Eugenia Chien has been eavesdropping on the 47, 49, or 1 lines since the mid-90's. She lives by the adage, "Anything can happen on Muni" (and also, "That's not water.")

Caltrain Snack Train

Two things are hard to come by on Caltrain: the pimp seat* and a cup holder. So when you can’t find a place to rest your coffee and muffin, other riders might not be so happy. I realize this might sound whiny to Muni and BART riders, but as a customer of all three transit services, I can sympathize with reader CopperJet, who found the remnants of a delicious breakfast on the train the other day. CopperJet said,

You know who you are.
I am underwhelmed by your dedicated courtesy-ness.
Thanks for the wondrous treat which greeted me as I boarded car 1 (just behind the engine) of Train 134 this morning just before 9:00.
Who do you think cleaned up your messy-mess?

Hey it wasn’t me, CopperJet. That looks like Starbucks and I’m a slave to last-minute Caltrain Station coffee.

*See this debate about the definition of a Caltrain pimp seat.

Man Successfully Reaches New Low at Millbrae BART


Photo by Charles Haynes

Transit etiquette and decent human behavior, yet again, flew out the window at Millbrae BART, dropping the chivalry index to a record low.

No, seriously. This was my morning: BART was running at least 15 minutes late to Millbrae, so people on my BART train making the Millbrae Caltrain connection were getting visibly antsy. It looked like we would miss the bullet train, after which the local Caltrain only comes every hour. As the Millbrae BART train pulled in, we could see that a Caltrain was already waiting at the opposite platform, but we would have to go upstairs to cross the platform and then down another set of stairs to catch it.

The BART train stops and everybody makes a mad scramble to the fare gates. As I walked up to the faregate and reached out to scan my Clipper card, a young man (Silicon Valley type, corporate backpack), leaped over two other people to jump in front of me to scan his Clipper card.

His Clipper card didn’t scan so the fare gate was still closed, so he hoisted himself up to jump the gate, kicking up his feet to nick me right in the shin, breaking skin (I was wearing a skirt and heels on account of the great weather today). No apologies.

None of us made the train.

How about this for an etiquette rule: don’t take fellow riders out at the knees (or the shins). Now does anyone have a Band-Aid for me?

Woman Slashed in Face on Muni


Photo by Jay Wilson

A woman was slashed in the face while riding the 49-Van Ness Monday night, reports MissionLocal. Three suspects, two men and a woman in their 20s, approached the 18-year-old victim on the bus and asked her a question. “The victim answered them and one of the men took out a knife and slashed her across the face. The three suspects then got off the bus near Mission and Valencia streets and fled on foot, according to police,” according to the MissionLocal report.

The victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital to treat lacerations on her face.

Distressing news on my regular line. Careful out there, everybody.

Muni Worm: No Need For “Improvement”


Photo by missha

The city’s online project “Improve SF” announced an “SFMTA Design Challenge,” where SFMTA “invites you to co-create its identity for the future.” So what are we designing?

Join in the centennial celebration by submitting and voting on design concepts that reflect this character of the SFMTA as it enters its second century…Submit a concept in the form of logo, tagline, and color scheme. This is a unique opportunity for all creative members of the San Francisco community to participate and gain access to a broad audience. Once selected, the SFMTA will produce your winning concept.

But worry not, the beloved Muni worm is here to stay. We asked SFMTA spokesperson Murray Bond, who told us that the SFMTA Design Challenge only applies to the SFMTA brand, and not Muni. Confused yet?

For reference, you can see the SFMTA brand on their official page.

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