‘Almost Generous’ Muni Theft 07.19.10
Photo by Flickr user Steve Rhodes
A woman who was robbed by three males at a bus stop at Geary Boulevard and Spruce streets at 5:20 a.m. on July 11 asked her aggressors, who had snatched her purse, if they could let her keep her bus pass and identification card, according to Richmond Station police.
…In the end, however, the suspects appeared to have heeded her request. They ran off with a cell phone and credit cards, but then gave her back her purse before fleeing on Geary Boulevard, police said.
Read the rest of the story at the San Francisco Examiner.
Wow, I guess the Fast Pass price hike gave the thieves a tiny dose of sympathy?
Muni thefts can happen anywhere, anytime 07.19.10
Yes, you’ve heard it all the time. Be careful with your fancy electronics such as phones while on the Muni, especially while you’re riding through a sketchy part of town or on a sketchy line. But that caveat is becoming less and less the case.
I was on the 1 heading westbound coming home from Western Railway Museum today (7/16). The bus (5616) stopped at Sproule Street. Then, out of nowhere, a lady screams, “Help! That guy took my phone!”
I turned my head toward the window and saw a man who looked like he was in his 20s, with a hairstyle of Gavin Newsom (without the gel) and looked like Yvan Attai (the taxi driver in Rush Hour 3). Other than that, he was wearing a black sweater turtleneck and black jeans.
After he ran off, the lady ran after him only to stop short of the alley. A couple of people from the bus went to her, and deliberated on what just happened. The rest of the bus, however, was talking about how young he looked.
What about the driver? Oh, he didn’t do anything except he answered a passenger’s question of what happened. No call to Central Control. Nothing.
After a minute, we pulled off, and as I looked into the alley, I thought to myself, “Why didn’t I run after him?” The answer was not common sense, but it was because I felt an anger, an unexplainable, intolerable anger.
So, a word of caution: NEVER EVER EVER USE YOUR PHONE ON PUBLIC TRANSIT. NOT EVEN ON COMMUNITY SERVICE ROUTES. The lowlifes who roam Muni all day looking for someone to prey on make me sick. And I’m sure they make you sick too. That is, unless you’re one of those lowlifes.
Transbay Terminal Closes in August 07.18.10
Photo by Brandon Doran
This amazing photo by Brandon Doran reminded me: The Transbay Terminal, long a bastion of transit and bodily fluids, will be closing next month. As Doran says, “The old terminal is smelly, dirty, and outdated, but it definitely has grit and character.”
Services will be moved to a temporary terminal located nearby, on Folsom Street (bounded by Main, Howard, and Beale streets). The new Transbay Transit Center is scheduled to open in 2017.
Weekend Photos: Eastern Sun 07.16.10
Photo by tweetsweet
In Muni news this week:
- Muni boasts record on-time performance for third quarter (SF Examiner)
- Newsom names Brinkman to SFMTA board (Streetsblog SF; City Insider/SFGate)
- Unexplained absences for Muni operators on the rise again (SF Examiner)
- Wrapping up Muni in ads hits roadblock (SF Examiner)
- Progressives’ Muni Charter Amendment Finalized (SF Weekly; previously … )
Yes, there will be two Muni ballot measures for us this November. More on that later.
For now, kick back, relax, and enjoy the decidedly un-July-like weather this weekend. See you next week!
Photo by sxl
Photo by telmo32
Photo by davitydave
Learning West Portal the Hard Way 07.16.10
Photo by skew-t
My sister and I had gone into Noe Valley one fine February Sunday. We were checking out bookstores in the area since it was her last day in the city.
After we were finished looking around, I didn’t feel like going back onto the J-Church inbound and transferring to the N-Judah. The 48-Quintara bus stop was just across the street, so I insisted we take that bus line back to Outer Sunset.
We boarded the bus and went up and down the hills. When we got to West Portal, the bus stopped and all the other passengers got off. I was befuddled. Surely the 48-Quintara went out further than West Portal? Why else would it be called the Quintara bus?
My sister and I got off the bus and tried to figure out the situation. Then I decided that maybe the bus in front was going to continue on to the Outer Sunset, so we hopped on. That bus started driving back the same direction we had just came from, so we got off at Portola Drive.
We were somewhat stranded in West Portal, but then we found comfort in another bookstore there. After the Quintara bus shocker, I looked around at the street signs and decided that we could actually find our way out to 19th Avenue by following Wawona or Ulloa. We walked down one of those streets and I felt great relief from seeing the busy traffic go by on 19th Avenue. We boarded the 28 and transferred to the N-Judah to get back home safely.
Later on, I checked Muni’s website and discovered that the 48-Quintara only continued out to Quintara on weekdays. Oops. But luckily, this was just another tale of getting lost on Muni with a happy ending.
Printable SFMTA Memo Re: Broken Clipper Card Readers 07.15.10
Click the image to get the jpg by itself. From there, either right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac) and download the jpg. Print it out, stash it somewhere safe, and produce it in the event you encounter an operator who hasn’t got the memo. (I’ll never get sick of whipping out that phrase. Heh.)
And of course, if you ever do need to show a driver the memo you printed out from Muni Diaries, be sure to let us all know!
Photo diary: Sitting next to normal 07.15.10
Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch
“San Francisco is full of characters.” Yes, exactly. For better and for worse.
Thank you, random dude on the 29-Sunset 07.15.10
Photo by AgentAkit
It’s so nice to get moral support from other riders when dealing with tough drivers. I don’t know who you are, but Wednesday morning you made me feel a little better by giving me that thumbs up!
The scoop:
For the second time in as many days, the same driver on the 29 in the a.m. has given me flak about my TransLink card. I never have trouble talking to the customer service folks for the cards, but bus drivers are a different story.
Both Tuesday and Wednesday, the reader on the bus has been down for me in the a.m. 90 percent of the drivers I encounter know that, if the reader’s down, you just let a person with a card go through since it’s just like a broken fare collector. I usually get the same drivers anyway, and they know that I just put on a monthly pass.
But this lady was different. Tuesday, I was told that, as it was my “choice” to carry the card and use it, it’s not her responsibility to let me slide just because the card reader’s not working since she has no proof that I’ve paid in any way.
Wednesday, she made it seem like she was doing me a favor by not forcing me to pay. I told her that there was actually a recent memo that went out for drivers stating that you shouldn’t force a TransLink card-carrier to pay if the unit’s down. “That’s not what my guys have told me.”
I also said that I don’t blame her for thinking about it the way she does — I bet communication’s just not great for drivers sometimes. But I liked being told that it was my “choice” to carry the card. Correct me if I’m wrong: aren’t they phasing out paper passes in October, so I need to carry the card?*
Oy Vey!
So thanks to the guy who made me feel better about being reamed out by the driver, and thanks to you guys for putting up the info a bit ago about translink use when the reader’s down. I used to just cough up the money for a transfer, but no more. I want to save the extra $2.00 for my coffee fund.
* You will need to carry a Clipper card beginning in November, but only if you plan to have an “A” Fast Pass. October 2010′s “A” level Fast Pass will be the last paper pass of that kind. See Akit’s Complaint Department for details on when other levels of paper Fast Pass will be phased out.
Photo diary: He drinks alone every day 07.14.10
An attempt to ride all Muni lines in one day 07.14.10
Illustration by Walter Baumann
At 9 a.m. on an overcast Wednesday in June, I step out my front door in Noe Valley and within a few minutes hop on the 35-Eureka heading south (the opposite direction I usually go), forgetting the bus would soon loop back around past where I got on. Frustrating if I were a normal commuter, but part of my plan to go for distance and boost my time-in-transit. For two minutes I’m the only passenger on the 35.
In some sense, solo-busing quashes the green pride you’re feeling for removing one car from the road, and it confirms Muni’s recent budget woes. On the other hand, a city employee has become your personal chauffeur – in a vehicle longer than a Hummer limo – for $2 or less.
I sit in the back, staring out the window, doing the math I should have done a lot sooner: A transfer is valid for 90 minutes. Riding from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., without a monthly pass, I’d need to buy seven tickets at a grand total of $14. Conversely, Muni sells an all-you-can-ride 1-Day Passport for $13. Even with my monthly pass, I’d need to repeat this experiment four more times to make back the $60 I spent. Bastards.
Read the rest of Steven’s amazing account at the Bold Italic.
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
