Weekend Photos: Pull the Cord 08.27.10
Photo by Flickr user katiemarinascott
When reader Ben sent us the above short email, I had to laugh. We know it’s not all that bad, though. Rachel from Fog City Notes shared a story of hilarity with fare inspectors this week, and we’re still trying to solve the mystery of why people do what they do when they wait for the bus. A big part of our urban existence happens on public transportation, so the next time you say to someone, “So I was on the bus today…” don’t forget to share that story with us.
Meanwhile, in Muni news:
- Yes on Proposition G Headquarters Opens in the Castro — Fix Muni Now Kicks Off (SF Citizen)
- Muni operators onboard, albeit begrudgingly, for service restoration plan (SF Examiner)
- Some historic streetcars could return to the N-Judah line (Market Street Railway Blog)
- Central Subway travel times disputed (SF Examiner)
- Teen Suspect In Muni Gay Bashing Arrested (SF Appeal)
- Muni chief urges riders to support federal transit funding (Examiner’s Under the Dome blog)
- BART board decides not to increase fares (BCN via SF Appeal)
- Protective streetcar shelter at Geneva nears completion (Market Street Railway)
- Pot Ads on Muni? They’re Already on BART — So Why Not? (SF Weekly)
- Dennis Herrera Running for Mayor (SFist)
Enjoy these photos and your weekend!
Photo by Flickr user Roshan Vyas
Photo by Flickr user David Lytle
Photo by Flickr user eviloars
Sittin’ in the waiting room … ahhhh 08.27.10
Photo by davitydave
Also, more fun waiting-for-Muni photos:
Photo by WarzauWynn
Photo by andy54321
Photo by Troy Holden
Photo by stevendamron
Photo by Justin.Beck
Photo by Nick.Fisher
Photo by juicyrai
Photo by rick, previously featured on Muni Diaries here
Photo diary: Muni on Stilts 08.26.10
Saw this in the Kirkland Coach Yard. Man, if only Muni buses were equipped with Transformers-like legs to just walk over cars in traffic. Yeah, nothing would go wrong if that were the case, would it?
Smoke inside an 8X-Bayshore Express (updates) 08.26.10
Photo by LiveSOMA
Update 10:29 a.m.: LiveSOMA now has photos of the removal of the smoked-out bus (wasn’t that a story at our last live event?).
Update 9:49 a.m.: Eyewitness Brooke has these details:
I was about to walk into Whole Foods on 4th at Harrison when I heard a commotion across the street. I looked over and saw several people running out of long Muni bus, the 8 line. A big purple cloud was coming from the back of the bus. It looked like a very particulate smoke, and people appeared to have some of the smoke powder on them. I stopped to see if I should call 911, if they looked hurt. They were pretty much freaking out and looked scared, but they didn¹t look hurt. Then I saw the driver walking to the back to assess the situation, so I didn¹t think it was necessary to get nvolved. I went into whole foods to buy a couple of things. When I came out of Whole Foods about 5 minutes later, the cloud was gone, but on the sidewalk and street there was a layer of violet-purple stuff on the ground about the length of the back half of the bus. It appeared that several of the people that had been on the bus were still there talking to the bus driver about what had happened.
Original post: @jblebrun reports of smoke inside an 8X:
Whoa.. muni 8x suddenly filled with fine white powder… looked like smoke. Entire bus was covered by white cloud. 4th and Harrison
LiveSOMA has photos and a story:
The bus driver explained how the whole bus filled with white smoke to the point where she couldn’t see and had to stop. Her quick reaction prevented any injuries, although an SFFD Ambulance arrived a few minutes later to double check the situation. Passengers were also asked to fill out ‘comment card’ type sheets that allow Muni to follow up.
Anyone else witness this? Any idea what happened?
A Muni bus filled with ‘Oxford scholars’ 08.26.10
Photo by lorelei
Muni rider Tara K. has a story that goes to show, you never know what kind of colorful character you’ll encounter on Muni:
Okay, today is the day I’ll be early to work…well, on time. I set out in high hopes of catching an early 22-Fillmore bus. I get on the bus and there is actually a seat!
That’s when the magic happens. A older woman, probably in her 80s, dressed in matching red and white from head to toe, turns to the remaining three people on the bus and yells “well, looks like this bus was filled with a bunch of God damned Oxford scholars. I tell ya the City is filled with ‘em!” I glance at another passenger as we suppress a burst of laughter. Then the show begins. The older woman continues on asking, “why the hell are people so stupid? Didn’t they hear that the driver is gonna take us to the next stop. A bunch of cattle, they are.”
As the driver pulls up to the stop the older woman turns to us all once again. She smiles and says, “well, it’s too bad they all missed the extra ride, the idiots, but it was nice ridin’ with y’all.” I catch her eye and say, “it’s really too bad they missed a great comedian!” She looks at me askance (Oh God, was that too cutesy for this lady, now I’m gonna get it), giving me a half smile and guffaw…and whaps me on the leg with her cane while nodding in recognition of her performance!
Note to self: Always ride Muni early cuz the bus will break down and you could be smiling for days.
It either happened to you, or around you. Share your Muni story on Muni Diaries.
The Random Deployment of New Muni Bus Shelters 08.25.10
The right good folks over at Tenderblog noticed something rather strange about the deployment of Muni’s sleek/appalling bright, shiny new bus shelters. So they wrote a blog post about it. And they published that blog post.
[H]ow on earth are they figuring out the deployment pattern on these things? There’s the really nice new ones at Geary and Leavenworth (this happening corner), but then they go no further up. There’s one at Sutter & Van Ness, but then none the rest of the way down Sutter.
Indeed, what could the plan possibly be? Read the rest of Tenderblog’s thoughtful and observant post here.
Image above copied and pasted from its original resting place on the intertubes.
Brave 38 Bus Driver 08.25.10
Photo by Flickr user Jesse Johnson
“Please come to the front of the bus and pay the fare, young man.” The bus driver stood up forcefully and yelled, “This bus will not be moving until you pay the fare like the rest of the folks on this bus!”
As I entered a fairly empty 38L, I noticed something very interesting about the bus driver: He was a man on a mission…someone not to cross the wrong way or come across sideways.
Now, we’re not talking about a typical-size bus driver. We’re talking about a fairly large man in his early 40s with a very bald head. The young man smoothly walked to the front of the bus while on his cell phone, and paid a portion of the fare. The bus driver aggressively said, “Now look, I’m not playing with you, either you pay the fare like the rest of the working folks on this bus or get off my bus!”
The young man paused, switched his cell phone to his left hand, and calmly made a swing-like gesture to the driver! The driver moved away from the attempted fist swing then stood up, grabbed the operator phone, and yelled, “Now get the fuck off my bus or swing. I want you to swing so the cops could take you to jail. You’re on camera with a bus full of witnesses. You make a move!” The young man, clueless for his next act, turned and aggressively attempted to swing again, but missed. He looked around yelling, screaming, and unsure of what to do. He then got off the bus without making another gesture.
Now this is a bus driver with balls. Drivers like him take a stand and lay down the law. This made me proud to ride Muni every day. Yes, it was scary at times, but I was confident that the escalated situation was handled very appropriately. The bus driver showed commanding respect and set limits with this punk kid.
As a Muni commuter, I see punk kids trying to be smooth and slick to get away from paying fares on a daily basis. They cheat fares, punk commuters, smoke weed on the bus, start trouble on the bus, and intimidate other kids on the bus. I asked myself, Where do these entitled, disrespectful group of people get this behavior? They’re so confident in committing these acts; they’ll never experience consequences.
I felt empowered to speak out after my experience, so here I am. I felt this was a good deed and deserved a few cents from a daily Muni rider. Thanks for hiring folks that are tired to speak out and put my tax dollars to good use.
Do you have a story about a driver or fellow passenger whose actions made you proud? Have you told a Muni story to your friends at dinner? Share your Muni stories here at Muni Diaries.
Photo diary: Lay low 08.24.10
Justin Beck is a great photographer. Above, the slot.
Like Justin does, share your photos at our Muni Photos Flickr group. And don’t forget to share your Muni stories here at Muni Diaries.
5 injured as car loses control near Muni bus shelter (updates) 08.24.10
Video courtesy ABC 7/KGO
Update Wednesday 2:33 p.m.: Five victims still in hospital. SUV drive unlicensed, had no insurance. (BCN via SF Appeal)
Update 11:39 a.m.: ABC 7 now reports in more detail:
Investigators said the car shutdown and the driver had no control as she slammed into a group of people waiting for a bus. Because of the heat, the pedestrians were waiting in the shade of an apartment building and not a bus shelter.
“Her vehicle lost power, she lost the ability to brake, to steer the vehicle and as the vehicle was coming down the hill it gained speed and it veered across the street into a group of people that were waiting for a bus at this bus stop. We have five injuries as a result of this accident. Four people were transported with life threatening injuries. One person was transported with non-life threatening injuries,” said Mindy Talmage of the S.F. Fire Department.
Update, 10:58 a.m.: KCBS radio reports that four of those hurt in the crash have sustained life-threatening injuries.
Update, 10:54 a.m.: KGO radio tweets: “KGO traffic reporter Joe Vincent: Driver of the SUV that crashed into the bus shelter told SFPD that she lost power, was unable to steer”
Original post, 10:30 a.m.: ABC 7 reports that five people were injured when a car crashed into a Muni bus shelter on San Bruno and Arleta. We’ll bring you updates as we find them.
Fun with Fare Inspectors on the 38 08.24.10
Photo by atacklamb
Saturday night Sam (who will be posting reviews of the hotel bars we went to) and I headed downtown for an evening of drinking in hotel lobbies. Trust me, it was both more and less glamorous than you can imagine.
We caught a mostly empty 38 at 6th Ave. and settled in to seats towards the back.
At 3rd Ave., a pair of fare inspectors got on and made their way through the bus, checking people’s Fast Passes, Clipper cards and transfers.
A woman sitting two rows ahead of us did not have any proof of payment. The female fare inspector sat down nearby and told her to go ahead and keep looking for her transfer, and if she couldn’t find it she would get a ticket. It was sweet of her to give the woman a chance. Also, these inspectors were polite and friendly. We liked them immediately.
The male fare inspector moved to the back of the bus, where he kept an eye on the back door.
We watched the inspectors, watched the fare evader woman rifle through her bags over and over again.
At Fillmore the female inspector started to write up the woman’s ticket. She explained how the woman could appeal the ticket if she found her transfer. The woman had some questions, all of which were answered by the inspector.
We got to talking with her. She was very chatty and gave us some tips on how to make sure we don’t get busted for fare evasion:
Tip 1- Always keep your receipt from purchase of a Fast Pass or Clipper refill. In a pinch, the receipt is good proof that you did indeed pay for your pass.
Tip 2- If your Clipper card gets lost or stolen, report it immediately and have it canceled, otherwise someone else can use the Fast Pass or funds on the card.
Her tips were good, common sense really, but I appreciated them anyway.
Our bus approached the Van Ness stop.
A man was standing next to a tree, facing us.
“Is he peeing?” asked the female fare inspector.
He was, of course. Standing next to a spindly tree, a few feet from an idling cab, this guy was taking his sweet time. And we all were treated (punished?) with a full frontal view.
“This is like the third time this week I’ve seen guys doing that in public,” I told Sam.
The female inspector started laughing, and pointing, and even rapped on the window.
Well, you didn’t think we’d give away the ending (it’s not that kind), did you? Mosey over to Fog City Notes to read the rest of the story and find out what else they saw.
