John Waters Rides the 47, Wants to Be Muni Spokesman


Image: No Bunny Luvs You

100 Muni StoriesFrom No Bunny Luvs You’s Tumblr, via Uptown Almanac, here’s John Waters on Muni. Because he is John Waters, he’s being cool as a cucumber, badass, and probably very polite. Why isn’t he ever on my 47? I bet he always pays his fare share.

The Baltimore-based filmmaker has a well-documented love of Muni. In fact, he made our day recently when he wandered into our inbox:

Tell them thanks…I am waiting for Muni to hire me as their spokesperson!!

What say, SFMTA? I think you should take him up on it.

This post and other have been selected to be part of our 100 Days, 100 Muni Stories feature that celebrates Muni’s centennial this year. The best four of these 100 posts will end up on ads on all Muni buses later this year, so send us your story today!

21 comments

  • Mary Ray via Facebook

    very cool.

  • Mary Ray via Facebook

    I’m a sucker for celebrity sitings on mass transit.

  • Anna Boyarsky via Facebook

    love it and love muni!

  • Leanne

    And he’s sitting in a much-coveted single seat on top of it all!

  • I’m sure he could turn the whole SFMTA department around within months!

  • Wouldn’t it be cool if John Waters weren’t the next spokes person for muni, but rather the voice of Muni? I can hear him now “Next stop Embarcadero. This train is out of service.”
    It wouldn’t be out of the question or without precedent. The Bus (the public transit system on O’ahu) has a noted linguist in the hawaiian language and local celeb Puakea Nogelmeier as the voice announcing all stops and landmarks for riders.

    • if this were to happen, I’d vote for Waters’ commentary as well as street/stop names.

    • +1 to the voice of Muni and the commentary!

    • John Water’s voice might be an improvement.

      I miss the days when drivers were the sole source of announcements on the bus. Sometimes you could not make out a word they said, which meant they oft times repeated themselves– but MUNI was a true reflection of our diverse community. One had to strain a bit to try to understand what was going on and who was saying it– and possibly care a bit about your driver and the many responsibilities they had.

      Today, everyone’s jobs are gradually being robotized, I suppose until real robots can completely take over peoples’ places. And they will, until Capitalism is forever discredited.

      The ideal driver’s job is now just to drive. To be anything more is subversive of the forces insuring that the working class stays on board.

      Whose (sic) voices do we hear today on the bus? PC Man and PC Woman ethnic versions #1, #2, #3. interspersed with injunctions and warnings, not really so far removed from ’84’s 2 minute hates. They don’t give one much time to entertain one’s own trivial or weighty thoughts, do they?

      I am still trying to make out whose voice it is we hear on BART.

      Best I can make out is the voice of Frank Cady (“Sam Drucker” of Petticoat Junction).

  • Oh yes, John Waters as voice of Muni…. I wouldn’t even mind him saying ‘Valensha.’

  • Does anybody know what date this photo was taken? Just curious.

  • Susan

    He is the 47 because he knows it is filled with trannies, meth addicts and people on their way to court, among other things. Talk about one of the most lively lines in SF, right up there with the 19 and 22.

  • David

    “SF Muni. It’s like eating dog shit” (sorry)

  • Ryry

    for this Maryland transplant, seeing John Waters quietly enjoying a pint at Zeitgeist is one of my best memories… I would love to see him as Muni’s spokesman!

  • Andrea Lepire-Prete via Facebook

    His should be the voice that announces all the stops. Not unheard of. A famous guy in Hawai’i does the voice-over for all the stops on The Bus – the public transit system on O’ahu.

  • This guy is everywhere recently. He just got done hitchhiking solo across the US. Love him!

  • Jenny Mosley via Facebook

    its the only way to get around in san francisco, even celebrities can’t find parking.

  • Turner

    I ran into Mr. Waters on the 49 last week- he was very polite and seemed kind of tickled that he got recognized by someone who was polite enough not to hassle him. I actually expressed surprise that I ran into him on the bus and his response was (roughly- I’m afraid I didn’t take notes) ‘I LOVE the bus! You meet all the interesting people on the bus’.
    I’d love to see him as the spokesman of Muni- or as the voice of Muni.

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