N-nada

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I have a new name for the N-Judah. It’s the N-Nada. As in, “waiting for an N? Sorry, NADA.”

Preface: while I ride Muni just about every day in bus or F-Market/Wharves form, I rarely ride Muni Metro. I always hear that electronic lady saying “N (N echo) in 2 minutes!” when I walk upstairs from BART, and the metro line has a pretty satisfying whir to its machinery. But I’ve never depended on it; before today, the last time I used it was probably around February.

To those who were curious, “Muni Metro” is a slower, not entirely underground version of the New York Subway. It’s a rail-transit line that goes faster than the buses and goes to many parts of town. But that’s where the similarities to the Subway stop.

To those who use Muni Metro regularly, someone has to flippin’ tell me if you always have to wait this long for an N-Judah, allegedly one of the most popular Metro lines.

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Category: WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags: , ,

NextMuni flat-out does not work

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Waiting for a 49 at Mission and 20th. Checked NextBus.com before leaving home. It said 5 minutes. Perfect.

Got out here and the NextMuni marquee said 2 minutes. Awesome, I thought. It’s working.

Except that four minutes or so went by. No bus. I waited a few more minutes then went to check the marquee.

Side note: As I approached the shelter wherein the marquee lives, the clearly homeless guy began taking a piss … while remaining seated.

Anyway, magically, the next bus was now scheduled to arrive in 22 minutes.

How does this mindfuckery happen???

Of course, it was a matter of three minutes before the bus (which I’m on now) arrived.

Gotta love it.

Category: diaries, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags: ,

New Features on Muni Diaries

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In our never-ending desire for more contributions, we’ve added “Share a Muni diary” links at the top and right side of the page. Being bound to work within the limitations of WordPress, that’s the best we can do for now. Work is under way to completely revamp the site, and a “share” or “contribute” button will figure prominently in the redesign.

There’s also a “contributors” page now. We’ve started with beauty and the beast (Tara and me, respectively), and will be adding more names soon.

Enjoy, and stay tuned …

Category: News Tags:

Life Lessons Learned Early

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I heard something on the F yesterday (yes, I still take it when I’m too encumbered or lazy to walk downtown) that was moderately appalling. Though, truth be told, it was the end of the day and I was starving for dinner.

A woman and her son (dad and Other Sibling were elsewhere in the streetcar) got pretty awesome pole-standing spots right in front of the back doors, by the stairwell. As long as you hold your bag in front of you, it’s really not a bad place if you’re stuck standing. The stairwell space gives you room to breathe, and you get a pretty awesome blast of fresh air when the door opens. If you stand aside, it’s just mildly annoying to make way for people on their way out. Mom clearly realized this was a good place to be, encouraging her son to “stay in this spot, because it’s the best one.”

Had this been a full car with a smattering of standers, then, by all means, stand at the choice back-door spot until you’re blue in the face. But remember the Golden Rule of Public Transportation: if people are still boarding a standing-room-only bus…

keep moving to the back of the bus.

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Category: diaries Tags: ,
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