Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Photo by Stuart of Caliber SF. Click the photo for a larger version.
Incidentally, this is the 100th post on BART Diaries! We couldn’t have made it without your stories, so keep ’em coming! Post a BART diary here, or send it to bartdiaries@gmail.com.
Photo by Flickr user Rick Audet
What a wacky week it was for Muni. How’s that different from any other week on Muni? you ask. Here’s how:
– J-Church derails near Dolores Park; no injuries (Muni Diaries)
– 21-Hayes snarled by fallen tree between Steiner and Fillmore (Examiner)
– The F-Market/Wharves: No Tourist Trap (Los Angeles Times)
– Out-of-control, overturned car hits 6-Parnassus on Market Street (SF Appeal)
– Sup. Chiu prepares to reject MTA budget, service cuts (SF Appeal)
– Window-covering ad deal approved for Muni vehicles (Examiner)
– Fare-evasion down on Muni (Streetsblog SF)
– Supervisors, operators, riders call for rejection of MTA budget (Streetsblog SF)
Here at Muni Diaries, we were delighted to help Greg tell the story of Tammy, a lovely 33-Stanyan driver who’s being moved to the 24-Divisadero. Tammy decorated her bus this week, and gave candy to her passengers. Kinda utterly amazing, huh? Thanks, Tammy!
And lastly, sadly, please don’t forget the systemwide Muni service cuts going into effect tomorrow. SFMTA has an explanation of the changes, and 511 and Google are your best bets for actual schedules and predictions.
Have a great weekend! And check back here Monday for more great Muni stories from your fellow riders.
Photo by Flickr user Jen_Maiser
Photo by Flickr user Sharon Hahn Darlin
Photo by Flickr user our hero
Vic over at Mission Mission posted about this awesome BART busker band, the California Honeydrops. In the video, they discuss why they love playing for BART riders. It’s worth a watch, and their music is really cool. Tip ’em if you get the chance, eh?
Photo by christine.ricks
Jesse told a two-minute version of this story at Muni Diaries Live! two Fridays ago, and there was no question that he was the crowd favorite of the evening. People couldn’t get enough of Jesse so we asked him to write his story in full here for you.
I was heading home from work, a task that takes about 45 minutes and one transfer. In the afternoons, I prefer to take the 1-California, as it has consistently proven to be the gentler, cleaner, more Asian cousin of the consistently troubling 38-Geary. Little did I know that this was to be no ordinary ride home. This was a bus ride that, even years later, is still burned into the memory portions of my brain (those are somewhere in the upper middle, right?). When dealing with Muni, I suppose one should always expect the unexpected.
As I approached the bus shelter, I heard a loud, angry voice taking someone to task for being a “Lazy-Assed Cracker.” Soon it was revealed that the man attached to the voice was a tall fellow who would sporadically refer to himself in the third person. His name was Leroy. Leroy seemed to be pushing 60, though I suppose he could have been younger. One thing was for sure; Leroy was not new to the streets. He was crusty in a way that is almost special. It seemed that Leroy had maintained a long and devout abstinence to water, since Y2K was a genuine threat. Leroy’s hands were swollen, coated in years and layers of sedimentary funky junk and it dawned on me that Leroy’s claws have quite possibly touched many of the same public surfaces that mine have over the years (I resolved at once to stop biting my nails). His T-shirt advertised the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics and was so timeworn that maintaining its structure must have been accomplished through ancient magic long since forgotten.
Just yesterday, we posted about a bus full of riders made happy all because of their beloved Muni driver, Tammy. Today, Muni rider Vivek sends the photo above, and has this to say:
It seemed like there was partying going in the back of the trolly. I could hear their laughter from across the street.
With this weekend’s service reductions coming up, it’s nice to have some sunshine in the land of Muni tales, right?
Photo by Flickr user sebastiansuk.de // pitlanepics.de
BART rider Anya has this diary to share:
So BART had some serious rush-hour delays this morning. So when I got to Civic Center there was a mass of people waiting, already looking frustrated. The Pittsburg/Bay Point train pulls up LOADED with people. Naturally, when the door opens, it’s a typical battle to wrestle yourself into the train. Everyone is even more agitated and pissed.
Once we get to Powell, before the doors open, the train conductor says something to the extent of “sorry to have to start your day this way folks but look on the bright side — it’s a beautiful day outside. Forget about us and have a good rest of your day.” Everyone immediately lit up in smiles (as jam-packed as we were) and a few people chuckled.
Moral of the story: even the smallest gesture goes a long way on days like that. Thank you to that train conductor for being so positive! And to the other drivers — please try to stay positive and cheerful on the crappy days…. your words go a long way to make everyone else snap out of their angry commuter modes.
Got a BART story to share? Do it here at BART Diaries.