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.")

Allow us to interrupt your regularly scheduled programming: the faces of Muni riders

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Muni Monday
Photo by Flickr user Justin Beck

Being a Muni rider has been a tough gig lately, with fare hikes, service cuts, accidents, and a slew of other changes sure to affect many of us. With SFMTA being in the middle of that budget crisis, we’re looking at some pretty harsh proposals (i.e. get the chopping block out) on how to get out of this mess. And, coming as no surprise to readers of Muni Diaries, public opinion of Muni is plummeting.

But in my search for more news updates and going through our submissions, I found so many great photos of everyday Muni riders that speak volumes about why public transit brings out such strong emotions. Through the lens of these urban photogs, I’m reminded that riding Muni is one of the few experiences shared by most San Franciscans: yuppie, hipster, hippie, homeless, average Jane and Joe. It brings out anger, frustration, and impatience. Yet instead of just swearing to drive, walk, or ride our bikes, we still get on the bus every day because we depend on it, as much as we depend on our morning coffee or shower. It’s more than a means of transportation: it also brings out stories that are funny, gross, weird, poignant…everything that makes living in our city unique.

Yeah, some parts of that experience make you shake your head — or even your fist — but other parts of it can sometimes make you smile. So, let me interrupt our regularly scheduled programming and share some of those images taken of and by your neighbors on the bus.

Twins
Photo by Flickr user ptwheel

More photos after the jump. And other great Muni photos can be found in the Muni Photos Flickr pool.
Read more

Category: diaries, Photos

Muni Bus Hits Bike on Market and 5th

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Photo by Andrew Sarkarati

A 5-Fulton bus hit a bicyclist this morning and kept going, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Andrew Sarkarati at MissionMission has a first-person account when he arrived at the scene shortly after the collision.

Passengers yelled at the bus driver to stop, but the driver kept going, reports SFWeekly:

Multiple eyewitnesses on the street confirmed to SF Weekly that the cyclist — whose identity we were unable to ascertain — was hit by the bus, which continued onward. The victim, who was talking to police and appeared to be moving, was loaded onto a gurney and taken away in an ambulance.

Both the Chronicle and SFWeekly are reporting that the bus ran over the front wheel of the woman’s bike, and that there’s no indication that the bus made contact with the bicyclist. Judson True, spokesperson for SFMTA, told the SF Chronicle that the driver should have stopped:

The bicyclist was conscious and appeared to have a scrape on her head as she was loaded into an ambulance in a neck brace. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, True said.

We’ll keep you posted.

Category: News

Muni Considers No More Transfers (Or It’ll Cost You) (w/update)

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Updated collage
Photo by Flickr user cbcastro

Update (11:37 p.m.): SFGate reports that the MTA board today rejected the measure to charge for transfers or cease issuing them at all. Streetsblog SF also has the story. Good news for riders!

Original post: I wish I had a more cheery post to bring you, like, here’s a picture of a really cute kid/dog on the bus or something, but alas, that is not today.

At today’s budget meeting, the SFMTA considered either getting rid of Muni transfers or charging 50 cents for each transfer to close up the budget deficit for the next two years. The Chronicle reports that charging for transfers could generate $7.5 million; getting rid of the transfers altogether would get MTA $20 million. SFMTA has, by the way, $100 million in projected deficit for the next two fiscal years. A proposal to cut Muni service by 5 percent is also on the table, reports San Francisco Business Times.

Streetsblog’s Michael Rhodes wrote that many of MTA’s ideas would be “politically difficult” to execute, and that “eliminating free transfers is almost certain to be stopped in its tracks.”

The MTA board is set to vote on the budget next month, so these proposals are still just ideas right now.

Meanwhile, you might have heard about the alternative transit budget proposal from the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) [pdf], which a Chronicle editorial has called, a “spread-the-pain” approach. That’s certainly preferable to Muni service cuts that transit riders will be facing soon. Right?

Category: News

A letter from the wife of a Muni operator

MUNI at night
Photo by Flickr user kodama

We received this letter from Jenella, who wanted to tell a story from the perspective of a Muni driver’s spouse.

As a spouse of a Muni driver, I understand there is a lot of hate towards Muni drivers. So I thought I’d tell a story about the other side since we always hear about the passengers and their experiences. How about a story about a Muni driver’s experiences?

Every work day, my husband irons and presses his uniform. I shake my head in disbelief. He’s only a bus driver. Being a second generation born and raised in San Francisco transit operator, he takes pride in moving commuters through his great city.

He leaves the house 45 minutes before his relief point just to make sure he’s on time. The nerve! On time….Ha! What a joke. With the new cut backs on a few Muni lines, management also cut back on end of the line times. The only break a Muni driver gets is at the terminal when he heads back to do the run again. So if the driver gets caught up in traffic, or has unruly passengers or the bus breaks down, that can eat up a five minute break easily. This is a common occurrence.

Take for example last night, Sunday night, hubby went seven hours without a break. God forbid he stopped to pee! Besides with his “fat” checks he doesn’t deserve a break, right? Maybe if a driver was allowed a break between a nine-hour shift, there may be less accidents. Read more

Category: diaries

Using Translink as Proof of Payment

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TransLink Card - BART
Photo by Agent Akit

We’ve gotten a few complaints in the Muni Diaries inbox about using TransLink as proof of payment. If you haven’t heard, you can get free Translink cards starting today at select locations – yes, adults too. See details here.

Now, onto the inbox. I hope you won’t be running into these issues using your brand new Translink card…

Rider Deng-Kai entered the Powell station using a TransLink card and walked back upstairs to ask the station agent when the next N is coming. Upstairs, a fare inspector asked for proof of payment:

I flash my TransLink card in the air as I walk towards the booth and say, “I’m just going to ask the station agent a question.”

Fare inspector walks over to me, ask me for POP, I show my TransLink card again while I’m asking the station agent about the next train and complaining that the predictions are totally wrong. At no time does he scan my card even though I tell him to in order to properly show my POP.

I walk away muttering under my great, “God Muni sucks” Fare inspector walks over to me and says, “What did you just say to me?” I say back, “I didn’t say anything to you.” He says, “Are you giving me attitude?” I calmly say, “No, I’m not giving you attitude” He’s in my face now and starts saying stuff like, “Well if you give me attitude I can give it right back to you” and “You think you can mess with me, huh?” I don’t say anything. Then he says, “You know what, I’m going to write you up.” I ask what for and he says, failure to display POP. I contest it and refuse to sign the citation but he still gives it to me.

Separately, rider Katy asked:

I was told to get a TransLink card by a flyer I received at the Montgomery St station at the beginning of February so I bought a $5 card at a Walgreens (Fasts passes are free, why aren’t these?).

Katy’s TransLink card did not work but she didn’t have cash at the time and was about to be late for work. She was given a $75 citation at the Montgomery station when fare inspectors checked for proof of payment. She details her expense:

I will contest that since it was clear that the card had become defective by no fault of my own. But still, $75 is not something I can afford. So I called TransLink customer service expecting some sort of apology but no. I have to send back the card to Fremont so they can determine if the card is defective.

…

Here is my grand total for this nightmare:
$5 TransLink card + $55 balance on the card + $75 citation + $.47 stamp to send card back + $22 in fares while waiting for the TransLink card to be sent back to me = $157.47.

I checked with SFMTA: to use TransLink as proof of payment, fare inspectors need to swipe it to check the time.

Here are a few ways to protest your citation. Katy, let us know if you’re successful in protesting the citation?

And about the $5 TransLink card fee? Typically you can get the TransLink card without the $5 if you buy it online and sign up for the Autoload option (where TransLink automatically loads your card with the amount you specify if your TransLink card dips below $10.) But if you missed the beginning of the post, you can get a free card on select dates starting today to April 30 (check SFMTA’s page for exact time and location).

Category: diaries, reflection
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