Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Cranky Old Mission Guy‘s 1970s Fast Passes remind us of old baseball cards. “Bygone” is an understatement.
For more images, check out this post on Muni Time Capsule. And for card holders and T-shirts honoring the slated-for-termination paper passes, visit our Etsy store.
Photo by Steve Rhodes
Update (2:21 p.m. Thursday): A rep from Clipper has dropped by to reply to some of your comments. Read them all here.
Here are the highlights, in chronological order:
Lol at people who still are resisting#Clipper — if you have a monthly pass its really not that different, maybe even better? — @DevonEleven
@DevonEleven Muni monthly pass doesnt cause the scanner on train to screech incessently if s’one else tries to scan @ same time — @SaraMurphy
@DevonEleven i KNOW! #Clipper is so much more useful. — @firstwavedown
@SaraMurphy true, but I honestly do find a reloadable card more convenient — @DevonEleven
@SaraMurphy &it seems to be a better way of tracking line usage which gives me hope for more frequent/plentiful busses/trains @DevonEleven
@DevonEleven if you don’t have a monthly pass Muni’s even worse… some of us lost our comm checks with the downturn #clipper — @noelleaharrison
That last comment is a sad one. But the rest of the conversation makes us wonder: If you’re a monthly pass-holder who hasn’t made the switch yet, why not? And if you have already got a Clipper card, how are you liking it?
PS: If it’s simply aesthetics that explain your aversion to Clipper, fear not. We’re selling card holders that look like the old paper Fast Passes in our Etsy store.
Photo by Mike Koozmin/Examiner
Who can walk faster than Muni? Intrepid SF Examiner reporter or Da Mayor?
You might remember another man attempting a similar challenge to best the bus. In September 1998, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “Mayor Walks, Muni Runs“:
The race began at the Civic Center station at 7:40 a.m. Brown, stung by a Chronicle story on Tuesday that said walking down Market Street was as fast as riding beneath it, said he wanted to give the Municipal Railway another chance. He donned his sharpest Panama hat, Rockport wingtips and orange polka-dot hankie for the jaunt.
Looking at young Mr. Reisman, I can only surmise that his gait may be faster than the mayor and that he may be wearing footwear more appropriate for power-walking than Willie’s wingtip shoes. You can read more about Reisman’s trip at SFExaminer.com.
Photo by Tian Jiang
Eric forms a quick plan on the bus so he can meet his future wife:
I see the most amazingly beautiful woman ever in my life…Holy shit! What to do?! “Sit next to her, idiot!” I tell myself. Well, I don’t want to seem like a fool so I hold my paper out in front of me (turns out that it was upside down). I can’t stop staring at her hands.. they are long and sleek, so beautiful.. plus I can’t just stare directly at her, that would be rude.
Wil proves that he’s not just random guy on the bus:
It started, like most of my days end, waiting for the N-Judah outside the CalTrain station, reading, listening to my headphones. The train ambled up a couple minutes earlier than NextBus predicted (for perhaps the first time in history.) So, I scrambled to get my bag together and slipped onto the second car as the “door closing” warning chimed out. I looked up at the almost empty car as I pressed the back of my wallet against the Clipper terminal and saw a girl that made my heart immediately break into a hundred pieces.
Steven and Vickie met one day while riding the 22-Fillmore en route to the outer Richmond. Their initial attraction to each other survived a transfer to the 38-Geary:
People are finding Muni a perfectly romantic San Francisco place. We’ve even received wedding photos taken on the bus:
Heather and Ed had their wedding photo shoot at the Muni yard.
Photo by Jessica Palopoli, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.
Muni was Chantilly and Domonique’s wedding shuttle…
Photo by Lawrence Pan
…as well as for this happy couple in the back of the bus.
Photo by jennifer7people
If this post made you gag, my sincere apologies. Worry not: we’re only a few hours away from our regular programming of food fights, suspicious liquids, celebrity sightings, and cameos in adult films! In the mean time, if you have a Muni love story to share, today would be the day.
In his effort to ride all the Muni lines in the city, Gabriel Wheeler of Destination Nowhere asked his friend Audra Wolfmannn to come for a ride on the 38-Geary. Instead, her alter ego Odessa Lil showed up.
Odessa Lil is MC for hire. She hosts many a burlesque show, but does not limit herself to one calling. She will do weddings, divorces , Bar Mitzvahs, funerals, just ask!
Our first stop was Trader Sams where we indulged in some delicious cocktails. Odessa Lil kindly posed for photos with the bar’s patrons, the bartender, and the pinball machine.
Later we found ourselves at the old Transbay Terminal (R.I.P.). It was very sullen and full of homeless residents. It had an air of danger so we did not linger too long, but I snapped some good shots without any incident.
We ended our day at Union Square where Odessa Lil put her riding crop to good use by spanking some willing tourists and posing for more photos. It was an 8-hour adventure I’ll never forget.
I have done about 27 or so of these rides and each one is just as exciting as the last. But so far Odessa Lil has been the most colorful. Check my blog for new updates as I continue to explore San Francisco via Muni.
Thanks, Gabriel!
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Muni rider Jeremy is stoked on an F-Market operator he had over the weekend.
He always makes great announcements. Apparently one of these passengers had been waiting for 2 hours for a #9.
It felt so “above and beyond.” There was an elderly gentleman on board who was looking for 1087 Market Street. The operator suggested that the guy remain in the front seat so he “wouldn’t forget” to tell him when we had reached the block.
It’s nice to see that there are some operators out there providing good customer service.
We love helpful Muni drivers! Have you had one recently? Let us know!