Photo Diary: Sunday Best on Muni 03.06.11
Jennifer saw this sharp-dressed man on Muni:
As seen on the 49, somewhere around Civic Center. I think the picture says it all.
We agree.
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Spotless Spotted on the 49 (not sarcastic) 02.01.11
But, for the first time in nearly three years, I found a spotless 49. Sort of. See the photo I snapped above.
This is the only picture I shot. But every panel within view was just as clean.
A lot of, if not all, of these window-panel thingies was clearly new. Sitting next to one was almost like using a brand-new shopping cart. Or using the new gym shower.
Important note: the rest of the bus was not spotless. There was still some crap on the floor. Poles bestickered, as usual. The windows themselves were clearly not new. It being an articulated 49, the bus was obviously not new, either.
But the panels, folks. Spotless! One step at a time.
Swishy River on the 49 01.12.11
Not every liquid on Muni is urine, but I always jump straight to that conclusion every time I see something like this on the bus. I’d argue that most of the time, it’s not urine, but I still think it is, anyway.
About the pic, though. I thought it was probably urine, especially given its proximity to the back corner of the bus. Then, I decided it wasn’t because I couldn’t smell it. Then, I smelled it and it was absolutely urine. Couldn’t be anything else.
But, the worst part, by far, was how it kept swishing back and forth (back and forth) as the bus started and stopped. It wasn’t a tidal wave or anything, but it definitely had momentum. So not only was this a urine trail, it was a moving urine trail. Boo.
I hopped off soon after my if/then/therefore thought process came to a close, but not before snapping this glorious photo. My foot’s there for scale.
49-Van Ness demolishes bus shelter 01.09.11
MissionMission reader Blake sent that site photos after a 49-Van Ness plowed into and destroyed the bus stop at the corner of 24th Street and Mission this afternoon. No one was hurt, according to NBC, and the driver was placed on non-driving status. No word yet on what caused the bus to jump the curb. MM commenter “Mulch” says he was on the bus, and that no one was injured. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster!
All photos courtesy Mission Mission reader Blake’s friend Renna’s Facebook page
Six Hours on the 49 12.06.10
J.J. Barrow is a transportation reporter for MissionLoc@l and spent six hours on the 49-Van Ness. Here’s a photo essay of some of the pictures J.J. captured on the ride.
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A Dispute about air on the 49-Van Ness 11.30.10
Photo by Art Siegel
The bus was steaming up when a young guy standing in front of me with a long braided ponytail reached over to open the window. But just as soon as he opened the window, the big guy next to him reached over to slam the window shut. Without a word, Pony Tail reached over again to open it. Then Big Guy slammed it shut again. Shit was about to go down.
“Hey what’s wrong with you, I just wanna open the window, dude, get some air,” Pony Tail guy said.
Big Guy murmured something testily.
“Whatchu lookin’ at me like that for? What, no, it’s not cold! It’s hot in here! What? You wanna do this?” Pony Tail shoved a finger into Big Guy’s chest. “You wanna do this?”
Big Guy shoves back at Pony Tail. The older woman sitting next to me yells, “You guys, STOP IT!”
Big Guy stepped up closer to Pony Tail and said something we couldn’t hear, then Pony Tail said loudly, “I was just opening the window, and dude here with his hella BAD BREATH is trying to start shit!”
A young woman sitting behind Pony Tail started laughing, and now Pony Tail had an audience.
“You gonna start something with me, over air? You gonna try to send my ass to jail, because I want some air?” Pony Tail said.
The older woman next to me was not amused. “You should go to jail!” she yells.
Pony Tail wasn’t deterred. “Dude, if this was my stop we would both get off here and we would settle this outside!”
Finally audible, Big Guy said that, actually, this WAS his stop, and that they should indeed get off the bus here together.
“But this isn’t my stop, yo?” Pony Tail protests. “I was saying if this was my stop I would settle it with you!”
Big Guy got off the bus and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Pony Tail continued to talk about how he would have caught a cold or the flu if he hadn’t opened the window to get some fresh air, what with so many people being sick and this is the flu season and everything.
Minutes later, a young woman wearing a white sweater boarded the bus and made her way toward us and Pony Tail.
“Heeeeey girl,” Pony Tail said to the young woman, who clearly didn’t know him.
“I like your number! What is it?”
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‘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.”
Loretta: Muni bus driver, guardian angel 05.26.10
Photo by Thomas Hawk
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
Taking Muni Fare Collection Into His Own Hands on the 49 05.18.10
Photo by Flickr user applez
This happened on my way back home from the Mission division of Muni Diaries headquarters last week on the 49. I boarded the bus around 10:30 p.m. after hashing out our new design with Jeff and our web designer. I hopped onto the half-full bus with a very distracted mind. Two stops later a young guy boarded the bus, talking loudly as he made his way down the aisle. I was sitting facing the back of the bus so I couldn’t see what was happening behind me, but I could tell by the faces of the passengers on the back of the bus that something was not right. I turned around and saw that the young guy was walking toward the back of the bus, swinging his arms wildly and talking about fare evasion to no one in particular.
“Did you pay your fare? I bet you didn’t pay…” He seemed to be under the illusion that he’s a fare inspector or unofficial keeper of the Muni law. (more…)
Freestylin’ 49, Part 2 05.11.10
Photo by Flickr user DaveFayram
I hate bagging on Muni drivers, whether it’s via the relative anonymity of the interwebs, to a friend at a party, or to their faces. It accomplishes nothing, as you’re still shit out of luck even after you’ve gotten worked up, right? But I had to say something this time.
Background: I spun this yarn a few weeks ago about a 49-Van Ness/Mission that inexplicably stopped at 14th Street, instead of continuing further south like it’s supposed to. Fine. Whatever. But during each of the three times this has happened to me, news of the offbeat route was announced with an inside voice that could shame the quietest church whispers. The 49 isn’t exactly quiet, either. All signs indicated that this was indeed a 49 that went the full route.
During my charmed third time on the 49-Stops at 14th Street, the bus pulls to a stop, and the same driver (at the same time of day) opens all the doors. He steps outside the bus, walks the length of one side, and notifies people with his inside voice, “last stop…last stop…last stop.”
As 50 people stare at one another confusedly, wondering if the driver simply bailed to the gas station for a snack, I stepped outside and asked if this was the last stop. I said he needs to actually announce this to people next time, because no one can hear him. That is why 50 people are still sitting on his bus.
His response: “The PA is broken, what do you want me to do?”
Hmm.
Yes, PAs break, especially on Muni, where a lot of things break all the time. And he’s apparently driving the same broke-ass bus every time, hence the regular lack of aurally acceptable announcements. Shitty. But come on; why did he go outside, first of all, instead of walking the length of the inside of the bus?
Consider this another plea for better communication between drivers and passengers.
If you’re curious, the bus turns east on 14th Street after slowly emptying its confused load of folks.
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