Tara Ramroop has laughed, cried, and commiserated with this amazing community from the start. She's been writing for as long as she can remember and riding Muni for more than a decade.

A Jarring Morning on the 10-Townsend

Temporary Transbay Terminal
Photo by Sergio

Jared @lickthefridge was on a 10-Townsend in May when the bus stopped, jarringly and strangely, at Second and Folsom. He says he still wonders how this story ended.

I tried to hang onto the pole and I was spun around and dropped my book into the stairwell where I had fallen…I picked up my book. I expected the bus to continue moving again…But the driver was still in his seat and was not out in the streets trying to reconnect it.

The bus driver did not say anything and from my vantage point in the back of the bus I could not see outside very clearly. The passengers on the bus began to talk and complain and inquire about what was going on. The driver made no announcements and would not answer anyone’s questions. He continued to sit in his seat.

When it became apparent that the bus was not going to continue its route, people in the front of the bus began to exit. I tried to exit out the back doors but the doors would not open. I waited as the line of people moved forward to the front of the bus and exited.

While I was waiting to move to the front of the bus, sirens from police cars and an ambulance and a fire engine filled the air. The hustle bustle of the city streets was reduced to background noise. A police officer came onto the bus and ordered everyone to get off the bus.

As I stepped off the front steps into the street, the cause of the sudden stop became apparent. Lying in the street about five feet diagonally from the bus’s front right tire was a young woman. She was semi-curled up with her hands by her side.

Read the rest of Jared’s story on his site, Lick the Fridge.

There wasn’t anything in the news about this one, but we think it ended OK. Per this message from SFMTA spokeswoman Kristen Holland:

…there was an incident on May 6 at 8:25 a.m. at 2nd and Folsom Streets involving a bus on the 10-Townsend route. The pedestrian, who evidently walked into the front door of the bus, was transported with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries.

When’s Maru going to drive Muni?

Images: Maru’s blog

Maru is hugely popular with two-thirds of your editors  — we’re working on the straggling 33.3%. While reviewing the latest from the king of boxes, I saw that today, he’s in transit mode. Per the above picture’s caption:

Maru: Maru Bus departs soon. Please get on in a hurry.

And then:

Driver Maru: Where do you want to go to?

He even asks you where you want to go!

Important questions:

1) When is Maru going to drive my bus? It shouldn’t be a problem if licenses are still optional.

2) Will he get you to work on time? He seems to have one eye on the schedule at all times.

Cats love Muni, by the way:

‘Handicapped’ rider etiquette


Image: davitydave

From Muni rider and Giftly Marketing Director Nish:

My experience on the 14-Mission bus this morning: I hobble on with my crutches and it’s a super-crowded squalor of a ride. No seats for me until some punk kid goes, ‘Dawgs better get your asses up, this dude is handicapped.’ Yes, I am finally someone!

Sometimes, the unlikeliest of seat angels (on a 14-Mission, no less), will back you up when no one else will.

A reminder to be kind to your “handicapped” rider pals, dawgs.

Muni has yet to smell like Teen Spirit


Photo by Flickr user jen_maiser

A couple weeks ago, rider Martha told us about a 49-Van Ness that smelled like basil, which was noteworthy because the 49 never smells like something you’d want to eat.

“Muni smells like…” actually shows up a lot on the @munidiaries Twitter feed. Here are our recent favorites.

Yummy
@jessicasuzette: #Muni smelled like strawberries, somebody went to #farmersmarket love clean trains.

Could go either way
@WillieFDiazSF: Someone on this Muni bus smells like Hot Dog juice. Makes me wanna have a BBQ.
@jdaisy: this LTaraval smells like fish AND chips.

The Bad
@cache_theory: the smells of the #sfmuni…urine & moth balls
@RGreenberg: Guy just got on #muni smelling like week-old pants, and fertilizer.

The Optimistic
@fsquared: This bus smells like pancakes and syrup. #wishfulthinking #muni

We’re constantly impressed by your creativity and the, um, evocative descriptions you send. So keep ’em comin’!

Thumbs-up, retro Muni bus

I spotted this fella while walking past the Potrero Division bus yard on Bryant and Mariposa. It reminds me of (my impression of) San Francisco in the 1970s, an era I’d choose to revisit in a heartbeat should that time-machine thing work ever out.

You know this lot. It’s got that nifty web of electrical lines running above its sleeping coaches. Heather and Ed took some Muni-themed wedding photos there, as we posted about earlier this year. And then there’s all the other stuff you haven’t told us (now’s your chance!).

So, kudos, Retro Bus. If you’ve got other transit ephemera, share it with the Muni Time Capsule.

Did you see this Muni incident this afternoon?

Reader Karl snapped this pic from his apartment today around 2:30 p.m. He says:

“Ellis was completely blocked the entire time. Looks like both cars were totaled…saw someone being carried from the bus on a stretcher. The lady in the black car was sitting in the driver side until paramedics arrived, but she didn’t appear to be too badly hurt…I didn’t see much outside of the aftermath.”

Did you see this incident? It looks like a 49, and Karl says it took more than an hour to clean up the scene. Send us more info if you’ve got it, and let us know here or @munidiaries on Twitter if things are wonky on Van Ness.

It is certainly not a good day for Muni vs. Other Object, so we’re hoping everyone involved is OK.

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