Weekend Photos: City Bus 02.05.10
All photos by Flickr user jjutt
Well, despite today’s accident involving the M-Ocean View and a car, it was a way better week for Muni. Right?
Don’t forget to make your voice heard concerning the upcoming MTA budget. Town hall meetings are being held tomorrow and Tuesday. Meetings will be held at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 2nd Floor Atrium at 10 a.m. Saturday, and 6 p.m. Tuesday.
In other Muni-related news this week:
- Driver helps nab alleged pickpocket. (Examiner)
- Fare spat highlights growing tensions (Examiner)
- Automatic raise for Muni drivers creates new twist (SFGate)
- SF Supervisor Elsbernd Pulls Muni Operator Ballot Amendment (Streetsblog SF)
Closer to the site, we’re thrilled to have an amazing new contributor to our Muni Photos Flickr pool: Meet jjutt, whose photos adorn this week’s Weekend Photos. Have a nice one. See you Monday!
Photo diary: A muzzle by any other name 02.05.10
So I just straight-up took this photo from Amy (augustincic)’s Twitter feed without asking. Sorry about that. Just too gal-dang cute to pass up. All that Amy had to say was: “Following Muni rules!” Damn straight.
As the owner of a snout-deficient pooch myself, this absolutely kills me.
How could there possibly be less service? 02.05.10
Muni rider Anthony sends this screenshot, along with the following observation:
I was watching Nextbus.com for arrival times on the 24 line, and I couldn’t help but realize that our muni service is running pretty thin already. where will these cuts come from?
We all probably run into similar conundrums every day. It’s not exactly inspiring, let us say.
Here’s a full list of the latest proposal (still not adopted by the SFMTA board of directors). The proposed transit cuts are broad. See how they might affect you. Let your voice be heard at MTA town hall meetings on Feb. 6 and 9.
No Ride For You! 02.04.10
Photo by Flickr user SlinkyDragon
Rightfully pissed-off rider Mel sends the following gripe:
This morning found me and my husband and one other guy sprinting a long city block to make it to the #9. We got to the doors in time, the dude in front of us who was sprinting gets on the bus, I raise my foot to get on…and the DOORS SLAMMED RIGHT IN MY FACE! The driver made EYE CONTACT with me and still sped off! WTF?
Seriously, it’s one of the worst lines in the city. Drivers seem to make a game of how far they can pitch us around the bus with rapid acceleration and braking and they’re stone cold deaf when fights break out.
I’m tired of paying more for less. Down with Muni and their crappy rude drivers.
My last ride on the dearly departed 26-Valencia involved a drunken sprint caddy-corner to catch the bus. The doors closed just as I drunkenly touched them from outside. The driver saw this, and opened the doors back up.
I only relay this story to suggest that, as often as Mel’s story occurs, perhaps, there’s the other side of the coin. Or maybe the doors open once for every 16.3 times they slam in your face. Either way, the drivers almost always see this happen. Shame on those who, unlike my lucky 26 driver that night, leave potential riders high and dry. Hmph!
Ladies Waiting for Muni, Be Warned: Pickup Artist Bootcamp this Saturday 02.04.10
Jim Herd from San Francisco Citizen sent us this warning that “day time dating expert” Jeremy Soul is holding a one-day Pickup Artist Bootcamp this Saturday, when they will go out on the streets and find some hot ladies in the Union Square area. Specifically, the advertisement suggests that the smooth talkers find themselves a hot date on Muni.
Yeah. You read that right. More from Jim:
All right, here’s the elevator pitch for Saturday’s workshop. And, oh yes, “tram” is English English for MUNI.
“Find a HOT Date next time you’re on the Tram! Find out how.
Modern men lead such fast paced urban lifestyles they don’t have time to go out after work and meet women. Through a combination of classroom and in-field training, men can learn the latest skills and techniques to meet, attract and date beautiful women in any setting during the day – all in about 8 hours!
“Meeting women in daytime environments, aka Day Game, is scary to most men. But Jeremy Soul and his elite team of Day Game coaches have spent years learning this skill and can teach it to you.”
(Read more about this on SFCitizen, including a link to Jeremy Soul’s promo video. At your own risk, ok?)
Oh “Pickup Artists.” That is so…2005. According to SF Citizen, the classes are $1500 per person. The classes look like they are only for hetero males (yes, ladies, lucky us). When a reporter joined Jeremy Soul for one of his day time bootcamps, Mr. Soul reportedly charmed a woman on the street by commenting on her “smooth skin.” Creepy!
I wonder what Mr. Soul would say about this pickup line:
“Is your shirt expensive? Because you look so hot in it, I would totally rip it off of you right now, and I would totally replace it, if it’s not too expensive.”
True story. Someone actually used this pickup line on me and I nearly peed my pants in delight thinking about retelling it to my girlfriends. And this Saturday, ladies, you’ll have the same opportunity. If you spot any of the Pickup Artists Bootcampers, be sure to tell us about it. I can hardly wait.
Real-Time Muni Google Gadget 02.04.10
Self-proclaimed “Gen-Xer” Dave Sohigian has something to share:
It’s not really a Muni story, but I figured that your readers might want to know about a new way to view the latest real-time bus arrival information. If you use Google Gadgets, you can access a new gadget here: http://bit.ly/munibus that will show arrivals/departures for up to three stops in the SF Muni system. You can go to 511.org to find your stop IDs.
If you have suggestions or feedback on the gadget, please twitter @dsohigian.
Let us know how it works, too. Please.
Photo diary: That’s not a dead body on top of that bus! 02.04.10
Photo by Julie Michelle of i live here:SF and Caliber SF
It’s a Muni closet.
It only looks like it is… it’s just a random pile of clothes thrown up there, like a rolling closet.
It’s a chair with wheels … I guess that counts 02.03.10
Perhaps in response to Eugenia’s post asking readers what’s the weirdest cargo they’ve seen on Muni, rider Rufus (that has a nice ring to it) sends the photo above, along with the following:
One of the weirdest things I’ve seen on muni was on the 22. There was a woman in the wheelchair area, with the regular seats up and everything, sitting in an office chair with wheels. Not the best picture.
People (including us and some of you) will continue carrying weird, random-seeming crap on Muni until kingdom come. If you’ve got more examples, let us know.
A little daytime TV for Muni employees? 02.03.10
Muni rider “D” asks the pertinent question in the headline up there, and sends the photos above and below, along with this commentary:
I saw this while walking past the cable car turnaround at Bay and Taylor st. this morning.
Considering Muni has been saying they need to raise fairs and CUT service, *who* is paying for the Dish Network!!?? The transit employee was watching “Family Feud.”
This while they are cutting routes. This while they’re cutting service. This while their drivers are getting bonuses!!??
I for one want to see an audit as to just where THE HELL THE MONEY IS GOING!!!
To be clear: In the latest MTA budget proposal, no routes are being threatened with elimination. Service is being reduced on almost every line, though.
And we can’t help but imagine that installation of a Dish Network satellite isn’t all that expensive. Basic service plans run around $25/month. Wait, that’s cheaper than our cable! WTF?
But seriously, while legitimate and all, this argument strikes us as a little bit “prisoners get to watch cable TV all day long while I work hard and pay taxes.” A little bit. What do you think?
More photos below:
(more…)
Fare Inspector Holds Passport and Frisks (update with SFMTA comments) 02.02.10
Photo by Flickr user Cold Cream Coffee
While things are looking apocalyptic for Muni, Muni rider Bill sent us a disturbing account of a fare inspection. Here’s what Bill wrote:
At about 6 p.m. tonight (2/1), I listened to a fare inspector on the 8x (bus #6238) ask a rider for his pass. Then the inspector asked him for ID. Once the man produced an Irish passport, the inspector then wanted to know where the man lived in San Francisco and how long he had been in this country. And then, while still holding on to his passport, she headed for the door with instructions that he follow. As the bus pulled away, she had started to pat the guy down.
Can a fare inspector request ID and hold onto it while they question and pat you down? The whole thing just didn’t seem kosher.
This sounds horrible. Positively Draconian. Did anyone else reading this see this go down? Surely a complaint can be lodged, with route, bus number, time of day, description of the POP officer in question. 311. We’ve sent questions to SFMTA for their official word on what fare inspectors can and cannot do, so stay tuned as we update this post.
We got in touch with SFMTA’s public relation officer Kristen Holland, who said that a fare inspector can ask to see your ID “for the purpose of writing a citation.” However, “The transit fare inspectors are not authorized to search Muni customers or their personal belongings.”
Another update from SFMTA: So far they have received no official complaint regarding this incident.
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
