Photo Diary: This Way (to the Temporary Terminal)
Photo by Brandon Doran
Remember, the Transbay Terminal is closing (pdf) and being moved to a temporary site on August 7, 2010. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
52-Excelsior: Center of the Universe?
Photo by dannyman
I live in the Excelsior, at the top of the hill near McLaren Park. On days when I commute on BART, I sometimes take the 52 Excelsior for my uphill homeward trip, although the recent service cuts can mean a wait that’s longer than my total walk home.
Monday night, I saw by the Next Muni sign that I would have a very long wait for the bus, so I decided to start walking. I was carrying several heavy bags, my knee hurt, and it was foggy and windy – not a great evening for the 9-block schlep up the steep hill to my house. I was moving slower than usual, so when I got to Silver and Mission, I checked the sign at the bus shelter – 9 minutes for a 52. I decided to sit down and wait for it.
As soon as I did, I realized that I didn’t want to spend the next 9 minutes inhaling second-hand smoke from the kid standing directly upwind – and I didn’t want to move my tired, sore self from the bus shelter seat, either, so I asked him to move downwind. He turned around, and the last thing I was expecting to see was a sunny smile, but that’s what he gave me as he said “I’m sorry, I don’t speak English” (in quite passable English).
I made myself understood, he moved downwind, and I was settling back in to wait when he popped back, saying “excuse me, can you help me?” and brandishing a map. Now, I was not in the best mood, but he seemed very harmless, I had time to kill, and I never mind giving directions. I had a hard time understanding him at first – his accent was odd, though he spoke well – but figured out that he wanted to go to Prague Street. He didn’t know the cross, but Prague is only 5 blocks long, and he said he’d be able to find his way once he got there. As I was wondering why this clearly foreign visitor wanted to go to a random residential block in the Excelsior, he explained that he was an Argentinian on day 1 of a 3-month English language course, and was staying with a family in the neighborhood.
As it happened, the best way for him to get where he was going was the 52, so I told him to get on the bus with me, and showed him the sign that said the next bus was coming in 3 minutes. Read more
Three Travelers
Julie at Caliber took this photo on the 71 Noriega. I can never tire of new ways to look at the same transit system that we depend on every day. If you’ve got photos or art taken on the bus, don’t forget our Flickr pool or simply send it to us so we can share it here.
What does Muni say about San Francisco?
Photo by Flickr user Omer Simkha
The next morning as I was walking under the 90 degrees heat to the Coloseum, who do I see but the same woman from the bus, leading a group of Chinese tourists, speaking in fluent Chinese to explain the history of the Coloseum! I pretended not to recognize her.
The experience on the bus really soured me for a moment on Rome. This leads me to wonder: what kind of impression on our city do visitors get from riding Muni?
Last Chance to see Muni Art at Secession This Friday
Art by Nate1
Details:
Happy Hour at Secession
Friday July 23, 2010, 6:30 – 9:30pm
OUTBOUND: Street art & design shows off its symbols, colors, and shout outs to culture at Secession.
Both sides of the Bay represent! The link that holds the bay together – transportation, bridges, media, and graffiti. Our gallery remixes graf into art for your home. Spray paint, stencils, and signature looks make each hand-picked item in our collection a must-see.
‘Almost Generous’ Muni Theft
Photo by Flickr user Steve Rhodes
A woman who was robbed by three males at a bus stop at Geary Boulevard and Spruce streets at 5:20 a.m. on July 11 asked her aggressors, who had snatched her purse, if they could let her keep her bus pass and identification card, according to Richmond Station police.
…In the end, however, the suspects appeared to have heeded her request. They ran off with a cell phone and credit cards, but then gave her back her purse before fleeing on Geary Boulevard, police said.
Read the rest of the story at the San Francisco Examiner.
Wow, I guess the Fast Pass price hike gave the thieves a tiny dose of sympathy?