Full-Metal Muni 10.06.10
And they say people aren’t happy on Muni … 10.06.10
No one riding Muni ever looks happy. Public transit clearly suuuucks.
While I disagree with the sentiment, I had nothing to back me up. No proof. Until …
The photo above, by jennifer7people, showed up on our Muni Photos Flickr group pool a few minutes later.
When I got married a few months ago, hella people asked me if we would take photos on Muni. I was all, “No way! We don’t wanna get that dirty!” This brave couple couldn’t care less, obviously. Bravo! And congrats to you two.
This is neither here nor there, but that guy on the far left looks like Steve Carell, eh?
Muni Diaries Live! Friday, Oct. 29 at the Make-Out Room 10.05.10
Photo by Troy Holden
This time our story tellers include Derek Powazek of Fray Magazine, comedian Bucky Sinister, and Isaac Fitzgerald, whom you may know from The Rumpus, but did you know he is also the recipient of a royal Bhutanese sword? Tara the sea shanty songstress from our first show will be back too, so we hope you’re ready.
This just in: author Andrew Lam will be telling his Muni story onstage — he is the author of Perfume Dreams and East Eats West, and a champion of Literary Death Match!
Also, if you’ve been wrangling with your Clipper card and silently mourning the end of the paper “A” Fast Pass, come to this show to see the beginning of the final faceoff between the paper Fast Pass and the Clipper card. You’ll have to be there to see what we mean…
And as always, you will have an opportunity to tell your Muni story on stage, with prizes galore! We’ll be announcing more about the lineup and prizes in the next two weeks. If you missed Muni Diaries Live! one, two, and three (how could you miss out on so much fun?), we hope to see you at this one! A mere $5 at the door will get you a night of entertainment and camaraderie, so get your stories ready and see you at the Make-Out Room!
Details:
Muni Diaries Live!
Friday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Only $5!
Make-Out Room — 3225 22nd Street
Routes serving the area: BART 24th St. Station, 12, 14, 22, 33, 48, 49, 67
Everybody’s grandmother 10.05.10
Photo by joe.moore
My toddler and I were riding the 43-Masonic on Monday afternoon to go check out an exhibit of Norwegian black metal photos on Haight Street. When we got on the bus, it was full of students just out of school for the day, and I asked one of them sitting in the front seats if he could let us sit in his seat. A few stops later, an older woman got on the bus.
She stared incredulously at the teenager sitting next to me, who didn’t get up until she said to him directly, “These seats are for seniors.” As she sat down she repeated it more loudly, loud enough that the driver barked at any youngsters in the front section to move back.
She then started to argue with the teenager she’d just ousted. “I moved,” he said. “Yes, but you need to move more quickly than that,” she said. “Older people don’t have the ability to balance easily and we need to be able to sit down before the bus starts moving.” “Okay, then,” the boy said.
Then, to no-one in particular, she started ranting: “I don’t know what’s the matter with kids today. They don’t get out of the seats when they see a senior citizen coming. What’s wrong with them?”
I worried she would want me to move, but just then she nudged me companionably and pointed up at the vent on the roof, where a small frond of a tree had gotten stuck. It looked like it was sneaking its way into the bus. We shared a laugh about it, and then she complimented me on my daughter’s hair. For a while we rode in silence, and then it came time for me to get off the bus. When I stood up, she saw that my sweater had ridden up in the back, so she grabbed it and started tugging it down — while I was in the process of making my way off the bus.
It was just like riding the bus with mom. Someone’s mom, anyway.
Paper Fast Pass vs Clipper Beauty Contest 10.04.10
In today’s Chronicle Books blog, designer Jennifer Tolo Pierce muses about how fun it is to see the new colors on the paper Fast Passes each month and to collect them.
Here in the Design Department, we’ve seen Fast Passes as room décor, color source (I have asked a printer to match a Fast Pass color for a project), or museum art. I’ve even found myself employing the passes in a kind of tealeaf fortune-telling ritual (“Blue and orange! It’s going to be a great month!” or “Hot pink and yellow—time to spice things up.”). And in a city where the seasons are either Fog or No-Fog, I appreciate the sense of time and seasons that my collection of Fast Passes has provided.
Read the rest of Jennifer’s post at the Chronicle Books blog. She’s even posted a picture of how the folks at work use Fast Passes as cube decor.
I really think people would be a little more inclined to adopt the Clipper card if were designed just a little more creatively. But for now, so long Fast Fast: more than ever, you’re a collector’s piece.
SF Welcomes Me Home … Clipper, Not So Much 10.04.10
Photo by 0x0000org
1. Tara exits turnstiles at 24th and Mission BART station after a sleepy ride back from SFO. Clipper cash balance falls below threshold; Autoload triggered, just as it should.
2. On first commute back to work two days later, BART turnstiles say “see agent.” Agent shows, on his little machine thingie, a message that says, “BAD DEBT” (all caps, very scary). A customer-service call is in order. BART ticket must be purchased. (I am Tara’s boiling fit of not-really-contained public rage.)
3. Clipper Rep #1 says there’s nothing wrong with the account. Maybe the card itself is broken, she suggests? Add Fare machines couldn’t read it, so this seemed likely. (How much will it cost me if I don’t get a new card right away? Will I get a refund? I am Tara’s frustrated, tearful self-pity.)
4. Tara calls Clipper back to say, yes, something must be wrong with the card. Clipper Rep #2 checks into it further, and, at some point, mentions the last four digits of the credit card on file. This is an old card that does not exist! Ah: Clipper Rep #2 says this is why I have “bad debt,” triggered by the Autoload a couple days ago. But! It was updated! (Right? Hmm…)
5. Tara learns that she did, in fact, update her information in July. Tip: Always ALWAYS keep confirmation emails from Clipper when you update information; they contain reference numbers that should help if/when they don’t know what you’re talking about. She makes third call to Clipper that morning. (I am Tara’s violently flashing incompetency-radar.)
6. Clipper Rep #3 has no idea what Tara is talking about with this “bad debt” and “card not working” business. Everything looks fine, just as it did to Clipper Rep #1. No, no. Something is wrong. Look harder. Tara eventually gets the equivalent of, “Oh, there it is.” Info was updated correctly by the user, but it failed to be processed by Clipper.
Photo: Skinny tram … is skinny 10.03.10
Photo by carwashguy_99
I rode a tram in Rome last month, and it wasn’t tiny and rickety like the Italians ones in our fleet. True, I was in Rome, not Milan. And it’s 2010 now. But still …
Weekend Photos: Fashionable Muni 10.01.10
Photo by Jeremy Brooks
In a few weeks you’ll also see a new feature on Muni Diaries called Fashion Friday where we will be featuring fashionable Muni riders. So if you see a well-dressed fellow Muni rider, remember to send us a photo! We’ll have prizes and other details for you next week.
In this week’s Muni news:
- No More 25 Cent Surcharge on Muni Metro Paper Tickets (Akit’s Complaint Department)
- Multiple Muni Macings Apparently Go Unreported (SF Appeal)
- MTA survey reveals rider approval at 9-year low (Golden Gate Express)
- Bell-Ringing Boycott More Terrible PR For Muni Union (SF Weekly)
- Cops Yank Teen with Gun Off Muni Train (SF Weekly)
- Mom battles for child at Muni stop (SF Examiner)
Enjoy these photos, keep an eye out for snazzy dressers on Muni, and have a great weekend!
Photo by Vishnu Balunsat
Photo by Daniel Hoherd
Photo by greenkozi
Photo by Thomas Hawk
Photo by Jesse Johnson
The winner of the grand Muni tournament is … 10.01.10
Photo by Tenderloin Geographic Society.
Case in point: The Tenderbloggers turned us on to Tenderloin Geographic Society, specifically two Muni-related posts there.
The first, above, is adorned with the following:
I understand that in some schools, children are made to race in competitions where, regardless of their placement, all receive medals. Who could imagine that the practice continued well beyond the 4th grade?
The second one, well, it’s too good not to force ask you to click on and go read on TGS’s site. So go. But come back? We’ll miss you.
Also, here’s a fun game: Tell us whom you think should receive that trophy up there. Any and all candidates are eligible.
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
