Our Chat With Muni, Part 1: ‘A system that could slowly degrade in coming years’

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This post is the first in a multi-part series of talks Tara had with SFMTA spokesperson Judson True. We thought it timely for today’s post to be the bits they spent talking about the agency’s astounding $130 million budget deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1. This post and the others in this series will be cross-posted at SF Appeal.

Budget Cuts on Muni

Muni Diaries: What’s the latest news on what the economic situation here means for Muni, and what, if anything, will any federal stimulus funds do to stave off any cutbacks or restore any funding you thought you lost?

Judson True: We presented to our board of directors a few weeks ago a budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 with a deficit of about $130 million. That’s a big number.

For next year, we’re down about $55 million just from state and regional funding alone. And our money from the city’s general fund is expected to come in at about $25 million less than we expected.

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Category: News

Muni Diaries Anniversary Favorite: Don’t piss off the Pregnant Lady

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Tara’s favorite diary got quite a response in the comments. We’re not taking sides, of course, and we do love a spirited debate about bus behavior: “I actually really like the pregnant-lady-trips-girl for a few reasons. It (along with a lot of our ‘what should you do in this situation?’ kind of Seinfeldian posts) generated a lot of debate on what we as non-pregnant, non-disabled people have the responsibility to do on public transit. Also, it’s just plain hilarious to picture a pregnant lady shifting from passive-aggressive to aggressive-aggressive because of some kid.” Visit the site tomorrow to read Jenny’s favorite diary as we wind down toward our first birthday Friday.

Tripping Hazard

Don’t piss off the pregnant lady (originally posted February 19, 2009)

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Pregnancy is making me mean

Today the muni was crowded. I had to wait forever for the L. I had the smarts to take whatever train to West P. and then wait for the L so most of the train ride wasn’t so bad. However, when I got on the L it was super crowded. I unbuttoned my jacket, stuck my pregnant belly out as far as I could and no one gave me a seat. In fact, most of the other Sunset residents on the train closed their eyes and pretended I wasn’t there.

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Muni Diaries Anniversary Favorite: Livin’ the dream, for at least one night

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Muni Diaries is gearing up to celebrate our first anniversary this Friday. What started out as an idea at SF State has grown into a community of lively transit tales and spirited discussion of our beloved bus system. Below is the first of a series that looks back at our favorite diaries over the last year. Today’s favorite diary was chosen by Jeff: “I love this post because it’s the ultimate tale to be envious of. A lot of us dream of doing the most extraordinary of ordinary things, like driving a cab in NYC or a bus in San Francisco. Tony was fortunate enough to take a stab a that ‘dream,’ and he tells the story like a true master storyteller.” Check back tomorrow for Eugenia’s favorite diary.


Lyon

Livin’ the dream, for at least one night (originally posted on July 31, 2008)

When I was kid growing up in this burg, I never wanted to be cowboy. I didn’t want to be an astronaut, either, or even a rock star. I kind of wanted to be a baseball player and I was a pretty good pitcher, but not that good. Anyway, what I really wanted to be was a Muni driver.

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Bus Art Dispatch from The New York Times

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new-york-times-subway-the-last-bus

The Sunday New York Times yesterday had a great op-ed (or “op-art” as they called it) by Miranda Purves and artist Jason Logan. The pic above is a snippet of the drawings they created by spending a lot of time on buses and subways that may be cut back after an MTA vote to reduce funding. Here, Purves explains why they created the project:

Both Jason and I have always been drawn to this phenomenon of people, behaving for the most part civilly, getting from here to there, side by side. And we wanted to find some way to convey the less tangible costs of service cuts and fare hikes.

I too am drawn to the transit-riding experience for this very same reason – the phenomenon of a group of people who otherwise may never encounter one another, sitting together and having a shared experience. Next time I am on a not-so-crowded bus I will draw up a similar diagram to see what I find! (It’d be near suicide to try to draw up something like this on a packed bus like the morning 38Ls…)

Who are some regulars on your bus? (And, wanna send us your own bus art?)

Category: reflection

F: Rude but Hilarious

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This is something I’ve never experienced before, a funny operator on an F that’s also obnoxious and rude at the same time (well, maybe there were several occasions before, but this is a first for me).

So I was riding the F, heading downtown from Fisherman’s Wharf, jam-packed as usual, but I’ve never ridden the F during the rush hour.

As we approached Pier 39, the operator said:

Clear the back door, I’m letting them both in. Well, obviously we can’t fit everyone on, so if you’re claustrophobic, don’t bother getting on, there are two more cars coming behind me, feel free to catch those cars too.

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