Endanger Bus Photo Contest: Juror Announced!

Endangered Species - Mission Blue Butterfly wrapped @sfmta_muni bus is awesome!
Photo by Anthony Brown

Deadline extended to May 20!

You can win $150 and publication in Bay Nature magazine by submitting your photo to our Endanger Bus Photo Contest! The contest will be judged by Cheryl Haines, director of Haines Gallery and executive director of the FOR-SITE Foundation, which she established in 2003 to support art about place.

The contest challenges you to photograph these beautifully wrapped buses roaming around town, courtesy of the EndangerBus project by artist Todd Gilens.

Instead of thinking about buses an advertising space, Gilens wondered if buses can be a vehicle for other kinds of communication. He raised money to wrap four buses in photographs of the Brown PelicansCoho SalmonSalt Marsh Harvest Mouse and Mission Blue Butterfly.

The contest ends on April 10, so peek at the details of the contest:

Endangered Species buses Photo Contest
Find the Endangered Species buses (see bus tracker below) and catch them with your camera in motion or at rest.
Enter up to four images by emailing them to endangerbuscontest@baynature.org (minimum 1500 pixels in length or width)

Prizes

First place receives $150 and publication in Bay Nature Magazine.

Second place receives two tickets to the San Francisco Zoo and two $10 Clipper Cards.

Five other entrants will be picked at random to receive $10 clipper cards.

ENTRY DEADLINE: 11 p.m. April 10, 2011 Deadline extended to May 20th!

To find the Endanger buses, check out the real time bus tracker that Gilens created with GreenInfo Network on the EndangerBus.org website:

Rubik’s Cube Champ and Other Best Muni Tweets


Photo by @Urbanoasissf

This week on Muni, @Urbanoasissf saw a man finishing a Rubik’s Cube in 21 seconds! What else happened on Muni this week? The @munidiaries Twitter stream is filled with absurd happenings on the bus. This week, here’s what Muni riders witnessed:

Yesterday on the 38 Driver told lovely woman no drinks. She threw it out the door and hit someone on the sidewalk. (@hollyhollsholl)
Riding #muni bus 22 and just saw a naked guy cross Market. Guess he was catchin’ a few rays while they last! (@fitfoxes)
Also on this muni train: two giggling nuns. (@pamalama)
I really hope the guy behind me on the 38L has a tiny umbrella in his pocket (@NedraD_SF)
Morning commute #muni breakthrough: carry a decent sized birthday cake and people will vacate their seat for you. (@thomaskielbus)

Follow us on Twitter (@munidiaries) — you’ll always have something to read while waiting for the bus. How meta is that?

Switching from TransLink to Clipper


Image courtesy SFist

Until yesterday, I still had a TransLink card. It stopped working last weekend, spontaneously. I guess it had served me as long as it was willing to, and put in for early retirement without letting me know.

So yesterday I decided to trade it for a Clipper card. The entire experience was relatively painless. If you, like me until yesterday, held onto your TransLink card through the arbitrary and expensive rebranding to Clipper, there is no need to switch unless your Translink card has stopped working (usually because of a scratch or crack or other mishap). But if your Translink card has stopped working, here’s what to do:

(This step-by-step is for riders whose e-cash TransLink card is set to autoload.)

  1. On the Clipper website, disable your autoload.
  2. Go to a Clipper service kiosk. There’s one at the Embarcadero BART station, one in the Ferry Building, and one at Geary Boulevard and Presidio Avenue. Ask for a new card, and they’ll set it up with your existing account. The money in your account should be fine, but if they don’t offer that information, ask.
  3. When you get home, register your new card on the Clipper website. Go to Register Another Card on the left navigation bar, and follow the steps.
  4. Also on the Clipper site, you’ll need to reactivate your autoload. Use the Set up Autoload option on the left navigation bar.

If you have your Fast Pass on TransLink and want to make the switch, call the Clipper customer service (877.878.8883) to make sure the Fast Pass is loaded onto your new Clipper card. While my experience was rather seamless (the correct cash amount appeared on my card the first time I used it after activating it), we’d love to know what your experience was when you switched over. Let us know in comments, please.

Is it selfish to argue with a fare inspector?

Hitchin' A Ride
Photo by Joey Yen

Muni rider Adam vocalizes a frustration:

Riding the 44-O’Shaughnessy the other day, a fare inspector came on the bus at Forest Hill Station. She gets all the way to the back and the last guy starts arguing with her about the law (asking her if it’s required, what code the law is, etc.). He claims he doesn’t have a pass or proof of payment, and then refuses to get off the bus when she wants to issue him a citation. As soon as the cop steps on the bus, he magically pulled a transfer out of his backpack which he had the whole time.

Okay, I get some people have issues with fare-checking, but my problem is: Doesn’t he realize he’s holding everyone else hostage, because the bus isn’t going anywhere until the fare inspector’s done? Does he realize how selfish he’s being?

We doubt it, Adam. What do you think? Is it cool to argue the legitimacy of Muni’s Proof-of-Payment policy, all the while holding PoP in hand?

1 567 568 569 570 571 801