Self Driving Muni Buses Among Ideas in SF’s Grant Application

muni diaries market street

Could self-driving Muni buses be in our future? San Francisco is among the seven finalists applying for a $50 million grant to change the future of transportation, according to the Examiner. Proposed in the plan are self-driving buses, driverless Lyft and Uber cars, and ideas for new affordable housing now that we can get more cars off the streets.

More from the Examiner:

Per The City’s plan, autonomous buses would be connected to each other via wireless technology to avoid collisions, shared bikes would dot The City, and taxis, Uber and Lyft vehicles would ferry commuters in groups without drivers.

The City would own a fleet of electric vehicles, and neighborhood shuttles would connect bus lines to homes in less dense outer neighborhoods.

This future may also include transforming parking garages into affordable housing.

Ultimately, at least 10 percent of San Francisco’s car use would shift to “sharing” rides, or taking transit.

The grant comes from U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx via the agency’s Smart City Challenge. The agency will be choosing the winning city in the next few weeks.

You can see more details of the city’s proposal. Quick question though: without drivers, who will be left to tell us how to hold on to a transfer the correct way?

h/t: SFist.

Clickhole: ‘6 Words Of Encouragement That Helped Me Stop Bringing My Own Chair On The Bus’

chair_singer

Over on Clickhole today, there’s a post that struck a chord. From 6 Words Of Encouragement That Helped Me Stop Bringing My Own Chair On The Bus:

I used to bring my own folding chair on the bus, but now I don’t, and I owe it all to the good-hearted people who reassured me that it was okay not to bring a chair.

The thing that really stands out here is that, over the years, we’ve seen a fair number of chair-wielding Muni passengers.

To whit:
Strange Cargo on Muni: Wooden-Chair-Sitting Crooner (above)
Swivel chair swivels on Muni
A new-new BART seat appears on trains

The question is: After reading the inspirational post on Clickhole, will you all be able to quit bringing your own chairs on Muni and BART? Only time will tell.

Random nice gesture on Muni or kind of creepy? You decide

origami muni diaries by saytchy

Here is a kind of cute (I think) Muni moment on the 38-Geary from @saytchy on Instagram, who reports: “Some dude on the bus was making cranes, and offering them to female passengers.”

But what about the dudes, dude? Is this kind of odd or kind of cute? Can’t decide, but I do love a surprise moment or two in my week, like a little drawing or a lovely tune.

What’s your Muni moment of the day? Email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com or tag us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Video: When the 38-Geary is your lifeblood

Storyteller Jesse James and his mom visited San Francisco years before he would eventually moved to the city, and Muni was a large part of the impression Jesse was left with. “All of my stories are on the 38, because it’s the lifeblood …”

Put on your earbuds and enjoy his story over lunch…or on your commute home. This story was recorded at Muni Diaries Live on April 16, 2016, at the Elbo Room. Did you know we’re always looking for storytellers much like yourselves? Pitch your own Muni story at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

Want more transit stories in your ears? From our April show:
BART efficiency expert Mandy Hu
ChrisO’s chance encounter with a thief
Wonder Dave with transit sex stories you can try at home

One good reason for a cable car operator fist bump

cable car diary muni

This Muni moment makes my day:

Only in SF would you get a fist bump from the cable car driver for running through traffic to hop on when he stopped for you. His reply, “Thank goodness that tourist didn’t try to follow you.”

Thanks to @lazataz for submitting this on Instagram! I love hopping on the cable car after going to Trader Joe’s and just enjoying the view, imagining that the tourists around me are envious that this is our ride to the grocery store.

Got your own Muni moment to add? Tag us on Instagram @munidiaries!

Muni wires light up outside SFGate office

A video posted by @sfgate on

It’s not every day that news happens right outside the news office. The Muni wires outside the SFGate office were causing a loud “boom” and fireworks flashed every time an older bus passed by. Above is the video from SFGate’s Instagram account.

Then “the entire @sfgate staff watched the Muni crew fix the wires that were causing the big booms.”

A video posted by @sfgate on

Yikes!

On a separate note, if you haven’t heard about the plan to “flood San Francisco with news of homelessness,” led by the Chronicle in collaboration with just about all the news outlets in the city, check out The New York Times story here.

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