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.")
Philip just passed his class B license test for Muni, and his wife and friends surprised him with this custom Muni cake. The 14-Mission looks pretty good in fondant, and who knows what stories lie beneath those tinted frosting windows!
More Muni driver stories:
Driver Doug on behind-the-scenes hand signals from Muni drivers
Did you enjoy your shower this morning? Many in San Francisco don’t have that luxury. There are seven locations in our city where homeless people can take a shower, but there are more than 3,000 people who live on the street. When Doniece Sandoval heard that Muni was decommissioning diesel buses, she had the idea of turning those buses into mobile showers. She founded Lava Mae, and got Muni to donate a vehicle to her.
As it turns out, transforming our familiar old Muni buses into mobile showers is no easy engineering feat. In this video, engineers show how they rip apart the passenger bus, install showers along with water heaters and gray- and black-water disposal plans. The buses hook up to a fire hydrant to provide water for the shower service. The two stalls in the bus have sky lights, a digital shower, and a changing area to provide the homeless with a bit of privacy and respite from the street.
We first heard about Sandoval’s idea in 2013, and in 2014 we eagerly awaited Lava Mae’s rollout. This spring, Lava Mae launched its first service and is partnering with various organizations around the city to provide showers to the homeless.
Lava Mae is working on a second bus with Airco Mechanical, architect Brett Terpeluk, and engineer Chris Doherty. They plan to launch the second mobile shower this fall.
Jay is an Australian living in San Francisco. After hearing Jay’s Muni story, his friends and family in Australia might think that San Francisco is an even more awesome place than they previously realized.
Last Sunday afternoon I was on an almost full to capacity #1 California bus on its route to Van Ness and beyond. The bus stopped, which was not unusual, but then the bus driver got out and went around to the front. I thought that he might be checking the bicycle rack or that there was some mechanical fault he was investigating.
Eventually a lady standing near the front of the bus took a few steps forward to peer out the front window and announced, “Ahhh…there’s a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest and he’s scooting it off the road from in front of the bus and onto the grass!”
That was amazing enough but what really told me I was in San Francisco was when the bus driver hurriedly scampered through the door and back onto his seat. The entire bus, me included, spontaneously started applauding and cheering! You would have had to have been there to really appreciate the genuine warmth of the moment but I assure you it was an authentic instance of two random acts of kindness that I will never forget.
Got your own slice of life on the bus? Help us document what it’s like to live in San Francisco and send your stories to muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com!
We found this great wedding shot on Instagram by Mariel Villaluz, who photographed the beautiful bride and groom at the Muni stop. I love that the groom is looking to see when the bus is coming. I hope they’re not late for something important.
By the way, here’s more ideas to take your wedding (or just any party) up a notch by making everything Muni-themed (Fast Passes on little boxes of Muni-shaped chocolates? Check, check, and check).
Here’s something that us lucky San Franciscans rarely experience: 95 degree heat on the subway platform. The New York subway platform is at least 10 degrees hotter than it is outside, so on a balmy 85-degree day, poor New Yorkers endure 95-degree heat while waiting for the train. In this video, the ever-so-cheery actors at Improv Everywhere embraced the heat and turned the subway platform into a spa. Watch what happens when cranky riders happen upon an impromptu spa, with heated rock massages and infused water.
Going to the East Bay this weekend? Don’t try to take BART there. In case you missed all the posted signs at BART stations (and here), BART is closing transay train service this weekend to repair tracks near the Transbay tube, so plan on taking AC Transit or the ferry if you must get out of the city. The West Oakland station will be closed and trains will not run between West Oakland and Embarcadero.
From BART.gov:
BART will offer lifeline bus service between 19th Street in Oakland and the Temporary Transbay Terminal in San Francisco, but the buses are intended only for those who have no other options. The buses will carry customers from 19th Street Station in Oakland to the Temporary Transbay Terminal in San Francisco (a 2 block walk to the Embarcadero Station) or from there back to the East Bay. There will be no additional charge for the bus. The bus bridge will cause 1 to 2 hour delays for some customers.
Accommodations will be available for people with disabilities.
There will be some shuttle buses from West Oakland Station, which will be closed, to the 19th Street Station for West Oakland area residents only. These shuttles will pick up and drop off during BART operating hours and will be on 15 minute headways, departing both sides (West Oakland and 19th Street) at quarter hours. No fares will be collected on this neighborhood shuttle for West Oakland residents. We are not able to keep West Oakland Station open during this work because we can not easily turn trains around from that station. With only two tracks, there would be very significant delays in the East Bay if we attempted to run trains through West Oakland during the work.
Service will resume August 3. BART plans another closure to repair the tracks over Labor Day weekend.
