Obituary: Farewell 7-Haight, I hardly knew you. Seriously, like, where were you? 12.02.09
Photo by Flickr user napolifd
Violence on Muni has once again been on our minds lately, seeing this week’s stabbing on the J. As much as we wish these weren’t the stories to remember Muni by, some of the things that happen on Muni are regrettable. Muni rider Gordo sent in this obit for the 7:
I once got punched in my shoulder riding the good ol’ no. 7. It didn’t matter to the random assaulter that I was wearing a sling on that arm after breaking my shoulder two weeks prior. the guy just laughed and then jumped off at the next stop. oh no. 7 I’ll miss you and your unprovoked acts of violence.
And Muni rider Rob Nagle had this to say about the 7:
Today, among other lines, the 7-Haight will no longer be with us. In an effort to save money, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will discontinue the 7-Haight along with seven other lines.
As for the 7-Haight, it’s a good bet no one will notice. I can’t remember the last time I’d even seen a 7-Haight let alone ride one. I live on Haight Street and usually get a 6-Parnassus or 71-Haight-Noriega whenever I need to catch a bus. Even if I’m not riding the bus, the 6 and the 71 are all I usually see when I’m out and about on my block. That is until Sept. 25 when I saw two heading downtown within an hour of each other while I was doing laundry on a Friday night (I know, laundry on a Friday night? = lame). “There goes my angle for the obit,” I thought to myself, regretting the fact I had put it off.
But the truth is the 7-Haight was a rare sight. I’ve definitely ridden one from time to time, but it’s been at least three years since I did. I thought it had already been discontinued. I work at a newspaper that covers Muni all the time and remembered something about service changes to the 7 a while back. As it turns out, it was just a service reduction that I remembered. In September 2005, service on the 7-Haight and two other lines were curtailed, one of which – the 4-Sutter – is also dying.
A search on the rarely spotted 7 reveals two reviews on Yelp, one good and one bad, but one helps explain perhaps why I’ve so rarely seen the 7. “I used to hate the 7-Haight – but now I love the 7-Haight. It only runs at rush hour, they use the big double buses, it’s normally nearly empty in both directions, so there are many seats to choose from, and it’s faster than the 6 Parnassus,” opines one Yelper. If it’s true the 7 only ran during rush hour that would explain why I never saw it. Of course, the night I saw two was after rush hour but this is Muni we’re talking about, so making sense is not necessary.
The other reviewer’s sentiments probably help speak to reasons the 7 is no longer with us when he writes “The 7-Haight is a horrible bus line. It probably used to be really important and iconic and old school, but since Muni added the 6-Parnassus, 71-Haight/Noriega and 71L Haight-Noriega Limited, the 7 serves absolutely no purpose.”
So, farewell 7-Haight, according to Yelp, half of the time you were awesome and half of the time you totally sucked, but a .500 record isn’t a terrible thing. Those that actually rode you may miss you, but me, I feel I barely knew you.
Be sure to read California Beat’s obituary for the 7-Haight.
All this week we are running eulogies written by you, dear riders, to honor the Muni lines that are being eliminated this Saturday. Come back tomorrow for more stories in memory of these lines.
Obituary: 89-Laguna Honda 12.01.09
Photo by octoferret
Continuing our tribute to the Muni lines going out of service this Saturday, here’s a shorty-but-sweetie from Inner Richmond rider Adam:
89 Laguna Honda.
Your obituary should be as short as you.
Regular contributor Whole Wheat Toast had this story to tell about the 89:
I just remembered that I happened to ride the 89 one time. Although that would be an unlikely route a young able-bodied person would ride when they can just walk, (and no I don’t volunteer over there), I rode the 89 just for fun.
It was one Sunday afternoon. I learned that there were goats hanging around the Laguna Honda Hospital area. Naturally, I would go and get some pictures of those natural lawn-mowers.
All of a sudden, I saw some of the goats getting rounded up. I wondered where they were going, and by the time I found out what was happening, it was too late.
I ran/walked to Forest Hill Station and boarded the 89 bus. Pretty nice bus route, being the shortest route in the city, and I think there was one or two other people that were elderly on the bus.
So off the bus went. Our first stop was at the hospital entrance. The one or two elderly got off, and I continued up to the parking lot of the hospital. That’s where I got off and looked for a way into the forest to find the goats. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find them, and I had to leave because I didn’t want to get detained for trespassing. Or can’t you?
Anyway, before I realized there was no direct way back to Forest Hill Station other than through Woodside and Idora, I hopped back on the 89. Same driver. Same bus. “You board the wrong bus?” the driver chuckles. I said I was just…erm…goat-hunting?
Well, even though that was my only ride on the 89, it was still a good experience. Well, at least I hardly knew ye, number Eighty-Nine. Rest in peace.
Do these obituaries jog your memory of stories that happened on these lines? Share it here on Muni Diaries.
Obituary: 4-Sutter, You’re the One Who Got Away (1979-2009) 12.01.09
All art from Muni brochure dated Aug. 29, 1979
Ed note: The brochures above came to us via longtime San Francisco resident and transit enthusiast Randy Alfred, who has kept an amazing record of transit documents dating from the early 1970s. He says he kept them around because “ephemera are always interesting to historians and collectors. They illuminate the fine detail of daily life years ago.” Look for more Muni documents from days gone past from Randy’s collection in the coming weeks on Muni Diaries.
All this week we are running eulogies written by you, dear riders, to honor the Muni lines that are being eliminated this Saturday. Here’s my own eulogy for poor 4-Sutter, which runs very close to my apartment. — Eugenia
Bus number 4, remember the smile I’d give you when you’d sidle up to me at the bus stop? You liked to say, “Almost always late, but definitely worth the wait!” I didn’t know how good you were to me until now, when you’re gone from my life. I always think about the times when we’d skip down Sutter street, hand-in-hand, on our way to another shopping spree in Union Square (who else accompanies a girl so willingly to the mall?)
And you’d give me a ride back home after another night out with my girl friends, no matter how many cocktails I’ve had. You never seemed to care that, at that point in the night, I was always too drunk to make conversation with you. Sometimes I’d even put my face right up to the open window to get some air, and you never even said I was weird or anything.
On bus number 4, I never knew how good I had it until you decided to leave. You know what they say? You’re the one who got away.
@Margosita sent us this photo today via Twitter:
12/1 photo: My last ride on the 4
We’re not the only ones with soon-to-be-defunct Muni lines on our minds. California Beat ran an excellent obituary of their own for the 4-Sutter earlier this week. Stay tuned tomorrow for more obituaries from riders who took this opportunity to commemorate these lines.
Obituary: 53-Southern Heights 11.30.09
Photo by Flickr user riz94107
Ed. note: Several Muni lines are being eliminated this Saturday. To honor these lines, we’ve been asking you to send us obituaries of these Muni routes to eulogize them in your own words. This obituary for the 53-Southern Heights is the first of a weeklong series here on Muni Diaries. We’ve received many great stories, trips down memory lane, for these buses. Be sure to check back tomorrow to read obituaries for the 4-Sutter and the 89-Laguna Honda, accompanied by some neat archival art.
The 53-Southern Heights is perhaps the greatest tragedy to occur during the Muni cuts this year. The reason that no one knows where it goes or what it does is because it serves those who are least likely to use current technology or be connected to those off the Hill - Potrero Hill - the community it serves.
The average daily ridership for the 53 is low, but it serves Grandmas and Grandpas, wheelchairs and walkers, and the people who assist them. The 53 traverses one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city, the Potrero Homes housing project, dropping down massive heights on Missouri and Vermont without the help of an overhead wire, connecting those who live by choice or by requirement at the top of the Hill down to connections to the outside world of the City at 16th and Potrero. Old ladies with their granny carts take the bus on their daily errand to the Safeway at the Potrero shopping center. The drivers of the 53 know their customers by first name and are happy to give a helping hand when asked.
The 53 is a lifeline from the high forgotten hill on the east side to the city, and the removal of the line will be distressing to many. For many Muni riders, the loss of a bus route will not truly be mourned, but for the 53 riders, there is no doubt that without this bus they will lose the social service that the city has provided for as long as one can remember. That no one spoke up for the 53 at the budget hearings nor on Muni Diaries is no surprise; it has been quietly doing its job and was an inconspicuous but necessary addition to the Muni fleet. For those who loved it, the 53 will not be forgotten.
Click here for a couple of positive reviews of the 53 on Yelp. And SFGate has a 2001 story of a “runaway” 53-Southern Heights.
Just because the deadline for sending us your obituary has passed, don’t think we don’t want to hear your story. This week is a week of mourning for the dying lines, but it’s never too late to write their story (or any Muni story, for that matter). Share your Muni stories here.
Photo diary: The Passion of the 53-Southern Heights 11.18.09
Photo by Troy Holden of Caliber SF
For those who don’t know, the 53-Southern Heights is one of seven Muni routes scheduled to be completely eliminated on Dec. 5. It served parts of Potrero Hill for many years. And trust me, you don’t wanna walk that hill every day.
There’s some talk of various ways to honor these great urban warriors: flash mobs, wakes, “last rides” (a religious reference for those who haven’t had their coffee yet). How are you going to mark this grievous occasion?
Muni Diaries, being of the written word and all, is asking you to pen an obituary for your most beloved dying Muni route. The deadline passed on Sunday, but you can still sneak one in. We’ll be running them in the upcoming weeks. Details are here. Write a diary here.
*Yes, the title here is an allusion to the story of Jesus. Deal.
74X-Culture Bus Funeral March This Saturday 08.13.09
Photo by Steve Rhodes
Eve and Matt over at SF Appeal reminded us of this Saturday’s somber-yet-timely death of the 74X-Culture Bus. So SF Appeal is proposing a ride on the Culture Bus on its last day of service to our fair tourists. Go show this waste of a Muni route your love, and show the world that San Francisco still has a lot of culture, just no need for an overpriced, redundant bus route with no riders.
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are on sale 
