Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Photo by Troy Holden
What a week it’s been! Foremost on just about everyone’s mind, we’re sure (though try to forget it over the weekend), is the imminent BART strike, set for Monday. This week, the Muni Mind Reader spilled forth the inner-machinations of what’s in store when BART commuters hop over to Muni.
A mild flurry of tweets came across the wire yesterday from @anthologie detailing a seemingly spontaneous dance-a-thon at the 24th St. BART station. Here’s a recap of the action:
approx. 3 p.m. 2 men dancing to Around The World on the platform at 24th. Man playing violin concertos upstairs.
approx. 4 p.m. 24th st guys still here. Now dancing to PYT.
approx 4:15 p.m. Billie Jean (@ 24th St)
Awesome. What else can we say, really? The only way this would’ve been better is if the tiles on the platform had lit up.
It’s finally here. The long-threatened, much peanut-galleried BART strike is set to start Monday morning. Of course, for us Muni commuters, this really only means an influx of the unknowing, unaware, well-to-do BART commuter (stereotype much?). We’ll do well to welcome them with open arms. Well, maybe not. Just be nice. Don’t bite. Tiffany Maleshefski, aka Muni Mind Reader, homes in on what it must be like for this odd creature: the reluctant BART rider on Muni.
WTF? I wish when I decided to go on strike I had the ability to fuck with the lives of tens of thousands of people. But I don’t. And just because BART is finally going through on its threats to screw us all over for a couple of days, doesn’t mean I get to go on strike too. See, I’d just get fired, or my boss would tell me to get my ass on the closest Muni bus I can find…and fast.
Which is exactly what I’m doing. Finding the closest Muni bus. That’s a doable request. Can I find one fast? Probably not. Why? Because I’ve been waiting here for freakin’ 14 minutes, and every time the clock ticks down to 8 minutes, the goddamn NextBus sign bumps it back up to 10 or 12. PLUS, who the HELL schedules buses to come every 15 minutes at 8:30 a.m??? Hello Muni wunderkinds, this is peak commuting time. Hmmmph. BART would’ve had me to work by now.
Photo by Flickr user troutfactory
Update (4:36 p.m.): Transbay Blog again, this time with TransLink tips during the strike.
Update (4:15 p.m.): Transbay Blog lists some ways to get across the Bay.
Update (4:12 p.m.): From StreetsblogSF: [ATU leader Jesse] Hunt announces strike effective Sunday evening at close of business. Also: Reporter asks: Will there be talks this weekend? Hunt: Clearly, they’ve decided they’re cutting off negotiations.
Original post: Too bad, so sad for riders and the two unions who voted in favor of the new contract. That’s not to say shame on ATU for what will most likely be a strike. Just too bad it didn’t all get worked out. We’ll do our best to keep you updated. Meantime, follow @streetsblogsf on Twitter for a probably kick-ass live tweeting of the press conference at 4 p.m. You can also try CBS 5’s live stream here.
Photo by Steve Rhodes
Eve and Matt over at SF Appeal reminded us of this Saturday’s somber-yet-timely death of the 74X-Culture Bus. So SF Appeal is proposing a ride on the Culture Bus on its last day of service to our fair tourists. Go show this waste of a Muni route your love, and show the world that San Francisco still has a lot of culture, just no need for an overpriced, redundant bus route with no riders.
Found this amazingly neato photo set on Flickr the other day. It was shot and assembled by Octoferret, to whom we owe a humble thank you. In light of upcoming Muni lines slated for extinction, we feel this is a moving tribute to the routes that time has forgotten.
