Raise a glass of OJ and wish Muni a better week 02.01.10
Because really, how could it be any worse? And when we say better for Muni, we really mean better for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the public transit system every day.
But before we get there, we’ve got a little catching up to do. Over the weekend, we received the following from Muni rider Darryl:
Although it’s probably not much of a surprise, but I think this week was probably one of Muni’s worst weeks for service since Brown was in office.
There were unexplained delays 3 out of 5 days headed between Castro Station and downtown. The usual 100-200 people waiting at rush hour.
[Friday] at 8:50am I took a snapshots [above] of almost the entire Muni fleet stuck between Van Ness and Embarcadero outbound at morning rush hour. Luckily got to work only 15 minutes late, but I feel sorry for anybody trying to get outbound or get anywhere later. No shuttles, no ETA, no explanation.
And to follow up on last Friday’s accident involving a pedestrian getting struck by and trapped under an M-Ocean View, Muni rider Allen showed us more from the scene, seen below. Go here for the original post, which includes photos sent in by Christopher. (The victim is alive, but reportedly in serious condition.)
The week was enough to dampen our attempt at keeping up rosy Muni dispositions. That’s saying a lot. At one point, we even condoned the use of taxis. Oh lord, forgive us, as we know not what we do.
So yes, here’s hoping the worst is behind us, and we can all get back to smelly, crowded, hot, wet trains and buses that get us to work only 12 minutes late.
Photos: Accident/backup at Randolph and Arch 01.29.10
We lied. We’re back, and with even more FAIL for you.
Christopher Rogers sent in the photos above and below. An M-Ocean View train struck and trapped a pedestrian at Randolph and Arch. MTA says the pedestrian has been transported to the hospital. The extent of that person’s injuries is unknown as of yet.
We’re hoping that Muni soon stops hurting people and we can go back to our normal telling of goofy stories that happen on buses and trains. Ugh.
Muni Party recap, with photos 11.27.09
We got a report Tuesday about the Muni party earlier this month. Quite the rowdy scene, as the video above attests. Here it is, from the organizers’ perspective:
We are excited to say that the Muni Party (November 12, 2009) was a great success. We were greeted at the M-Train stop at 19th and Holloway with a huge crowd of people, photographers, press, and police. We boarded the two car M-Train with 150+ people, and filled up the whole space. We rode toward downtown with high spirits screaming, chanting, and even singing songs by Journey and James Brown. On the way, we even picked up some bystanders who were waiting at Muni stations. We rode all the way to Montgomery Station, and as a group walked to the Muni Party After Party at Otis Lounge, chanting all the way. We had a great time dancing and mingling at the after party. It was an awesome experience, and we are planning on doing this again early next year. This time, we are going to have a ‘secret’ Muni Party by keeping the exact location secret until the day of the event so we can have a little more freedom. The amazing part of the whole Muni Party event is that we did not spend any money in planning this event, just lots of time, and help from sites such as Muni Diaries. Thanks for all of your support and helping us make this all possible!
MUNI PARTY
Brianna & John
Weekend Photos: What is NextBus trying to tell us? 11.20.09
Photo by Flickr user eviloars
Here we are, arrived at another wet weekend. The worst might be over, though. In which case, go Go forth and have your fun. (srsly, that hard-ass rain lasted, what, 14 minutes?) Don’t forget to go gripe talk to public officials (in government, police, MTA) at a City Hall hearing on Monday.
Here’s your MTA weekend traffic advisory:
Construction on San Jose Avenue between Geneva Avenue and Niagra Avenue will require the closure of both northbound lanes and one southbound lane of San Jose Avenue from 11 p.m., Friday to 4 a.m., Monday.
Beginning at 1:45 a.m. Saturday, the M-Ocean View Muni line will turn back at Plymouth and Broad streets. A Muni bus will provide service between Plymouth Avenue and Broad Street and San Jose and Geneva avenues on Saturday and Sunday.
Also, the N-Judah track repairs will pick up this evening. Pay attention, folks!
Traffic Detour/Construction Schedule: 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 20 – 5 a.m., Monday, Nov. 23
Muni Bus Shuttle Schedule:
- 8 p.m., Friday – 1 a.m., Saturday
6 a.m., Saturday – 1 a.m., Sunday
8 a.m., Sunday – 1 a.m., Monday
Note: The N-Owl service will operate until 6 a.m. Saturday; 8 a.m. Sunday; and 4 a.m. Monday
Additional Muni routes affected: 28-19th Avenue, 29-Sunset, 91-Owl, N-Owl
That, as they say, is all. Enjoy the photos!
Photo by Flickr user Troy Holden
Photo by Flickr user ebtmikado
Photo by Flickr user Whole Wheat Toast
Everybody! Muni party! 11.10.09
Photo by Flickr user Moncrief Speaks
We caught wind of this Thursday’s Muni party aboard the M, and are sad to say we’re all booked up and can’t make it. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Here’s the deets:
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time: 7:15pm – 9:00pm
Location: 19th & Holloway Muni Stop (M-Line)
Here’s what the organizers have to say:
This is not your regular post work commute. Dress to impress with your Thursday night’s best and let Muni be the party, instead of just letting it take you to one.
Let Muni be the jumping off point for your night. Club/Bar/Lounge Atmosphere+Public Transit = Evening of Epic Proportions
Dress Code: Fancy (nothing but the best for public transit)
Cover: $2, or free with purchase of Fast Pass
No difficult door policy. No fancy expensive drinks with pretentious names (although those are sometimes nice). Bring all your friends. We’ll bring ours. There’s no reason not to be there.
PLUS: Muni Party Official After Party will be held at Otis Lounge featuring our special guest DJ ELiKi spinning the hottest electro.
Otis lounge is located at 25 Maiden Ln. (right off of the Montgomery Station Downtown). This party is brought to you by John & Brianna, CW Lifestyle, and DJ ELiKi. It’s free, it’s fun, so don’t miss out.
MUNI PARTY
If you go, be sure to report back here with stories and photos!
M-car Grinds the Lip at Van Ness Station 11.04.09
This just in from Muni rider Christopher:
I was riding an M-car inbound today just around 2:30 PM. There was a strange K-KLAK sound of metal-on-metal between Church and Van Ness — like the streetcar had run over something on the tracks.
This being Muni, I thought nothing of it.
But as we arrived at Van Ness, the same noise repeated as the the streetcar entered the station. The M-car came to an ordinary halt, and the driver calmly asked everyone to disembark. That was when I noticed the front streetcar’s left main door was jammed open.
School-kids playing hooky flashed V-for-victory signs for their friends’ digital cameras in front of the huge side panel of the streetcar that was now folded unnaturally above the lip of the station’s boarding platform.
However it had come undone enough to impact whatever flipped it over the platform’s edge, the lock on the side of the streetcar had been torn through right through the panel.
To his credit, the Muni driver kept the situation mellow and casual.
I exited to the street and legged it to the 14 so as to avoid the crowd on the F-car.
All images by Christopher Rogers
M-Ocean View Strikes Pedestrian (update) 09.03.09
Photo by Flickr user dylan yee
Update (1:07 p.m.): SF Appeal reports that the M is back in service.
Original post: Sadly, we could make a template post for Muni accidents, and get our money’s worth here lately.
Reports are coming over Twitter of a pedestrian struck in the Ingleside by a Muni Metro, M-Ocean View:
- SFCityInsider: Muni service on M-Ocean View disrupted after hitting pedestrian. She’s at hospital with non-life-theatening injuries.
- KCBSNews: SF MUNI accident. Light rail vehicle hit a pedestrian at Broad and Plymouth. Bus shuttles in lieu of M Ocean View Metro line for now.
- SFTotalTraffic: Delays on MUNI: M-Line. LRV vs. Pedestrian. Broad and Plymouth. Shuttles in place.
- SFAppeal: M Ocean View Service Disrupted Due To Accident With Pedestrian http://bit.ly/qZvjQ According to MTA, “the female pedestrian was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries described by the San Francisco Fire Department as non-life threatening.”
We’ll update this post with more info as it becomes available.
Oh noes! Cyclist, M-Balboa Park LRV accident 08.20.09
Photo by Flickr user colin_brumelle
SF Appeal has the goods. Injuries reported by SFFD as “serious.” We’ll update when we learn more.
Weekend Photo Diary: They didn’t see me 08.07.09
Photo by tangobaby from the Muni Photos Flickr pool
Amazing photo by tangobaby that I don’t really want to ruin with words. So I won’t.
Instead, I’ll recap a pretty busy week here on Muni Diaries. I’ll start with the post that kicked the week off for us: the July post of the month. Honors this month go to Plug1′s photo post: The Proof-of-Payment game. Later Monday, we posted a report of the M crashing into a car over the weekend, a story that was quickly eclipsed later that day in the now-famous SUV sandwich with F trains for bread. Later in the week, for whatever reason, old news about MTA’s purchasing an insurance policy came to the fore, and our weeks-old question was answered.
Also on Monday, we published the first of two posts by our favorite Muni mom, Beth W. One was about a cool new feature on txtmuni, an SMS service for bus predictions. The other was our first Muni poem, a villanelle.
Muni’s new insurance policy — too late to cover this weekend’s West Portal crash? (update) 08.06.09
Photo by 2girls1queen
Update (August 6, 2:17 p.m.): SF Appeal helps answer the question this post asked 18 days ago. Thanks, guys!
Original post: Regular service has resumed after yesterday’s West Portal accident, but the fallout is far from over. The SFAppeal reports that 48 people were injured, four of them critical. Ahem, anybody smell a lawsuit coming? This brings us to a KCBS story that a reader sent to us about how the MTA board approved the purchase of something known as catastrophe insurance, which pays for lawsuits. Pretty sad that such a policy is warranted.
But lo and behold, a mere three days following the board’s vote, an accident more or less validates that decision.
Since the MTA board just voted to purchse the “catastrophe insurance” last Wednesday, we’re not sure if a further vote is necessary to enact the insurance policy. Or does the Board of Supervisors need to approve this?
And does the policy cover Saturday’s crash? We doubt it, unless this is a magic policy that’s magically already in place. It would be nice, if only to cover Muni’s already-broke ass. If the policy isn’t in effect, we foresee the potential for multiple lawsuits. If that happens, does Muni fall into an even deeper hole? Ugh.
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are on sale 
