Author: jeff

The dog as hot as Handsome Montana man and other great Muni tweets

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It’s no secret that we at Muni Diaries love animals. So naturally it caught our eye (and heartstrings) to see @pickupabook post the photo above and tweet about the “Prettiest thing I’ve seen on the Muni… Handsome Montana man excluded.” Makes us wonder what Handsome Montana man looks like.

Here are some more of our favorite Muni tweets of the past week:

“when i look in the mirror i look like a stoner with a bad cold = solo muni seat!”
by @powerboybass

“An elementary school aged child just peered over my arm to look at my Twitter feed while on #Muni. How cute and nosy!”
by @lsh

“Muni at rush hour is like playing Twister in an earthquake, except yr hands go on metal bars instead of fun colorful dots.”
by @mikemccaffrey

“The guy next to me on muni just made the young girl kiss his iguana (named Anna). Oh, sf.”
by @sfbaily

“said to me on muni: Guy: Did your lip piercing hurt Me: No Guy: I was going to say if you give me 20 I can torture you.”
by @cantaloupebeard

“Stalled on a #Muni train. What exactly do I need to do to turn this thing into a Coors Bullet Train?”
by @zachb

“drunks in orange on #Muni. Welcome to baseball season!”
by @ckblack007

Follow Muni Diaries on Twitter for the never-ending fun that is Muni on Twitter.

Category: Aww: Cute on Muni, diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs Tags:

Paper Fast Pass Through the Years

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Image courtesy samsast

Today is the last official day to use your paper “M” Fast Pass. As always (and this practice will continue in the future), SFMTA will grant a three-day grace period at the end of the month, so the absolute, drop-dead last day you can use a March 2011 paper “M” Fast Pass is Sunday. But today is March 31, and this month’s pass is the last that the agency will distribute on paper passes.

Let’s take this opportunity to usher the beloved Fast Pass to the netherworld, as we once did with Muni routes that were about to be taken out of service.

A few tidbits about the paper Fast Pass:

  • Ken Schmier is the man who came up with the concept of the Fast Pass. He’s also the mind behind NextBus. Strange, right? But also, not. This happened around 37 years ago, to the best of our knowledge. The first passes went on sale sometime in 1974. The earliest we could find an image of (below) is October 1976.
  • In a blog post from Chronicle Books, designers for the book publisher lamented the lameness of the Clipper card’s look, and paid homage to the beauty of the paper pass.
  • In 2009, local artist John Kuzich opened his Fast Pass exhibit at the de Young Museum. Kuzich asked for people’s passes on Craigslist, then assembled them on panels in really interesting and beautiful ways.
  • Muni Diaries commenter Dexter shares his recollections of the history of the Fast Pass: “I do remember that it came out around 1977 or so and the early ones just featured graphic designs. Later Fast Passes had odd-shaped cutouts to prevent counterfeiting (later removed). Then they switched to photos. I had a collection that was lost when I moved.” Too bad.
  • And of course, in November, we unveiled our first Fast Pass memorabilia product: T-shirts at the Muni Diaries Etsy store, and onesies and hoodies with the same logo available at Secession Art and Design in Bernal Heights. We also have very cool Fast Pass-looking Clipper Card holders at our Etsy store. Look for an awesome new design of cardholders very soon.

Check out these photos of the Fast Passes through time (presented mostly in chronological order) and how San Franciscans have incorporated images of the paper Fast Pass into our favorite holidays. Long live the Fast Pass!

1976 muni fast pass by cranky old mission guy
Photo by Cranky Old Mission Guy


Image courtesy samsast

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Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

BREAKING: Fast Pass prices going up in July

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April 2009 Fast Pass
Photo by eviloars

The SFMTA just announced a fare increase beginning in July 2011, mostly felt in the passes that the agency issues.

“A” Fast Passes, which allow riders unlimited Muni rides and BART within San Francisco city limits, are currently $70 per month, but will increase to $72 per month.

On the eve of its last regular day of usability, SFMTA announces that “M” passes, which are for Muni only and are currently $60, will increase to $62.

Other passes will also increase. Cable car rides will go from $5 to $6 per ride.

See all the new fares here (PDF)

Category: News

No habla español on the 38-Geary

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38 Geary Muni bus
Photo by frankfarm

Ramona reports from the 38-Geary …

Odd people you run into on Muni —

A guy on the 38 headed toward the VA was sitting near the front, playing cards by himself, but talking constantly and trying to engage everyone else in his banter (“Oh, I think I’m gonna win! Do you think I should play an ace? I don’t know… you know how it went the last time… I used to have a dog!”)… He would laugh, then be serious, then talk loudly, then quietly — all the while trying to catch someone’s (anyone’s!) eye.

When first getting on the bus, people would smile at him and nod, but then realize he was trying to bring them into his non-stop, illogical, stream-of-consciousness conversation. So they would look away quickly and suddenly get very interested in texting, or what was going on out on the street, or looking for something in their bags. Still, he seemed harmless, though a little unpredictable and overly intrusive.

Near the end of the route, he put his cards away and turned his attention to a man sitting at the other end of the bench who, like everyone else, was trying his best not to get involved in the free-wheeling (if one-sided) conversation.

“So,” he said to the man, “are you one of the resident… Chinese?”

When the man continued to ignore him, he asked, “What, no habla español?!”

(Still no response.)

A couple of minutes later he said to no one in particular, “You know, on Judgment Day, God is going to call your name in Spanish, and all you’ll have to say is, ‘No habla español!'”

Laughing and apparently feeling pleased with his own wit, he exited the bus.

Uh, here’s hoping this man is completely wrong about the end of times.

Category: diaries Tags:
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