Category: News

Photo by Jamison Wieser

You know that the new Muni shelters don’t protect you from rain, but did you know that they are protected against small arms fire? From the San Francisco Business Times:

Clear Channel is cagey about what it is spending on this, saying only that kitting out each bus stop costs the equivalent of “several luxury cars.” Part of that goes into the “military grade” screens — the sort used in tanks, capable of withstanding small-arms fire. They are expected to last five to seven years, though the units can be upgraded incrementally.

(Earlier, Gizmodo and Popular Mechanics reported that the shelters cost about $30,000 each.) Wow. Those Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby games are really safe!

The shelters are also wifi-capable, which I think will be enabled in 2013. “In exchange for watching one advertisement, users can also get free WiFi Internet access from a 4G superfast hotspot and use it as long as they want. The hotspots can extend up to three blocks and into nearby buildings,” the San Francisco Business Times reports.

For the last two months you’ve seen the Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby games all over town, pitting neighborhoods against one another for a free OK Go concert. We even tested out the game and pitched a few points for the Mission and Pac Heights. Alas, we were no match for the fierce bus riders waiting in North Beach, who edged out all the other ‘hoods to win a free concert this Saturday at the SF Art Institute (800 Chestnut Street).

From the folks at Yahoo! Bus Stop Derby:

The entire city is invited to rock out on the rooftop at the SF Art Institute, from the toughest competition (Mission and Tenderloin—so close!) to the slightly less tough (Noe Valley, thanks for playing). Come enjoy a variety of street food, games, and mingle with your fellow neighbors on February 5, starting at 3:30pm. Concert doors open at 5:30pm—but come early, since only the first 800 people will get wristbands to the show.

P.S. Take the bus. Parking at the block party is very limited so hop on the Muni (nearby lines: 45 Union/Stockton, 30 Stockton, and 41 Union) or ride your bike.

Will there be treadmills or puppies on stage with OK Go, or will the band incorporate some Muni antics into the show? Only one way to find out!

(Hat tip: FunCheapSF.com)

Update (11:39 a.m.): The Examiner now reports that the incident is being chalked up to “employee errors.”

Update (10:51 a.m.): According to the SF Examiner, the bus was completely unattended (no driver). MTA is still looking into how this happened.

Original post: Muni rider Paul alerts us to an unfortunate incident that happened at O’Farrell and Van Ness this morning. @ActionNewsSF says no passengers were on board. The marquee looks to read as much. We’ll do our best to find out what happened, and the condition of the driver.

Here’s an image from @tvham:

Photo by Aaron Cole

While people in the East Coast sniffle about being stuck in inches of snow, it’s always beautiful here in the Bay, especially this week! Meanwhile, in Muni news:

• Mayoral hopefuls had best keep Muni on their minds (Ken Garcia/SF Examiner)
• Prop. G passage means changes loom for Muni perks (SF Examiner)
• Woman Involved in Muni Accident Last Week Expected to Survive (BCN via SF Appeal)
• Supervisor Wiener Calls for Hearings on Historical Preservation, J-Church Line (Fog City Journal)
• New Phase Of Muni Subway Construction Set To Begin (KTVU)
• Case of the runaway Muni bus is under investigation (SF Examiner)
• Board of Supes Resolution Urges Free Muni Passes for Low-Income Youth (Streetsblog SF)
• Muni switchback, service hearings headed for City Hall (SF Examiner)
• It Could Take Up to 5 Days for Clipper Card Value to be Added (Akit’s Complaint Department)
• BART may allow more businesses at stations. Should food and drink policy be revised? (SFGate/SFAppeal/SF Examiner/SFist)

Muni Time Capsule will be back next week with another piece of our transit history. If you have a story or artifact from back in the day, be sure to let us know.

And don’t forget to “like” the Muni Diaries Facebook page, where a lively discussion is underway about how Muni rules are a lot like the unspoken rules in the men’s bathroom about which urinal to stand…

With that, enjoy these photos and have a great weekend!

Photo by Keoki Seu

Photo by Troy Holden

Photo by Thomas Hawk

Photo by Michelle Chandra

Photo by Flickr user Jamison

Some Muni drivers can stay employed despite accidents, and if they aren’t at fault in another accident within 12 months, their records can be wiped clean, SFExaminer.com‘s Katie Worth reports. What’s your take on this?

More than 16 percent of Muni drivers were at fault in at least one accident last year, and a handful of them were in three avoidable collisions in 2010 alone.

But of the 348 drivers who were in preventable collisions in 2010, only seven might be fired.

Those who remain employed have to make sure to avoid being at fault in another accident within 12 months, after which their records will be cleared.

SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose told SFExaminer.com that “Ninety-nine percent have either zero or only one preventable collision, and that’s saying that the vast majority of our operators are exceptional at what they do.” You can read details about how SFMTA deals with operators involved in accidents over at SFExaminer.com.

To be fair, driving a bus is no easy task. The Journal of Occupational Health Psychology calls bus driving “a classic example of a high-stress occupation.” Bus drivers are at risk for health problems due to their working conditions, reports Slate.com. Last month, a woman was arrested after she attacked a New York City bus driver for, as she claimed, “driving too slow,” Slate.com reports. According to a Cornell University study, “over twenty epidemiological studies of city bus drivers reveal excess rates of mortality and morbidity for heart disease and gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal disorders.”

Do you think SFMTA’s treatment of drivers in accidents is fair?