Was there ever a 79 bus running through the Haight?
Then why on earth does Puma wanna go all generic on our asses? I mean, we appreciate the love, and they were so, so close … plus 8.
Hayes considered for two-way, eh?
A wee little portion of Hayes Street (home to the 21 line) east of Gough is proposed to become two-way, according to a recent SFGate article. It may not turn into a big deal (and didn’t seem like one for most of the time I was reading this story), but a few little bits are worth mentioning.
From a Muni planner, regarding the potential loss of a transit-only lane opened during the evening commute:
But without that transit lane, the buses would be slowed, and that would run counter to San Francisco’s transit-first policy, said Muni planner Julie Kirschbaum.
1. What San Francisco transit-first policy? Oh, that one. If this is a real policy, then great. If it’s one of those feel-good, not-really-enforced-but-is-a-good-idea policies, then not so great. A continued wealth of good ideas with bad execution (i.e., no way to enforce them or fund them) seems to be a chronic problem in the Muniverse, something that continues to disappoint many of us riders. We hope it’s taken into consideration as more than lip service over this issue. The bottom line, though, is that you don’t make roads less hospitable to cars while also making it tougher to drive buses down them.
That Now Infamous 33 Driver-Rider Fight
ABC 7’s Dan Noyes sought and got this story and its accompanying video, which shows a Muni bus operator out on the sidewalk holding down a passenger who had allegedly verbally given him a hard time about moving back on a crowded bus.
It’s a crazy story, and it’s been reported very diligently by SFist as well as ABC, so I’ll point you there for the details. Muni’s released statement on the incident was fairly boilerplate, along the lines of:
The SFMTA does not tolerate inappropriate behavior from any of its employees and will
continue to work with all employees to ensure that they maintain their professionalism at all
times.
Well, what did you expect them to say?
Transit News Digest 2.11.09
Rescue Muni discusses an SFMTA proposal to change the way things are done on Hayes Street. Seems like a “too little, too late” solution to this one-way street lover. Our own Tara will be back tomorrow with a Muni Diaries take on the proposal.
ABC 7 has more on one of the peds struck by Muni on Sunday. Turns out the victim was a former Oakland Tribune reporter.
Apparently some aren’t happy that only Johannes Mehserle is being charged in the death of Oscar Grant, and they’re calling for a wider prosecution net to be cast.
BeyondChron looks at how federal stimulus dollars may (or may not) reach Muni. Now is a good time to be in the know, you guys. And in other at least semi-economic news, The Examiner‘s Brent Begin has a story about how Muni is getting the shaft on the vehicles it uses to get to its own emergencies (and these days, there’s plenty of those to go around).
On the lighter side of things (something Muni Diaries believes we can’t get enough of these troubling days), N-Judah Chronicle’s Greg relays a pretty funny story on the N of yesteryear.
Happy riding. Talk to us!
Muni Diaries Pub Crawl Reminder and RSVP Request
Just a quick note to remind everyone about next week’s Muni Diaries pub crawl. If you have Facebook, would you mind stopping by the Muni Diaries Pub Crawl event page and dropping an RSVP? We’d like to be able to tell Lucky 13 how many of us there will be so they can adequately staff the event. The other bars on the list, well, they can just deal. Ha!
Thanks!
Alternative Transportation
This guy has figured out how to get anywhere Muni goes while avoiding the fare. He just needs to hang on tight.