‘Contact high’ on Muni? 06.21.10
Photo by Troy Holden
A few weeks ago we asked you how the Muni service cuts were affecting you. Daishin had this completely unexpected outcome from the service cuts:
Yesterday I was forced to take the 49 up Van Ness from Market because I didn’t feel well enough to walk the several blocks to my house. The bus was so crowded no one could move. I was standing next to a lovely beautiful young woman with bracelets up and down her arms and wonderful tats on her bare shoulders.
She kept smiling sweetly at me and tried to make eye contact. After a few minutes it dawned on me that she was totally fucked up on something so I asked her if she was wasted. She smiled even more broadly and said, “YES! I’m just glad to see that there are plenty of young people in San Francisco still getting stoned and riding Muni like we used to do in the 1960s, albeit it’s a hell of a lot more uncomfortable these days.”
Sketch-A-Passenger 06.18.10
To pass the time on the bus, you might busy yourself with your phone, your iPod, read a book, Tweet us about what you see, or here’s an idea: Rider Joaquin Jutt sketches what’s around him. He sent us the above quick sketch of his fellow passengers on the 22.
I know I’ve seen several artistically-inclined people sketching on the bus. If you use your Muni time doodling away on your sketch pad, won’t you please send us your masterpiece?
Can’t stop looking at … 06.10.10
Photo by jen_maiser
her hands….. let me back up. I saw my name mentioned on a post by Jeff and decided to finally make an entry.
It’s spring 2001. It just rained like hell the night before and I’m late for work.. as usual. I grab the 1-California from Nob Hill to Fillmore, where I catch the 22 to the Marina.. that’s where I’m working; just behind the Marina Safeway. The buses are filled with cranky, wet, smelly people. I’ve just finished a slew of relationships, and have finally reached the conclusion that I’m just not the type to have a “steady.” I’m a musician and an audio engineer. My work, my life, my schedule (for christ’s sake!) is loopy. I am what I am, and it just doesn’t seem to jive with anybody else. It took a while, but I’m just now feeling OK with it. You know the feeling… SO!
I’m standing on Fillmore at Sac, surrounded by numerous Chinese shoppers on their way back to the Richmond (I say that because I’m over 6 feet…. let’s just say that I’m sticking out) when the 22 arrives… finally. I get on… finally… and see the most amazingly beautiful woman ever… in… my… life! Well, did I forget to mention how late I was? No shower, no coffee… not my best impression. All the lilliputians enter into the bus, there are seats in the back, but, I decide to stand next to her. I’m not thinking clearly yet… so I got nothin’. Big zero. I’m standing there on the lurch-and-puke that is the 1-California, and the woman sitting next to Her gets off…. then – she looks up at me and moves to the inside chair… holy #h&*! What to do?!?! So I sit next to her… “sit next to her idiot!” I tell myself. Well, I don’t want to seem like a fool so I hold my paper out in front of me (turns out that it was upside down). I can’t stop staring at her hands.. they are long and sleek, so beautiful.. plus I can’t just stare directly at her, that would be rude.
No, I haven’t said a word yet.
Muni Photographer Brian Brooks: Full of Stories 06.08.10
Photo by Brian Brooks
Photographer Brian Brooks has been a regular contributor to Muni Diaries almost since the beginning. We love his black and white photos like this glimmering F car we featured in a weekend photo post. We caught up with him to talk about what inspires him to photograph public transit.
How did you get into photography?
I’m a transplant(circa 1994) from New Jersey and loved photography from an early age. My first job was at a 1-hour lab. A great way to learn about photography is through trial and error, working a lab where resources are unlimited is very helpful. I’m mostly self-taught with a few college classes here and there. I shoot about 40 percent analog and 60 percent digital.
What is it about Muni that inspires you to take photos there?
It’s where most San Franciscans can be seen. It’s also great because people are standing still, which gives you more time to focus on them. One of the most memorable moments was when a fare inspector ripped a transfer from my wife’s hand and I shot a photo of the interaction. It had expired while waiting on the platform for a late train.
How do you get a good picture on the bus?
I almost never ask people if I can take their photograph.) The few times I’ve asked while riding Muni they’ve always said, “No.” I can still see those photographs in my head. If you’re in the public space, you’re fair game.
What’s your line?
I’m more of a train person so the N-Judah is my line. Every time I ride Muni I can tell a story about it.
Check out more of Brian’s Muni photos on Flickr. Got Muni photos yourself? Join our Muni Photos Flickr pool.
A month of Muni, in visual form 06.04.10
Ever wonder how the gods see Muni? Us, too. Eric Fischer has gone and outdone himself with the above image. According to Mr. Fischer:
“Average speed at each location according to NextBus, April 13 – May 21, 2010. Black is stopped (less than 3 mph). Red is slow (3-5 mph). Blue is normal operating speed (5-9 mph). Yellow is fast service (9-19 mph). Green is rapid movement (faster than 19 mph).”
Who knew Muni data could be so purty? I’m going to think of this next time I’m stuck on a metro car in a tunnel.
Oh, but our boy Eric isn’t done just yet:
“Average speed at each location according to NextBus, April 13 – May 21, 2010. Each level of gray represents a speed increment of 0.1 mph, up to a threshold of 24 mph.”
24 mph, eh? I’d like, just once, to be on that bus.
My Muni Sanctuary 06.03.10
Photo by chainsmokingbluemonkey
Sean at Noisebeard is newish to San Francisco and not at all fazed by the schizophrenic relationship we riders have with the beast we call Muni. Instead, Sean has chosen to embrace the crazy.
Most people I know who also have to ride the bus around often complain about it. It’s crowded, slow, and pretty unreliable sometimes, especially on weekends. I don’t need to defend any of those claims because they’re 100% true. But I think what people overlook is the social complexity that Muni offers.
People of all sorts ride the bus for whatever reason. At any time of the day, the buses are pretty crowded. Living in a city with around 900,000 people in the “proper” area, there’s never a dull moment.
I love riding the bus. I like the weird people that join me in the ride. I see something new every day. I see the same drivers on my routes looking totally complacent and care-free. I see the old Asian men and women carting home their bundles of Chinatown goodies. I see the mid 20s hipster chicks with their denim-painted tights and iPod/iPhone headphones dangling around their scarf. I see the Tenderloin crack heads holding onto mortality and falling at every lurch in the bus’s path. I see it all. Every social paradigm someone could conjure up ends up on Muni eventually. It’s the ultimate people watching venue.
Continue reading Sean’s post at Noisebeard to find out how this newcomer avoids Muni frustration.
Tagger nabbed on the 38-Geary 06.01.10
Photo by Troy Holden
Muni rider Talia has the following news to share:
I hate taggers and their cocky attitudes and uncreative scrawls and stinky pens that give me headaches. This 38 driver took immediate action.
An excerpt from the Richmond district police blotter posted on the Richmond blog:
On 05/20/10 at 9:50pm an officer was in his patrol car at 6th Ave and Geary. The driver of a 38 Geary Muni began to wave at the officer and flash the vehicle’s headlights. The officer entered the bus and the driver told him that there were several young adults seated in the back that were “tagging” the bus with graffiti. The officer walked towards the back and the driver pointed out the 20 year old suspect. There was fresh graffiti on the ceiling and interior walls of the bus. The suspect was charged with vandalism and possession of a narcotic.
Muni Newbie Orientation 05.28.10
What do Muni newbie riders need to know?
Because most people I know are seasoned transit riders, I tend to forget that Muni gets brand-new riders every day. Rider Melissa has just made the transition from BART to Muni, and told us:
Funny how different the commuter scene is. Lesson for today in Muni Riders vs. BART Riders: Muni Riders just don’t give a fuck! (Excuse my language…but it’s so true.) Doesn’t matter if you’re elderly, handicapped, young…Muni riders are all out for themselves. You just have to be aggressive and don’t take anything personally. Everyone is just trying to go where they need to go. [I'm] slowly learning and transitioning to a daily Muni rider….we’ll see how it goes.
Despite her skepticism, Melissa took a picture of her very first Muni pass to share with us, above.
I’m not sure I totally agree with Melissa’s assessment because I feel that on any Muni line, if you don’t know to step down, the rest of the bus will let you know. And if the back door doesn’t open for you, more than one rider will yell “Back Door” on your behalf. I’ve seen riders organize half the bus to move back for a wheelchair passenger to get on the 22. But maybe there’s something about BART riders that I don’t know?
Whenever I have visitors in town, this is my usual Muni-orientation talk:
- $2, try exact change or 3-day pass.
- Keep your transfer; it’s good for any direction.
- Step down to exit
- Some bus signs are simply painted on telephone poles (I think visitors find this consistently confusing).
Then I just give them a route map and they’re on their way.
What else would you tell a Muni newbie?
Loretta: Muni bus driver, guardian angel 05.26.10
Photo by Kristen Holden
Last night I fell asleep riding the 49 inbound up Van Ness around 9 p.m. Fell asleep BAD. Like I’m surprised no one checked my pulse to see if I was still alive (well, maybe they did and I just slept through it). When I woke up, I realized I had missed my stop at Jackson by several blocks and raced out the door. Shortly thereafter, I discovered that my phone, which I had been holding when I fell asleep, was no longer with me. I panicked, but there was no way to catch up to the bus.
I got to my friend’s house, and used his phone to call mine. Nobody picked up, and I expected the worst. It was a hat-trick in the worst way: the Giants get shut out by the A’s, I miss the season finale of LOST, and my cell phone is now being kicked around an empty bus. But awhile later we got a call from Loretta, the Nicest Bus Driver on the Planet. She had found my phone, and rather than sending it to lost and found—where she insisted it would have been gone forever—took it with her.
Today I met her on her route and she returned it to me. I tried to give her some cash as a thank you, but she wouldn’t accept it. Anyways, Loretta, you saved the day! Thank you!
Caitlyn
Muni Missed Connections: Cupcake Edition 05.20.10
Photo by Flickr user Aaron Landry
We begin this latest round of Muni Missed Connections with a tale of cupcake kindness on the 19, of all routes:
u gave me a cupcake b4 u got off at 24th or 25th, thought that was really sweetie, would b nice if every1 on the 19 was sweetie like u, prob wont c u again since I’m not on the 19everyday(thank the lord) so its a good thing CL has this section4u2find me, very sweet
Next, this 30-something might have found his cougar siren, reading The Leopard, no less, on the mysterious 39L:
You’re probably a good 20 years older than me (and likely far too classy for the likes of a tattooed ne’er do well like myself), but every time I see you waiting at our bus stop, my heart starts racing…we almost always sit across from each other, if not very close, and every time I can’t keep my eyes off of you. You’re elegant, sexy, and I imagine what it’s like to be with you every time I see you… Thanks for making me feel alive! (and if you’re ever feeling daring…well, you get the idea)
