Violence on Muni, and Reports of Violence on Muni
Photo by Brandon Doran
Just last weekend, Tyler experienced first-hand an altercation on the 1-California. Also over the weekend, a man was punched and robbed on a bus (14? 49?) in the outer Mission.
Stories of violence on Muni can appear and jolt those of us who don’t experience it on an everyday basis. For some riders and some routes, violence is clearly more the norm than the exception. But we’d guess that the vast majority of Muni riders feel safe riding the system. The latest statistics of crime on Muni show that it’s trending downward, clearly a good thing.
So, we wanna know: Do you feel safe riding Muni?
No, I do not feel safe unless I am riding with my husband. There is always some weirdo on the back of the bus. And I was once stalked by a crazy hobo who kept staring at me and yelling crazy things.
I used to think that the 43 Masonic was the safest line, but just 2 weeks ago a boy sitting next to me was punched by a crazy homeless man for no reason! (I boarded at the same stop as the kid and not at anytime did he have any contact with this man) Muni drivers need to not let hobos ride the bus, even if they have a transfer. I don’t want to appear harsh, but I have had too many jolting experiences.
I feel safe on Muni, but I take the Metro most of the time. Taking the 14 is probably about as dangerous as walking down Mission Street could possibly be, between 16th and Cesar Chavez. I’ve never had a problem, but I’ve seen some sketch on that strip and try to keep my guard up and my crazy face on when traversing said route by bus or foot, or with friends. Thanks for linking to the blog. I’ll say this though, Muni robberies are probably less common than street robberies. We write about the Muni incidents over all the myriad robbery stories because they seem more newsworthy. That being said, it also gives the impression that Muni is more dangerous than it might actually be. 🙂
Actually, I believer muni is much safer now than ever in the past. I have been taking muni for over 40 years and back then the same incident happens, especially on the 22 fillmore and 14 mission buses…lots of fights, pickpockets, etc. etc…but now I don’t see that anymore….