, pulled the emergency handles and got off! We were on our way to the Giants so we walked two blocks to Lincoln and took the 71.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
That Yellow Line thing is bull shit (pardon me). I’ve gotten into shouting fights with a couple of drivers over that one. I can understand the rule to a point, but when an evening train is over packed, as the N usually is at 5:00PM, there is no way to keep that yellow area clear.
When I asked the driver where the 6 or so people in the Yellow Zone should move to he just yelled that we had to move.
Sadly, the other people within that area didn’t say anything, nor did they make any attempt to move (because… move where??). One Yellow Zone passenger asked me to stop yelling at the driver and to just move because she just wanted to get home to her kid. I reminded her that she was also in violation of standing in the Yellow Zone and that she too was expected to move.
As it turned out, he wasn’t concerned about the actual Yellow Zone, just the area right outside his compartment. When we came to the little MUNI hut outside the tunnel (Church and Duboce) there was to be a driver change. All he had to do was say, “When we stop, I’ll need to you move a bit so we can change drivers.” Really… would that have been so hard?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Erik Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Technically they shouldn’t let you on the train if there isn’t room to stand without crossing the yellow line.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
JimmyD Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I also mentioned that to the driver.
I told him that the train was packed beyond capacity and perhaps he, the person in charge charge of the train, should take responsibility for that.
Then I told him that as much as I believe that, I honestly didn’t think such responsibility would ever be displayed within the MUNI system.
It got real ugly from there.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Erik Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
His answer should have been something like “You’re right now get off the train so we can move.”
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I haven’t lived here long, and I’m not an attorney, but I’d imagine that the reason for not letting passengers de-board has to do with prevention of any possible liability for passenger injury, especially if the steps can’t be raised. You KNOW someone will fall then try sue Muni for like 20 million dollars…and Muni will have to at least settle for a large sum of money because they will be at fault if the driver did not follow the rules.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
jeff Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 7:35 am
You might be right, but there comes a time in every delay when the persons controlling the situation need to take into consideration that many of the passengers they’re responsible for need to be given the choice of deboarding. This should be part of Muni’s contingency plan in these situations. It seems reasonable to me, along the Van Ness-Embarcadero corridor of underground stations, for example, that once a train has hit the 15-minute mark, passengers should be allowed to deboard. Not forced, mind you. Allowed.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
This situation reminds me once again why the system is broken. We wouldn’t be having this discussion if there were no need to pack trains beyond their capacity. I doubt MUNI drivers have any idea what the capacity of their buses are. Certainly not from their behavior. There are times on the Van Ness lines 47 and 49 where the buses are so packed you can’t even breathe. There is a solution to this: either more buses or actual limits to the number of passengers per bus.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
JimmyD Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
And there is absolutely no way a train driver can control how many people get through the four doors of each car.
The only solution I can think of is for MUNI to actually monitor the morning and evening rush hours to determine which lines need more service between what hours. If the trains are packed it means people are riding which means MUNI can afford to pay several more drivers for those heavy traffic times.
I know it’s no fun for the drivers to deal with the passengers but they are responsible for the lives of those on their train.
If a driver is having issues with his Yellow Zone being blocked (or whatever), he/she first needs to address the passengers in a professional, non confrontational manner AND THEN, talk to their manager about the on-going problem.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
At least twice, I’ve been in Muni cars that have pulled into an underground station, stopped for a minute or two (without opening the doors), then inched forward and stopped for another 1-2 minutes, then inched forward and waited another 1-2 minutes before finally opening the doors.
If we assume the cars had fully entered the station, does anyone know the reason why drivers would do this? I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt here.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]