Month: May 2009

Weekend Photo Diary: The lights, how they shine

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F Market & Wharves

It’s supposed to be another beautiful weekend, weather-wise. Makes you wonder why god keeps smiting this town he’s so clearly forsaken. I mean, seriously, is nice weather the modern-day equivalent of blood and guts and curses on your house? Why do we Sin Fransickens keep getting blessed with it?

Also, keep in mind that Bay to Breakers is happening Sunday, although if you’re anything like us, you won’t be attending thanks to all the wonderful new rules ING has imposed on the event in their attempt to strip it of any and all fun. Here’s a list of Muni’s planned service changes for the day of the event.

And as always, enjoy yourselves and we’ll see you Monday.

xoxo Muni Diaries

Photo by -nanio- from the Muni Photos Flickr pool

Category: diaries, Photos

How To Avoid Bodily Fluids on Muni

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SF MUNI Bus

A lot of gross stuff can happen on Muni, but we weren’t quite prepared for Muni rider Jean’s submission about a downhill-rolling 22:

Puke on the 22

Riding Muni blows chunks. Just like the girl behind me on the 22 that day. It was a few years ago and this girl who was sitting behind me started getting sick. She didn’t smell like booze, I think she was just having some kind of stomach thing.

Anyway, next thing I know, she puked on the floor of the bus. I heard this splattering noise and felt it splash on to the back of my shoes and my pants. OMG!!!! I tried not to freak out and calmly moved to the front of the bus, wishing more than anything that I could be off the bus and not wearing puke splattered clothes.

All was ok for about five minutes. That’s when the bus started going down a hill. The puke rapidly slid from the back of the bus to the front and everyone let out a collective groan of disgust/panic. That’s when I knew that ride was over.

Apologies if you lost your lunch a little just now. I know I did. So what’s a hygienic Muni rider to do? Dear Muni Manners ladies, got any tips for us to keep it clean and righteous on the bus?

Photo by Flickr user So Cal Metro

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags: , ,

Where’s Gavin?

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wheresgavinsticker2Good question, indeed. More broadly, where’s the leadership on Muni, outside of Supervisor Chiu and a few others?

This nugget arrived in our inbox today. It’s basically a contest for any of us to enter. Snap a photo of Gavin Newsom riding a non-cable-car Muni vehicle, and this group, Where’s Gavin, will buy your next (and the last $45) Fast Pass:

Dear Sir or Madam,

As riders of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (buses and trains), we were very disappointed that Mayor Newsom decided to push through a Muni budget that will cut routes and balance the budget on the backs of transit riders instead of making everyone share the burden.  We don’t think that Gavin actually gets it on transit or gets on transit, contrary to the comment in the Chronicle that said he goes incognito.  We’d like him to ride more, perhaps to get a feeling for what riders go through even on days when the budget hasn’t been cut.  As kind of a push to get him to take more transit, incognito or otherwise we started this page.  It’s basically a contest: be the first to get a picture of Mayor Newsom on Muni incognito (other than a cable car) and we’ll buy that person’s fast pass for the month after they win.  We think its a pretty good incentive, especially in these tough economic times.  We’re also going to buy some beers for everyone else that brings in a photo at the end of the run.  We hope you can help us in our quest.

Where’s Gavin?
http://wheresgavin.com

PS: We wish to remain anonymous as long as Gavin remains incognito on Muni vehicles

So dust off your cellphone’s lens and keep your eyes peeled. This type of mysterious-beast sighting could net you a sweet prize. We’ll keep our ears to the ground and report back when there’s a winner.

Category: News

Muni Diaries iPhone App Review: iCommute

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img_0010The way I see it, there are two basic methods of attacking the problem of getting around San Francisco on public transit: chance and control. Chance, I believe, speaks for itself. Control is what the rest of us attempt in neurotic fashion, day in, day out. We use NextBus, iPhones, BlackBerrys, crystal balls, bat droppings … whatever it will take to inform us when the freakin’ bus will be there.

It’s a crowded field, to be sure. But what if, just what if, some augur of reliability emerged from the crop to solve [most of] your woes? Here’s a first look at a series of apps that we’ll review here at Muni Diaries. Today, we’ll look at iCommute.

The first thing I noticed about iCommute was its groupings of routes (1-10, 11-20, etc.) on the right side of a list of all the routes, much the way iPhone apps like Contacts and iPod use “index-scrolling” (my term) for quick access to far-off parts of your list. It was then that I realized iCommute might just turn out to be a must-have app.

Like many GPS-enabled apps, iCommute asks your permission to use your location. Yes, please. Every subsequent use sensibly uses your location without being prompted. After you drill down to the route you want, it automatically highlights the nearest stop on that line, and tells you how far away it is.

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Category: News Tags:

What are your feelings about the Central Subway project?

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fourth-stockton-modified-lpa-alignmentMaybe you live along the existing T-Third route and would like to see the line extended farther north. Maybe you live in Chinatown, and would love an easier way than the 30 or 45 to hop over to SOMA or Mission Bay. Maybe you don’t live in either area, and are concerned about the costs and/or environmental impacts inherent in this estimated $1.57 billion, massive-construction project. Or maybe you’re just a transit geek, like us, and love all things rail.

Give Rachel Gordon’s post on the City Insider a quick read, and let us know your thoughts about the Central Subway project.

Category: News Tags: , ,
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