Photo: Gumby sans Pokey
From way back in the day (in May).
A month of Muni, in visual form
Ever wonder how the gods see Muni? Us, too. Eric Fischer has gone and outdone himself with the above image. According to Mr. Fischer:
“Average speed at each location according to NextBus, April 13 – May 21, 2010. Black is stopped (less than 3 mph). Red is slow (3-5 mph). Blue is normal operating speed (5-9 mph). Yellow is fast service (9-19 mph). Green is rapid movement (faster than 19 mph).”
Who knew Muni data could be so purty? I’m going to think of this next time I’m stuck on a metro car in a tunnel.
Oh, but our boy Eric isn’t done just yet:
“Average speed at each location according to NextBus, April 13 – May 21, 2010. Each level of gray represents a speed increment of 0.1 mph, up to a threshold of 24 mph.”
24 mph, eh? I’d like, just once, to be on that bus.
Photo diary: I got big …
… nuts and I cannot lie! It’s why my leg is at your side….couldn’t help myself!
My Muni Sanctuary
Photo by chainsmokingbluemonkey
Sean at Noisebeard is newish to San Francisco and not at all fazed by the schizophrenic relationship we riders have with the beast we call Muni. Instead, Sean has chosen to embrace the crazy.
Most people I know who also have to ride the bus around often complain about it. It’s crowded, slow, and pretty unreliable sometimes, especially on weekends. I don’t need to defend any of those claims because they’re 100% true. But I think what people overlook is the social complexity that Muni offers.
People of all sorts ride the bus for whatever reason. At any time of the day, the buses are pretty crowded. Living in a city with around 900,000 people in the “proper” area, there’s never a dull moment.
I love riding the bus. I like the weird people that join me in the ride. I see something new every day. I see the same drivers on my routes looking totally complacent and care-free. I see the old Asian men and women carting home their bundles of Chinatown goodies. I see the mid 20s hipster chicks with their denim-painted tights and iPod/iPhone headphones dangling around their scarf. I see the Tenderloin crack heads holding onto mortality and falling at every lurch in the bus’s path. I see it all. Every social paradigm someone could conjure up ends up on Muni eventually. It’s the ultimate people watching venue.
Continue reading Sean’s post at Noisebeard to find out how this newcomer avoids Muni frustration.
Photo diary: Muni doucher of the day
Photo by emforafew
As Eugenia said, “What is this guy even doing?”
Muni Rider Roasting on the 24
Photo by Rick Audet
As I was riding the 24 home from work last week, two young men boarded the bus and immediately started sizing up the other riders in the back of the bus for potential roastability. Not finding enough meat for their roast they declared the bus “dry” as opposed to this morning’s selection which had been “wet.” This was a fairly incredible assessment, seeing as how the 24 is (always) stuffed to the gills with riders.
The roasters, doing their best with the available material, declared that “that dude there has a potato-head” (he didn’t). They then moved on to a young man who was listening to his ipod and had the luxury of pretending not to hear “look at this dude, he look like something out of mario brothers” (he didn’t). They then went on to mock his plain white t-shirt, cap and less than manicured fingers.
Meanwhile I’m feeling less and less comfortable, for the obvious reason that if unkempt nails were grounds for harassment, I could well be next. But mostly because I felt this was completely inappropriate. I mean, who does that? And why?
My stop was still three blocks away when I felt I could not handle it anymore. They had moved on to fresh meat, an older gentleman whose ear hair was somehow offending them (it wasn’t), when I vacated my seat. Clumsily and apologetically, I made my way to the front of the bus through the sea of fellow-riders. When I reached the front I reported to the driver that there were two young men harassing people in the back of the bus. The driver stood up and called to the back of the bus that they needed to “show some respect.” Feeling useless and edgy I then exited the 24, two stops early.
On my long walk home I thought of all the other ways the situation could have been handled. I had fantasies of rallying the other riders and declaring that we’re not going to take it! We’re all on the same bus here! We all have the right to a peaceful ride! Some of my less mature fantasies included roasting the aggressors: “your hair looks like bubble wrap!” and “if you’re lucky you might grow into those pants someday, son!” I digress.
Has anyone else witnessed a rider roasting? There must be a more effective way to handle it than to hassle the bus driver who is 20 ft and 30 people away….