Deal Near for Operators?
Muni and its drivers’ union near an agreement. The Examiner‘s Tamara Barak Aparton reports.
Smooth Ride … Take It Easy
Wow.
I just traveled from Balboa and 28th Avenue to Mission and 20th Street in 38 minutes. Yes, you read that right.
What a totally easy commute. The 31 was there at 28th Avenue right around 9 a.m., like it’s supposed to be. No long stops, no rowdy passengers, a very polite (if quiet) operator.
And I didn’t have to wait longer than two minutes on Van Ness for the 49 to appear. Again, a very nice driver (albeit talking on her phone the whole time), polite passengers, many green lights.
Muni Complaint Conduit: The More, the Merrier
Just stumbled across Howard Vicini’s Muni Outrage.
We at Muni Diaries applaud the effort, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder (blogs have shoulders?) with Muni Outrage, whose stated goal is “a better transit system for all San Franciscans.”
Ah, Christ: Cable Car Off the Hook Rails
SFGate reports on this morning’s cable car derailment near Washington and Powell.
The 47, my new best friend
I had another harrowing experience waiting for my F car this morning on Market at Van Ness. Two alleged trolley-bus Fs (their signs said they were, in fact F buses, and included “Market/Wharves” and everything) came by after a long while…and both drivers said they were stopping at Eighth Street. If you didn’t know, Eighth Street is about 3-4 blocks from where I was standing. And the F train is a charming little streetcar that is mostly for tourists, and therefore hideously unreliable. It is, unfortunately, among the fastest ways to get from the Embarcadero BART station to the northeast end of town, second only to walking, if you have time. It might (might) tie the 10-Townsend or the 9x, though both are crazy crowded in the mornings.
I hadn’t seen an F train for 15 minutes at least, and Jeff, my partner in life and Muni Diaries, said NextMuni was estimating it wouldn’t be there for another 20 minutes. I thought I had to take a cab to work for the third time in a month – a ride that costs at least $10 more than the $0 it normally does. My golden solution was a 47-Van Ness, which hit its scheduled stop on Van Ness at Market right after I got there. The driver was helpful when people asked questions, and it put me a block from my office. Thank you, 47. I always liked you better than that dirty sister of yours, the 49.
Meanwhile, people gathered at the F stop across the way in greater numbers, looking expectantly up Market for a car that probably still hasn’t gotten there.
I wasn’t that late (got in around 9:25 instead of 9:10), and I don’t mind the ride. It’s just unfair (and highly lame) when you have to play guessing games with your commute. If this keeps up, I might just break up with the F train altogether – this time, I mean it.
Well, I Never
So I was making my way back to the office yesterday afternoon on the 5-Fulton. Typically, when it reaches its last stop at the Transbay Terminal, the bus driver opens all the doors.
This time, the bus driver honked at the 5 in front of him to move forward, but didn’t open the doors. I figured he was waiting to pull all the way forward before letting us off.
I, along with the other final passengers, lined up by the back door and waited. And waited. He never opened the doors.
After several seconds he muttered, seemingly NOT to us, “Are you going to get off the bus? Fine, stand there all day if you like.”
Once I realized he was addressing us, I said, “Excuse me?”
“STEP DOWN AND GET OFF THE BUS,” he yelled.
I think it was one of the few times in my life that I actually thought to myself, Well, I never! Where do Muni drivers learn their manners, anyway?
–Beth W.