Muni Diaries

Your Muni ‘Day in Storm’

October 13, 2009 jeff 3 comments

An email from Muni rider Katherine:

Hey guys,

Man what a weathery day!

From SFAppeal: “2:43 PM: Not really related to what we’re talking about, but since this is already a Muni post, what the hell? MTA spokesperson Judson True says that the L Taraval’s derailed between 35th and 36 Aves at 2:05 today. No one was injured, and the cause for the derailment is still unknown.

L riders will be taking a bus between 22 and the zoo.”

My update: my trusty security guard friend, Myles, was waiting to board the train that “derailed”. Apparently it was switching from the outbound to inbound rails and a giant gust of wind caused the electric guide bar thingy and attached electrical box thingy to come completely off the top of train. He thinks the system power cables came along with it. Hence, no L service after 22.

Definitely not a good day for my good ‘ol L line…

The derailment follows a morning of general wet, humid commuting in which NextBus joined its friend Muni in total broken-down-land.

And we’ve still got the evening commute to go … ah!

What has your experience been like today?

Category: diaries, reflection Tags: L-Taraval

Rainy BART Day

October 13, 2009 eugenia One comment

Photo by Flickr user calixtonpix

Yuck, the first storm of the season! We are hearing commuting problems on our Twitter feed about mechanical problems, delays at the West Oakland and Civic Center stations earlier in the morning, and other rainy day transit issues. How was your commute on BART today? Comment and let us know!

Category: BART, reflection

‘Punk Rocker Johnny Cash’ Spotted at BART

October 12, 2009 eugenia 3 comments

Photo by Flickr user fiveinchpixie

The folks over at BART.gov totally get why we love sharing transit stories. They’ve recently featured musician Jesse Morris, whose voice “sounds just like Johnny Cash,” one bystanders has said.

From BART.gov’s feature story:

Jesse Morris, known to many BART riders as “the punk rock Johnny Cash,” does sound uncannily like the country music icon, but he likes to mix it up sometimes with a little punk from the Ramones and the Clash. He has played in stations for years and is perhaps one of the best known BART buskers, part of a tradition of musicians playing in public places for tips, or just for the fun of it.

Read more about how Jesse got started playing music and why he plays at BART stations.

We’re not affiliated with any transit agency (of course you knew that!), but it’s great to see some love for transit stories.

Got another slice of life aboard BART? Let us know.

Category: BART

Weekend Photos: What a week it’s been

October 9, 2009 jeff Leave a comment

Photo by Tangobaby

In Muni news, this week served up the following:

Geary Bus Rapid Transit Project in Jeopardy? (Streetsblog SF)
Newsom Parking Meter Story is Not a ‘False Controversy’ (Streetsblog SF)
Savings from Muni Service Changes May Not Prevent Additional Cuts (Streetsblog SF)
(Tuesday) Muni Service Disrupted After Post And Kearny Bomb Scare (SF Appeal)
Better Real-Time Maps Coming Soon to All Nine Muni Metro Stations (Streetsblog SF)
Painting Torpedoes (Part 5: Something Completely Different) (Market Street Railway blog)
Second Melbourne Tram Joins San Francisco’s F-line Historic Streetcar Fleet (Market Street Railway blog)
And of course, the one we helped thrust into the limelight: The Muni Fisticuffs

But enough news. Let’s look at pretty pictures as we get ready for the weekend, eh? These are all culled from the Muni Photos Flickr Group.

Photo by Flickr user justvisiting

Photo by Flickr user fred zilla

Photo by eviloars

Enjoy yourselves, and we’ll see you back here Monday!

Category: Photos

Weekend Photos

October 9, 2009 jeff One comment

Sorry for the light posting on BART Diaries this week. Of course, we depend largely on your submissions, so, uh, where are your stories? Send them to us here or here (email).

Meantime, let’s lookit the purty pikshurs:

Early 1970s BART Postcard

Image by Chrispixel