Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
We reported the shall-game scam on Muni late last month. @dblake just tweeted this video he got of the scam in action:
Just watched a guy lose $12 in an obvious shell-game scam on Muni. Everyone tried to warn him but he didn’t listen.
Careful out there, folks. Healthy skepticism, always.
Photo by Thomas Hawk
Ed. note: Okay, lately in the land of Muni news, things really suck, for Muni, for the victims and their friends and family, maybe for you… But we’re a story-telling site after all, and we received this charming story from Muni rider Daishin on Wednesday just before the tragic accident at Mission and Beale. It perfectly encapsulates why the show here must go on. See for yourself.
Occasionally I’m forced to take the 14 into La Mission. The last time I did this BART was having problems from Powell Station to 24th Street so I hopped a 14. At the second stop at Mission and 8th Street a gaggle of Mormon Missionaries boarded the bus. They were fresh-faced boys looking a little out of place with their dark suits, white shirts and ties. They were a little noisy for Mormon kids, laughing and poking each other. Three lovely transgendered ladies dressed to the nines got onto the bus right behind them. For a second I was concerned that maybe there would be some altercation between the two groups, being that the Mormons had just put so much support behind Proposition 8. But instead the trannies plopped themselves down in the middle of the Mormon boys, and started talking with them. Soon the level of the conversation was quite loud and humorous. They were exchanging ipod tunes lists, discussing fashion and make-up secrets. The trannies got off at 16th and Mission said goodbye and hugged all the Mormon boys.
I have to say it was one of the most interesting interactions I’ve experienced on Muni. I guess this is what people mean when they say there’s a lot of diversity in San Francisco.
Got a slice-of-San-Francisco-life story to tell? Tell it here.
Rider Joey sent in this picture taken on the 45 the other day. Yeah yeah yeah, say what you will about muzzles and stuff, but I am such a sucker for little furry animals. I mean, look at that face!
Photo courtesy iPhoneography. One in a series by Flickr user zphone.
BART busking fascinates hell out of me. Since I was a kid and visited big cities, I was always enthralled with musicians, etc., who did their thing for the throes, the passersby. Most of them are really good, if you give them more than a passing listen. Do that sometime, eh?
File under: Projects I’d love to undertake, in some alternative life where I have time to undertake more projects.
Tee hee. A little something to get yer day started.
Rider James snapped this picture at the Powell Street Station. Perhaps the vandal was referring to the MTA board’s latest vote Tuesday to continue service cuts (Streetsblog SF) well into the 2011 fiscal year, which begins this summer, and 2012. A 10 percent service reduction will affect all Muni routes beginning May 8, 2010.
Photo by Flickr user Transguyjay
Color me confused with a hint of annoyance, to be all angry-Muni-rider about it.
The gist: I get on a 49 at Van Ness and Oak, for my southbound journey into the Mish. Twice, at the same time of day, the same driver says that 14th Street will be the last stop. (Hint: it’s not supposed to be). A 14 or another 49 showed up both times before long. But it is cause for some mild WTF, particularly if it happens twice at the same time.
Sidenote: I’m all for a soft-spoken kinda guy, but this driver needs to speak up when he says that 14th Street will be the last stop. As expected, come 14th Street, a few people get off. But 20 other people sit confused as fellow passengers assume the task of explaining that this is indeed the final stop.
Also: The first time it happened, there was no indication on the bus’s marquee that it was ending its route at 14th Street. The second time, the sign was in that in-between-signs state. Like, maybe it says 14th, but wait … *hates self*
My understanding was that truncated lines are one-offs; they’re thrown in to thin the crowd of everyone that couldn’t get the earlier bus because it didn’t show up. So? Why’s this happening? Theories, whether serious or comedic fiction, welcome.