Author: eugenia

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.")

Muni Head Nathaniel Ford in the Running for D.C. Post

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Natl Airport_Washington DC_01
Photo by Michael Renner

Deja vu time: Muni chief Nathaniel Ford is a front runner for an exec position to run airport authority in Washington D.C., reports the San Francisco Chronicle. As SF Examiner rightly pointed out, Ford was rumored to be a candidate to run the Washington metropolitan transit authority earlier last year. The Examiner’s Will Reisman also mentions that some folks in the Washington media world are critical of his lack of experience in aviation matters.

How will this affect our commute? The Chronicle reports:

Ford should hear whether he has the new job around March 1, [SFMTA chairman Tom] Nolan said. If it’s a go, Nolan said Ford plans to remain as head of the San Francisco transportation agency for 45 days or longer.

His possible departure comes at a crucial time for Muni, the Bay Area’s busiest transit agency with nearly 700,000 boardings every weekday. The agency faces a $1 billion-plus budget shortfall over the next 20 years without deep spending cuts and/or new sources of revenue.

Management recently began contract negotiations with Muni operators, who, under voter mandate, are losing their guarantee of being the second best-paid in the nation. Last year, Muni cut service an unprecedented 10 percent and has yet to fully restore the lost service.

Will there be a job opening soon at SFMTA? We’ll keep you posted.

Category: News

Do You Have a Favorite Muni Driver?

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22 Fillmore
Photo by coreythrace

Do you know your Muni driver? Rachel over at Fog City Notes has struck up a friendship with her favorite driver on the 22:

I got on the 22 this morning and the driver, my favorite 22 Fillmore driver, touched my arm and started to say something. I took off my headphones.
“Sweetheart, this is my last week on this route,” he said. “I’ll be driving the bus after this one.”
“Oh no!” I said. I squeezed his shoulder. “We’ll miss you. You’ve been great.”
“Thank you, thanks,” he said.
The end of an era, but hopefully our new driver will be just as friendly and thoughtful.

Rachel documents many of her Muni rides, featuring her favorite drivers and passengers. Check it out on Fog City Notes. We’ve featured many great drivers — including tales from the driver’s seat to another driver who held a party on the bus. What’s your story with your favorite Muni driver?

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

Who Can Outwalk Muni: SF Examiner or Willie Brown?

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Photo by Mike Koozmin/Examiner

Who can walk faster than Muni? Intrepid SF Examiner reporter or Da Mayor?

SF Examiner transportation reporter Will Reisman says that the 30-Stockton is his nemesis, and he took on a personal challenge: “To exact revenge, I decided to best the 30-Stockton, on foot, covering a distance from the bus stop at Pacific Avenue and Stockton Street to Market Street.”

You might remember another man attempting a similar challenge to best the bus. In September 1998, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “Mayor Walks, Muni Runs“:

The race began at the Civic Center station at 7:40 a.m. Brown, stung by a Chronicle story on Tuesday that said walking down Market Street was as fast as riding beneath it, said he wanted to give the Municipal Railway another chance. He donned his sharpest Panama hat, Rockport wingtips and orange polka-dot hankie for the jaunt.

Looking at young Mr. Reisman, I can only surmise that his gait may be faster than the mayor and that he may be wearing footwear more appropriate for power-walking than Willie’s wingtip shoes. You can read more about Reisman’s trip at SFExaminer.com.

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

Cupid Shot Me on Muni

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roses are red
Photo by Tian Jiang

Cupid is that overpaid lazy fuck who is always on a cigarette break. On the rare occasions when he actually does his job, though, sometimes he does it on Muni. I know. Here’s proof.

Eric forms a quick plan on the bus so he can meet his future wife:

I see the most amazingly beautiful woman ever in my life…Holy shit! What to do?! “Sit next to her, idiot!” I tell myself. Well, I don’t want to seem like a fool so I hold my paper out in front of me (turns out that it was upside down). I can’t stop staring at her hands.. they are long and sleek, so beautiful.. plus I can’t just stare directly at her, that would be rude.

Read the rest of Eric’s story.

Wil proves that he’s not just random guy on the bus:

It started, like most of my days end, waiting for the N-Judah outside the CalTrain station, reading, listening to my headphones. The train ambled up a couple minutes earlier than NextBus predicted (for perhaps the first time in history.) So, I scrambled to get my bag together and slipped onto the second car as the “door closing” warning chimed out. I looked up at the almost empty car as I pressed the back of my wallet against the Clipper terminal and saw a girl that made my heart immediately break into a hundred pieces.

Read the rest of Wil’s story.

Steven and Vickie met one day while riding the 22-Fillmore en route to the outer Richmond. Their initial attraction to each other survived a transfer to the 38-Geary:

Listen to Steven and Vickie’s story

People are finding Muni a perfectly romantic San Francisco place. We’ve even received wedding photos taken on the bus:

Heather and Ed had their wedding photo shoot at the Muni yard.

Mooflyrabbit Wedding
Photo by Jessica Palopoli, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Muni was Chantilly and Domonique’s wedding shuttle…

IMG_3848
Photo by Lawrence Pan

…as well as for this happy couple in the back of the bus.

loveandmuni
Photo by jennifer7people

If this post made you gag, my sincere apologies. Worry not: we’re only a few hours away from our regular programming of food fights, suspicious liquids, celebrity sightings, and cameos in adult films! In the mean time, if you have a Muni love story to share, today would be the day.

Category: diaries, reflection
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