Update: Trailer Takes Down Muni Lines on Mission and Fremont

trailer on fremont

Update from the SFMTA:

As of 5:45 p.m., the non-Muni vehicle has been removed from the intersection of Mission and Fremont streets, providing limited access to traffic at that intersection. Overhead line crews are still on the scene.

Historic street car service on the F Market Line has resumed east of 11th Street to Fisherman’s Wharf. The Muni electric trolley bus routes are still affected due to overhead wire damage. Crews are expected to be working on repairs through the evening rush hour.

As of 4:45 p.m., the 14 Mission and 14L Mission Ltd. are diverting at 3rd Street inbound and outbound.

As of 3:18 p.m., regular service on the following Muni routes and lines has been disrupted due to overhead wires being down on Mission Street between 1st and Fremont streets. The wires were pulled down by a non-Muni vehicle.

  • F Market
  • 6 Parnassus
  • 14 Mission
  • 14L Mission Ltd.
  • 21 Hayes
  • 31 Balboa
  • 38 Geary
  • 71 Haight-Noriega

The bus routes are re-routing around the intersection. The F Market line is switching back at Market and 11th streets inbound to outbound. Muni bus shuttles are providing F Line service east of 11th Street to Fisherman’s Wharf. Muni overhead line crew is on the scene. Re-routes will continue until further notice.

Original post:
An oversized trailer traveling north down Mission street clipped Muni’s overhead electrical wires around 4 p.m., bringing them to the ground and stopping all traffic —  Muni, car and pedestrian — between First and Fremont on Mission St. In the first photo, which I took right from the window of our office, the trailer took down the lines right at the intersection of Mission and Fremont.

Twitter user Sasquatch73 has a shot from the street of the oversized trailor, captured at around 3:30 p.m.:

The power lines dangling on the ground:

power lines

And traffic being stopped from coming onto Mission St — including pedestrians:

traffic on mission

As of about 4:30 p.m., the crews almost had the powerlines back up. Pedestrian traffic was being allowed on the eastern side of Mission.

Were you on the scene too or have other related Muni incidents to report? Comments section, please.

Muni news: Looming Muni/taxi strike, panel says ‘no’ to Central Subway

The Fearsome 5
Photo by Ocu-Master

  • Commentary: Muni Service Could Solve Cesar Chavez Dilemma (StreetsblogSF)
  • Taxi and Muni Drivers Band Together to Plan Public Transit Strike (SF Weekly)
  • Parking placards for the disabled found on Muni workers’ autos (SF Examiner)
  • Witness: Man Shot by BART Police Was Not ‘Running or Lunging’ at Officers (The Bay Citizen)
  • Civil Grand Jury slams Central Subway project (City Insider)
  • Muni staffers asked to donate $20 each for Nat Ford’s goodbye lunch (SF Weekly)
  • Woman’s purse snatched on Muni (BCN via SF Appeal)

Why You Haven’t Seen Muni Driver Tammy

Readers of Muni Diaries might remember a Muni driver named Tammy, who warmed all of our hearts when she threw a surprise party for her passengers on the 33-Stanyan last May. If you’re a regular rider of Tammy’s new line, the 24-Divisadero, you’ve probably also noticed that Tammy has been absent for quite some time.

A few months ago we got an email from Tammy, who told us why we haven’t seen her smiling face on Muni for so many months. In November 2010, Tammy’s 19-year-old son, Deante Fuller, was killed in a car accident near Antioch. Deante’s friend, Steavean Taylor, was arrested and charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run causing death, Paul Burgarino of the Contra Costa Times reported last year. Taylor had left Fuller trapped and dying in the car when they crashed into a tree, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Tammy has been on leave ever since the accident — she said that she did not want to put her passengers in danger while she coped with the trauma of her son’s death. We met with Tammy this month to talk more about her life since her son’s death.

At our meeting, Tammy brought framed photos of Deante, his girlfriend, and their baby daughter Myonie to show me. She and Deante were particularly close because he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and struggled in school, she told me. The day before his death, Deante helped a woman whose husband had threatened to dump her off the Antioch Bridge, Tammy said. Deante was driving and saw a woman running along the freeway. The woman told him that her husband had been threatening her and Deante drove her to the police station, Tammy said.

Tammy has been working on forming a support group in the Antioch area for parents who have lost their children to violence, she said. She’s made hundreds of fliers with pictures of Deante and her address and phone number, encouraging parents to contact her if they need someone to talk to. Other Muni drivers have been extremely supportive of her family, she said, and many of them were at Deante’s memorial service. She is also working on writing a book and creating a not-for-profit organization called Heavenly Bound Angels in Deante’s memory.

(Tammy and other parents were interviewed in this Contra Costa Times story about mothers of slain children.)

When we first learned about Tammy last year, we knew that she was someone who made living in San Francisco extraordinary. Hands down, running Muni Diaries is a worthwhile experience if only for stories like Greg’s:

I hop on the first bus, frustrated that yet again it would have been faster to drive. The bus driver apologizes, saying the two buses that were supposed to be in front of hers aren’t running today. Then she offers me my choice of wrapped candy from a dish by the fare machine and for the first time I actually look around at bus 2442 driven by Tammy.

It’s like a Fourth of July party inside Tammy’s bus. There are red white and blue streamers, balloons, coils that say “happy,” banners and party lanterns hanging from the railings. Large handwritten posters adorn the windows thanking her riders and spouting truths such as “Until Muni realizes that without our passengers there’s no Muni!” and pretty much everyone has a smile on their face.

Tammy told us that she is working on a website for her support group, but needs someone with more tech experience to set up a basic site. If you want to get in touch with Tammy, you can contact her here.

Creep on the T-Third (update)

T-Third Street - Wings
Photo by Jamison Wieser

Update (3:01 p.m.): In the comments on this post, Stephanie says:
I sent a copy of this to the SFPD and this was their reply:
I printed your blog and gave it to the Captain to see what we can do. I recommend that a police report be made if you see this guy doing this again. If you call the police while on the bus, they can meet the bus and identify him.
Ofc. E. Teper
Bayview Police Station
201 Williams
San Francisco, CA 94124

Original post: Mel has a disturbing report from the eastside:

There is a total creep who gets on the T-Third line over by Ingleside. He preys on young girls who usually seem too scared to confront him, or aren’t even sure of the situation. I know, because he assumed I was one of those.

He will sit next to you in the cramped two-person seats. At some point he will move one of his arms to the side, like he’s reaching for something in his pocket. The only thing is, the arm stays in that awkward position, usually touching a young girl’s thigh or buttock for a really long time.

I know it seems silly, but when I experienced it, I honestly couldn’t be sure he was doing what I thought he was doing. I remember elbowing the guy, and he said he was “reaching for something in his pocket.” Yeah. No one “reaches” for 2 minutes ++.

The guy is really tall, maybe over 6 feet, and just an awkward-looking fellow. I don’t know if there’s anything mentally wrong with him, but his conduct is definitely wrong.

After he tried that on me, he actually kept using the same technique on other girls. I’ve caught him on two other occasions, and have called him out on it. Other than seeming like a crazy person by glaring or trying to warn these other would-be victims, I’m not sure how I can really prevent this from happening to other women.

Hey creepy dude, stop creeping people out, cuz you don’t wanna end up another Muni humper. If anyone else experienced this or any other creep on the T-Third or any other routes, let us know. We also advise you to contact the police, or at the very least, let the driver or SFMTA know about it.

Muni news: Fatal BART shooting, senior/disabled Muni/BART discount passes


Photo by Matt Roe

  • Cabbies And Muni Drivers United On Labor Conditions (CBS 5)
  • A more user-friendly Muni/BART pass for senior and disabled riders (SFGate)
  • BART police chief defends officers involved in Civic Center shooting (SF Examiner) || BART cops shoot, kill man at Civic Center Station (SF Examiner)
  • Transcript of July 4 news conference on officer involved shooting at Civic Center Station (BART.gov)
  • Clipper Card Updates: July 2011 Operations Committee (Akit’s Complaint Department)
  • Argument on Muni bus leads to stabbing of 17-year-old boy (SF Examiner)

What happened on the L-Taraval the other day?

L Taraval
Photo by Christina B Castro

Rachael has a bizarre story that we’d love to get more info on.

At about 3:20 the other day, I was on the 29-inbound at Sunset/Taraval when I saw a woman chasing after a man. It took me a second to realize that the woman was in Muni driver browns and that she was the operator of the then-stalled L-Taraval. I figured so many other people had their cellphones out that I didn’t need to bother calling 311.

The driver, who was wearing only one shoe by this time — possibly after having lost the shoe as she was sprinting across the street — was screaming at the man and tried several times to spit on him while also trying to kick/punch. She’d go into a little fighting stance here and there before finally swearing and running off back towards her train. The guy she was after tried to board the 29, but the driver didn’t seem to want to take him on.

Rachael says she doesn’t know what prompted the altercation. We’re sure it was quite the scene. Were you there? Can you shed any light on what caused this riffraff? If you’re a Muni driver, have you heard anything about this?

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