A new mom’s gratitude for Muni drivers

Muni is the lifeline that powers our city, and its importance in everyday life stands out especially in a time of crisis. We recently got a letter underscoring this fact from new mom Cole Brennan, whose newborn was in the ICU for two weeks. Sharing her letter with us via Instagram, she says:

Dear Muni Operators,
When I yell “Thank You!” to you, through my double masks from the back door at the stop at 3rd & 20th, please know it is the most sincere thanks I’ve ever given a stranger.

It’s true that I’m the sort of person who always thanks the bus driver. And it’s true that after many months of not riding the bus I was likely to feel an extra surge of gratitude once I finally started riding again. But the gratitude I’ve felt for you this month goes well beyond my usual thankfulness.

For two weeks you helped me get to the Children’s Hospital so I could visit my newborn in the Intensive Care Nursery.

You, Muni operator, are part of a small galaxy of helpers that held my little family be together during the longest weeks of my life.

Thank you.

We caught up with Cole, who lives by Precita Park, to see how she and her baby are doing now. She says that her baby spent 19 days in the intensive care nursery at UCSF Mission Bay. A regular rider of the 14-Mission and a dedicated cyclist throughout the pandemic, she said she had never taken the 48 until she needed it to visit her baby. But now she’s a fan of the line. “I’m looking forward to taking baby Ursula to see the ocean by riding the 48 in the other direction!”

Nearly 13 years later (!), we’re still eagerly awaiting your Muni tales. Our inbox is open for your stories: email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com or tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Muni Diaries podcast to hear true stories from everyday bus riders like yourselves.