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.")

Thank You, Muni Hero of the 1-California


Photo by Brandon Doran

Riding on a nearly full 1-California last Thursday afternoon, I opened my eyes from my mini nap when I noticed that the bus wasn’t moving. It appeared that the bus driver was leaning over having a conversation with a passenger who wanted to board the bus.

I heard an older woman’s voice from the opened bus door: “Do you give change?” We all knew the answer.

Then I heard the same woman’s voice: “When’s the next bus coming?”

The bus stop happened to be one without the NextBus display, so nobody really had an answer for her.

Just as I was starting to feel a little bad for her, a young man got up from the first row, leaned over to the open door and said, “Ma’am? I’ll pay for you. Come on in.”

The woman got in the bus — she was a silver-haired lady wearing a blue quilted coat. The young man paid her fare, got up, and gave his seat to her, and we were on our way.

Thank you, young man in the black leather jacket, Levi 514s, black Adidas, and black messenger bag. There’s a big difference between feeling bad for someone and actually doing something about it. Your kindness made me realize we need to cross that line more often.

Saw a Muni model citizen? Give them praise here.

Strangest PSA Video Featuring BART

There is a tech conference in town over President’s Day weekend, and reader Jeremy A. shared its incredibly strange yet hilarious PSA video about the closure of the westbound deck of the Bay Bridge that holiday weekend. Notice the wind in Barbie’s hair as she rides through BART with her rotund companion.

From what I can gather, the people who made the video are a part of the SMB MVP Community Roadshow (Sponsored by HP and Microsoft), an event featuring Windows Storage Servers. Alas, my geek cred has its limits. But who cares — there’s a talking Barbie and a garden gnome telling you to ride BART!

Weekend Photos: Muni Lowrider


Photo by Lorcan Keating

He (?) is at least not on the seats. See also: “Would you spend the night in a Muni street car?

We’re planning some cool new features for Muni Diaries in the coming months. Meanwhile, have you been following the better-than-TV stream @munidiaries on Twitter?

My favorite last week:
RT @spiegelmama: Why do I expend such effort not to fart on the bus when it seems nobody else even tries? #opensewer #busreek

So get your fill at @munidiaries @bartdiaries, @caltraindiaries, and @actdiaries!

Enjoy these photos and your weekend!


Photo by Jeremy Whiteman


Photo by Octoferret


Photo by maraby on Instagram


Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

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