Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Photo by Mr. Worldwide
There are no limits to this woman’s productivity, everybody. Not even a crowded commuter train can hold her back, because this email is getting answered right now.
I guess the train is so packed that even if someone did try to snatch her laptop, the thief would have nowhere to run?
Photo by Amber Wolf of Wiz Bang Photography
In this audio story by author Andrew Lam, an old Vietnamese immigrant’s gift of palm reading is received with skepticism by a young artist on the 38-Geary. Andrew’s poetic story-telling of the bus ride begins with a familiar dark and foggy day:
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Photo by in.EVITA.ble
Rider RB saw a perfect moment on the N the other day. It’s just a small gesture that makes you think that people are actually all right.
On Monday afternoon at about 1:46 p.m., I saw an amusing Muni scene on the outbound N-Judah just after it came above ground onto Duboce at Church.
A late middle-aged woman with a cane was leaning with her back against the partition at the front of the car rather than take one of the vacant seats offered to her.
A 20-something young lady climbed aboard with a to-go cup of coffee in her left hand, then proceeded to fumble with her one free hand to find $2 and get it into the fare box.
The elderly woman reached over without a word to hold the young lady’s coffee while she paid her fare and received her transfer, then handed her back the coffee. The girl smiled with lips together and nodded her thanks without speaking a word.
A scriptwriter couldn’t have done it better.
Aw, this makes me like people today, kind of like this other coffee-spilling gentleman on Muni.
Photo via StreetsBlog
Muni is looking to reconfigure the forward- and backward-facing seats on the light rail train cars to accomodate more riders and speed up boarding, reports StreetsBlog.
According to StreetsBlog:
The SFMTA plans to run a trial starting in January by putting one reconfigured prototype car into service, which would be monitored over six months before reconfiguring other train cars.
The pilot is moving forward at the behest of Supervisors Scott Wiener and London Breed, who called a hearing held yesterday on how the agency can increase capacity on its metro system while Muni riders await a new, larger train fleet due to arrive in 2017. Read more
Photo by lpcmidst0128
A Muni audit uncovered some serious training shortage, not the least of which is the napping incident that San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier and Ross highlighted yesterday. Apparently the trainer was napping, chatting, and eating while the rookie driver navigated the roads. Scary.
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Photo by Jeremy Brooks
When it’s not up in flames, the 38-Geary is my preferred no-frills express train to the hinterlands of San Francisco. Once you get past the craziness of the downtown commute (with its questionable smells and unidentified liquids), the 38 can take you to to some pretty cool places. From hole-in-the-wall eats to wide-open vistas, a trip to the end of the line is the ultimate urban getaway. Here’s my itinerary:
1. Start your afternoon with an unbelievably cheap lunch at Shanghai Dumpling King (go for the pot stickers and crispy pan-fried pork buns). You might have to get cozy at a communal table, which means great recommendations from your fellow diners.
2. Hop back on the 38 to Land’s End Trail to walk off your pork-filled lunch. The trail head near 48th Avenue is an easy path to some of the most spectacular views in the city. With the Sutro baths and secret labyrinth along the way, it’s the perfect 3.4-mile round trip. Read more