Edible Gifts From Muni Drivers
The above photo shows a gift received from a Muni operator, according to jasontoff, who took the picture. Nice photo, but, it raises the question:
Well, what would you do if a Muni driver gave you some candy?
Author: jeff
About those seat ‘butt holes’ on Muni
Photo by Vanessa Elise
Muni rider Judy asks the burning question …
Ever since I was a kid.. growing up in SF and riding Muni was the thing to do. However, I always wondered about those silver holes on the base of the seats of every bus. What exactly are they for!? Draining water? In case kids pee? What?!
Not all buses have them, of course. But with all the wet weather as of late, we’re left wondering the same thing. If they are in fact drainage holes, many of them don’t do their job (insert requisite joke about Muni employees here).
What do you think those little holes are for?
Photo Diary: Poetic 5-Fulton
A detached 5-Fulton heading outbound on Market this morning, with an advertisement acting as caption.
Muni to Cease Surprise ‘Short Turns’ on Metro Trains
Photo by Joe Gratz
SF Weekly reports the dubious news:
Muni will end its practice of surprising riders by curtailing service mid-route, according to a new report delivered to the Board of Supervisors. The practice, known in the industry as “short-turn,” occurs in response to situations where light-rail trains bunch up because some are behind schedule. In order to avoid a bottleneck in the Muni Metro Tunnel running underneath Market Street, managers and inspectors will sometimes turn a rail car around mid-route, leaving surprised passengers high and dry to wait for the next train.
When I read the article, I kept hoping this new “policy” would apply system-wide. Alas, no. Not the case. In my experience, the 49-Van Ness looooves to make unannounced stops at Market, or sometimes 14th Street. That practice will remain, it seems. So hang onto your Magic 8 Ball for those bus rides, folks!
Read the rest of SF Weekly’s article.
Bus stop graffiti diary: ‘Those Funky Lords’
Muni rider Charles on the image above, which he captured:
I think it was a Bebe ad, but I can’t find an image of the original. What I find interesting is not so much the artwork but the fact that the poster was removed, modified, and returned to the shelter. (It’s also possible it was taken from elsewhere and then installed here. I didn’t notice it until after it had been painted on.) It’s on the north side of the shelter (i.e., not visible to traffic on that side of the street) and is less obviously graffiti than the tags often applied to the empty building next to the shelter, which may help to explain why the poster has not been replaced. Street artist Kaws did similar — and, in my opinion, much more interesting — work beginning in the 1990s.
The shelter is at Van Ness at Clay.
Seen interesting things on or around Muni? ‘Tis always the season to share on Muni Diaries!
Muni Frequent Rider Miles?
Photo by Michael Risenhoover
“Too bad they don’t offer bus miles, you know, like airline miles…”
Too bad, yeah. But it got me thinking: What if SFMTA had some sort of rewards program for loyal riders? All default jokes about “loyalty” aside, I think this is an amusing mental exercise.
My most frequently used route is the 49-Van Ness, which I ride 3.3 miles from the Mission to the end of the line, at North Point and Van Ness. From there, I hop on a 47-Van Ness for 0.75 miles to get to work. 4.15 miles to get there. And I repeat that ride in the afternoons to get home: 8.3 miles per day
Multiplied by five, I rack up 41.5 miles on Muni per week. Multiply that by 50 weeks per year, and we’re looking at a whoppin’ 2,075 miles per year!!! Holy crap!
Sooooo, what should my prize options be? Yeah, a bus that runs on time and all that. But what else?
How many miles have you piled up over the years on Muni?