Muni Diaries » 5-Fulton

Best Muni Missed Connection EVER

jeff — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:00:59 +0000

Muni rider “roe” sends this amazingly detailed description of a missed connection on the 5-Fulton. We bet she looked so creamy …

Body Found on Muni Bus After Shift Ended (w/updates)

eugenia — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:00:30 +0000

Update (12:00 p.m., April 5, 2010):

SF Weekly reports that the S.F. Medical Examiner has determined Christopher Feasel’s cause of death: cocaine and methadone overdose. Still, as the Weekly’s Joe Eskenazi points out, many questions remain.

Update (1:40 p.m.):

The ex-wife of the man found dead on the Muni bus told the SF Examiner that she had not seen him for over a decade and that addiction was the reason they separated, according to the Examiner’s update story. Feasel had a record of mostly petty crimes in San Francisco and San Mateo counties over the last 12 years, according to the Examiner. He did not have a fixed address at the time he was found on the 5-Fulton.

Read the rest of the Examiner’s update.

Original post:

My apologies for starting off your Monday morning this way: a man’s body was found on the 5-Fulton hours after the bus was parked in the Muni yard on Presidio and Bush, the SF Examiner reports.

It’s Always Happy Hour Somewhere

Alison Purvis — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:00:19 +0000

Photo by Flickr user What What

Ed. Note: It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a gross story, huh? Here’s one from rider Alison. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Living in the Outer Richmond without a car leaves few options for across town travel. If I had ample time on my hands and wasn’t cripplingly lazy, I would walk or bike.

Alas, I ride the 5 Fulton. While other lines in my neighborhood are generally quieter (1 California) or faster (38 and 38Ltd Geary), the 5 Fulton is one block from my house (did I mention I’m lazy?).

Being a relatively seasoned Muni-rider, I’ve found that most Muni lines traverse at least one or two shady neighborhoods and the 5 is no different. From my house to downtown, the bus passes through Western Addition and the section of Market that the city forgot to gentrify.

Last week, on a perfunctory afternoon ride downtown, a man in his early 30′s boarded the bus in Western Addition. When people sit down across from me on any bus, I typically give them the once over and resume whatever activity I’m engaging in to expedite the ride. This particular gentleman caught my attention because, well, he was a midget. No, not a dwarf (characterized by their shortened limbs); a midget. And he was drunk.

He alternated giggling and incoherent babbling with surreptitious swigs of sake from a crinkled brown bag. But his giggles soon turned to looks of pain and before I could determine just how drunk he was, he threw up. Not a projectile vomit but more of a slow, awkward dribble that made its way down his sweater, leaving a unpleasantly colored trail. And, where many individuals who have just thrown up on themselves would cease and desist, he just kept on drinking as if nothing were amiss.

Thankfully he didn’t ride for too long and actually managed to disembark the bus without leaving a mess in his wake. Although my visceral reaction was overwhelming disgust, my heart went out to this small dude who, for the rest of the day, would be wearing his own barf.

Thank You, Magnificant Muni Drivers

eugenia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:00:30 +0000

Photo by Flickr user eviloars

Rider Dave Rhodes wrote MTA a letter about two Muni drivers who saved the day when Dave’s wife lost her wallet on the bus.

I’d like to voice my appreciation for two fantastic San Francisco Muni drivers, George and Bernetta. My wife and I had just purchased two Muni passes on March 2nd for the first time, having recently returned to this city after many years. We were on our way home from the Haight district and took the #33 from Haight St. up to Fulton and Stanyon to catch the #5 to Fulton and 25th.

When the #5 came, driven by Bernetta, my wife reached for her wallet to display her pass only to discover that it was gone. Bernetta saw that she was distraught and waved her aboard the bus anyway, stating, “That’s okay sweetie, we’ll work it out.”

We were shown the number to call for assistance and my wife hooked up with a very helpful operator who’s name I don’t know. She was told that the driver of the #33 (George) would be contacted and asked to look for the wallet. While my wife was on a cell phone talking to the operator, Bernetta also called from her bus radio or phone to try and get the other driver to locate the wallet as soon as possible.

We all knew that time was important, given the increasing likelihood that some nefarious character would find it before the driver did and help themselves to it.
After we reached our destination and disembarked, the MTA operator called back to say that the wallet had been located and that we’d be able to claim it from the #33 driver when he came around again. We were given a time to meet him and grabbed another #5 going back to Fulton and Stanyan to wait for him.

When George pulled up he was beaming, and said that he was happy to have found the wallet because so many items are lost or stolen, he was glad to see something have a happy ending. My wife had ID in the wallet so George was careful to make sure it was hers and then he happily handed it over – a check of the contents showed that the newly purchased Muni pass was still in there, along with a number of important documents and credit cards. We vowed then to be more careful and check our wallets and passes before leaving any Muni bus we happen to be on.

A few days later we boarded a #5 bus on Market Street to get back up into our area, and Bernetta was the driver. I didn’t recognize her at first, but she recognized us and said, “Hey, you got your pass back!” She went on to tell us how glad she was it had worked out and that she’d actually been worried about it!

So I’d like to commend two Muni drivers who care – George and Bernetta. To narrow it down because I know there are quite a few drivers, George was driving the #33 route and Bernetta was driving the #5, both on the evening of March 2nd. We’d also like to extend thanks to the phone operator who took our request for assistance that evening, even though we don’t know her name. She was very kind and helpful.

Photo Diary: Metrosexual Rage on the 21-Hayes

jeff — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:46:34 +0000

Photos by KayVee.INC

Saw the above gem via @nom_de_guerre this weekend. Indeed.

And then this screed came into my Google Reader this morning, via Mission Mission. I call it “Pastry Rage on the 5-Fulton.”

I dunno. Looks like slightly different handwriting to us. Check out the difference between the two “ON THE”s. Different N. Different H.

Still, we hope this is the beginning of something new and totally life-altering. Or something.

The Blind Couple and the Boy

eugenia — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:00:48 +0000

Photo by Flickr user kevindooley

It was a crowded 5-Fulton outbound on a Tuesday commute. Somewhere near the Civic Center, a blind man and his girlfriend (also partially blind) got on the bus and were given seats near the front but not next to one another. Closer to City Hall, a boy around the ages of 7-9 got on the bus with his mother and stood near the front of the bus.

The boy had noticed the blind man’s walking cane and began to talk with him.

Boy: “Sir, what’s that stick for?”
Blind man: “Oh, it’s to help me find my way around because I cannot see.”
Boy: “You can’t see? What do you mean? Can you see me?”
Blind man: “Unfortunately, no, I cannot see you, at least not in this dim light [on the bus].”
Boy: “I wish you could see me. I would give you my eyes so you can see.”
Blind man: “You are so very sweet, thank you.”

The boy’s mother, meanwhile, seemed uncomfortable with her son being overly inquisitive with a stranger. She continued to hush and scold him for asking too many questions throughout the conversation.

Boy: “Do you cook?”
Blind man: “Oh, no way, I don’t. But my girlfriend cooks for me.”

The blind man motions to his girlfriend in the general direction of her voice.

Boy: “Oh, you are his girlfriend?”
Girlfriend: “Yes, I am.”
Boy: “Can you see me?”
Girlfriend: “I also cannot see, but I can see better than my boyfriend.”
Boy: “Why can you both not see? I wish I could give both of you my eyes so you can see me and everyone else here.”
Girlfriend: “That’s so very kind of you, thank you.”

The boy and his mother had to get off the bus around Fillmore. Before he got off the bus, he bid his farewell to the couple.

Boy: “It was nice meeting you, Sir.” He takes the blind man’s hand into his own and shakes it.
Blind man: “It was very nice meeting you, too. Thank you.”
Boy: “It was nice meeting you, Miss.” He hugs the girlfriend.
Girlfriend: “You are so sweet, thank you. You take care of yourself and your mother now.”

The boy and his mother exited, and enough seats freed up between the couple so they could find one another again by the sound of each other’s voices.

Ray of Hope on the Morning Commute

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:00:50 +0000

Photo by Flickr user Telstar Logistics

7:13am, October 13, 2009.

The first big rain of the season; I stepped onto the 5-Fulton bus for my usual commute and felt like I had just battled a true typhoon. I went to my favorite seat immediately and settled down.

There were a couple of men talking about San Francisco; they were both recent transplants to the city, so they were making comparisons of their previous locations to The City. I felt like it was just a simple exchange of a few words, so I drifted off into my own thoughts, and onto a warm slumber during the 40-minute commute.

Rain poured outside while our bus driver perilously navigated the slick streets; meanwhile the two men continued to talk across the aisle with each other, until one, who introduced himself as “James”, decided he would just sit beside his new companion, who said his name was “Jack”.

As the bus continued on towards downtown, more passengers boarded with gloomy expressions over the unexpected rain. However, through the gray faces, Jack and James seemed to melt into their own world, sharing their life stories with one another.

Somehow, that small scene from this morning has stuck with me all day–that, amidst all the recent negative Muni coverage, there are still small beams of hope shining through all the mess.

Summer Ballet Season on Muni

Joey — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:00:33 +0000

Photo by Flickr user aussiegall

San Francisco is lucky to have two great ballet companies right here in the city: The San Francisco Ballet and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet. However, along with these formidable dance institutions comes summer dance camp. You know it’s summer in the city when the teeny tiny little 14 year olds arrive on the #5 Fulton.

Every summer they arrive after the 4th of July and stay for a few weeks. The girls (and occasional boy) all stay at the vacant dorms at USF, but the ballet companies are all near the Civic Center. So every morning they all get on the bus in the middle of rush hour traffic. The #5 doesn’t get a lot of school kids in the morning so the ballerinas are an unwelcome gaggle of chatterboxes for the morning commuters.

An audible groan goes through the bus as the girls pack into the aisles. The girls all look alike- tight buns, tiny waists and legs, huge bags brimming with teenage crap, baggy black sweats with various dance companies advertised on the legs, and flip flops. The flip flops reveal the imperfection of these seemingly perfect little soldiers of ballet- they have the worst feet in the world. To be only 14 and already have the bunions and hammertoes of a woman seven times your age would be horrifying to me.

The other really weird thing about the ballet dancers — none of them can stay standing on the bus. I mean there’s a bar to hold onto and you balance yourself — it’s not that difficult for a lay person to do, and isn’t that what they do all day long? So every morning there’s a domino effect of dancers falling over when the bus lurches around Central and McAllister, accompanied by an eruption of teenage giggles. I wonder how many young dance careers have ended on the #5 by some girl who fell over and tore something.

Spot any young ballerinas or other interesting characters on Muni lately? Tell us your tales of public transit.

Photo Gallery: Inaccurate or Outdated Muni Signage

jeff — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:36:34 +0000

Found this amazingly neato photo set on Flickr the other day. It was shot and assembled by Octoferret, to whom we owe a humble thank you. In light of upcoming Muni lines slated for extinction, we feel this is a moving tribute to the routes that time has forgotten.

Bus drivers, courtesy, ‘the other side’

eugenia — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:35 +0000

Photo by Flickr user juicyrai

(from Thursday, December 18, 2008)

While on the bus today, I began to think about things relating to my many bus rides and such. Ever since I began commuting to work by 7:30 or so, I notice how I have come to recognize the morning bus drivers and almost the exact times of arrival at my stop.

I was thinking these things, and thinking about others and courtesy. On Tuesday, the bus driver had trouble with making the left turn from Hyde onto Market (that turn is already very tricky). As a result, the driver disconnected the bus from the electrical power lines and, despite attempting to reconnect the bus to the lines, had to tell us all to migrate to the bus behind us. I felt so bad for the driver, although I guess the bus drivers have to deal with situations like this every day.

Anyway, today I caught the bus with the same bus driver, and I greeted him as usual. But, the bus disconnected again today, this time on Fulton and 8th Avenue; I was afraid that we would have to change buses again and again felt bad for the bus driver. Luckily, this time the bus driver was able to keep the bus’s cords connected to the power lines, so we made it downtown safely.

During the bus ride, I was thinking about those situations, and thinking about how hard the bus drivers do work. Yes, some of them may supposedly have “ego problems”, but then again, aren’t they human, too? Still, in the end, they do work pretty hard, and often times passengers are not so appreciative of the bus drivers.

For instance, when I traveled to Colorado a few weeks ago, I boarded a bus from the airport and honestly told the bus driver, “I’m sorry, I do not have small change for the bus.” Instead of being cruel and making me pay $20 for a $7 commuter ride, the bus driver decided he would collect others’ bus fares by hand in order to break the $20 I had. This slowed down the boarding, of course, but it was the driver’s choice to do this.

Well, while he was collecting the fare from other passengers, one guy boarded the bus and almost didn’t pay if the bus driver hadn’t told the guy to stop. “Oh, I thought we didn’t have to pay anymore; I didn’t know it’d take so long to board a stupid bus these days,” said the guy. Of course this statement made the bus driver angry, and he turned to look at me while he responded to the rude passenger, “Well, you know, there are other passengers on this bus besides you.” The passenger didn’t get the hint and just said, “Yeah, whatever.”

It made me feel extremely bad for the driver to know that he was doing me this favor, and then he received crap from another passenger because of his kindness.

Why is it that people do stuff like that though? I mean, to not understand from another person’s point of view. I’m certainly not saying I ALWAYS think about things from another person’s point of view. But, really, when I think about it–I’ve been at both ends of situations like these, and I am sure everyone has experienced both sides as well. Some may choose not to notice it, though, and go on with their lives not even thinking about how things are from “the other side”.