Weekend Photos: Faster, Muni, Faster!


Photo by Flickr user Daniell Lefebvre

I was on the 1-California today, and the driver tried for what seemed like forever to get the passengers to move back in order for a wheelchair passenger to get off the bus. There certainly can be ways to speed up boarding, and Streetsblog SF has a video and great story about some simple ways to improve boarding to make Muni more efficient.

“Muni spends about half of its time on any given run not moving, so the bus is either stopped at a light or the bus is stopped at a bus stop. Speeding up boarding would be hugely important in getting Muni in being more reliable and faster,” Tom Radulovich, executive director of Livable City, said in the video.

In other news, transit funding is nowhere in sight as the bill dies (thanks, Arnie), and the 14-Mission has the dubious award of being the most dangerous line (Examiner).

Watch out this weekend as the J-Church construction impacts traffic and Muni, starting tonight (SFAppeal).

Have a great weekend!


Photo by Flickr user Patrick Boury


Photo by Flickr user Patrick Boury

4th and King
Photo by Flickr user captin_nod

14-Mission birth control?

14-Mission in Daly City, December 7, 2008
Photo by /\/\ichael Patric|{

Yesterday, we read a little piece on SFGate about the worst places in the Bay Area to go into labor. Unsurprisingly, DMV beat all contenders as the least appealing place to bring a new life into the world (we’re pretty sure DMV might clean up at the Least Desirable Awards Show, but that’s another story).

Perhaps also to no real alarm, Muni made the list. No. 2, in fact. And not just any bus or Metro line. No, special disdain is reserved for the 14-Mission like it is for no other line in town. Does that have anything to do with the fact that there’s more (reported) crime on the 14-Mission than any other? Not that we’re scratching our heads at this result.

But it does make us wonder: What are some other dubious Muni awards you can think of? Worst line to make out on. Worst line to take to a fancy date. Worst line to use for grocery shopping. Share your ideas in the comments, please.

Pleasant surprises

Rider Alert
Photo by Telstar Logistics

It’s hard out there for an urban lady. You get cat-calls on your way to work, then you get yelled at all the way down the block for ignoring them. You turn around and look at everyone walking behind you, conveying to even the innocents that you could identify them in a lineup if you had to. It’s a part of a semi-automatic routine adopted for our various journeys throughout town. So pardon us if we’re a little suspicious of any and all people, particularly males, if we’re waiting for the bus.

So there’s this tall, larger, older-to-middle-age guy standing at the 14-Mission/49-Van Ness/former 26-Valencia stop on Otis Street. He’s got a little bag of presents in a tote bag, a receptacle that, for some reason, was not capable of holding the many items he had dangling around his neck. FastPass. Keys. Other card-type things. He’d probably have a troll on there if he could. His jeans are hiked up beyond his gut, resting comfortably around his chest. His vibe was a little off, right from the get-go. But a lot of people in SF are a little off; the question, as always, remains as to whether he was silly-off or dangerous-off.

He turns and asks me and Jeff, Mr. Muni Diaries, about the 26, after realizing on his own that it wasn’t in service anymore. His conversational rhythm came with lengthy, continued stares once you’ve answered his questions. He didn’t turn and look away at anything while he was talking. He didn’t turn around and see if the bus was down the street. While he stared our faces raw, he explained how he had many VHS tapes he was attempting to convert; had a little machine and everything. We basically ran into Milton from Office Space.

Less than a minute into this conversation, I did what any urban lady (or gentleman) does: suspiciously attempt to figure out whether this stranger is dangerous or just weird. The resulting train of thought, for those of us who weren’t Green Berets, is actually an amazing one, I must say. It can prompt everything from laughter, to embarrassment, to relief, to further suspicion, in the span of a minute, unlike any other learned or innate behavior.

“…what’s he staring at?” > “Hmm, could he be sizing me up for his freezer at home?” > “Does he have anything sharp?” > “What’s his expression like…you can always tell these psycho killers from their eyes, right?” > “Ah. Harmless.” It was a pleasant surprise, one that did make me feel a little silly (Who’s afraid of Milton? Turns out I am.)

But I really wouldn’t have it any other way if I’m going to keep (and I will) calling this wacky place home. Thanks, evolution.

How many 14-Missions does it take?

IMG00220
The 14-Mission, as seen through the back window of another 14-Mission, with another 14-Mission to its right. Photo by Tara.

Yeah, so Tara and I were lucky enough to have missed not one, but two 14-Missions on our way home from Bloodhound last night. We checked the NextBus marquee at Eighth and Mission only to discover that it would be seven minutes until the next bus arrived. It was a nice night out, windy but not too cold (or maybe our booze had us warm enough?), so we decided to walk up to at least South Van Ness, where we could catch a 49 or 14, whichever came first.

But miraculously, at Ninth, we noticed both 14s we had just watched fly by us, one parked at the stop, the other on the east side of the intersection, waiting its turn. We caught that second one.

Then, at Tenth, all hell broke lose when we lost the cables, sparks flying. Fine, typical enough event on an electric trolley in this town.

But by the time we recovered and made it up to Eleventh, we somehow (the physics of it escape me) passed that lead 14 (also electric), and then were soon tailed by a third 14. Three buses of the same route, all huddled a mere 15 or so blocks from the origin of the route. Amazing.

Tagger arrest (from outside) on the 14

Muni Bombing As An Artform
Photo by Troy Holden

We’ve had plenty of public speculation as to SFPD’s patrolling of Muni, or lack thereof. Monday, though, the Ingleside police station chief’s daily report included a tagger getting arrested by a cop who wasn’t actually on the bus at all:

7:59 pm Mission @ Trumbull Graffiti arrest
Officer Hurwitz was on undercover patrol. The officer was stopped at a red light next to a bus. The officer looked up and saw a suspect writing on the rear window of the bus. The officer quickly stopped the bus and took the suspect into custody. Report number 091022362

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