Category: diaries

BART photo roundup

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Riding on BART
Photo by Flickr user LeeFlicksPhotos

It’s a new year. Posting has been spotty here at BART Diaries, half owing to our respective vacations, and half owing to, well, a lack of content. That means you, dear reader: It’s time to spread the word about BART Diaries. Tell your friends, your families … hell, tell your fellow BART passengers how fun it is to share and read BART stories. Remember: This site is nothing without your submissions.

In BART-related news, the trial of former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle got under way this week in Southern California. There were protests outside the courtroom, natch. It ain’t gonna be purty. Mehserle is being tried for the Jan. 1, 2009, murder of BART passenger Oscar Grant. If you didn’t know that, now it’s safe to come out from under that rock.

BART also began issuing passes to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans on active leave. Very nice of the agency, wethinks.

And now, for more BART photos. Don’t forget: Another great way to tell it like it is on BART is by joining and contributing to our BART Photos Flickr group, from which we get so much of the beautiful art that adorns the posts on this site.

Happy weekend!

boarding bart at 16th and mission
Photo by schlachet

Dog on BART
Photo by echoes71

Firemen on the Rotunda
Photo by grimreynard

Category: BART, diaries, Photos

The Blind Couple and the Boy

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Abstract
Photo by Flickr user kevindooley

It was a crowded 5-Fulton outbound on a Tuesday commute. Somewhere near the Civic Center, a blind man and his girlfriend (also partially blind) got on the bus and were given seats near the front but not next to one another. Closer to City Hall, a boy around the ages of 7-9 got on the bus with his mother and stood near the front of the bus.

The boy had noticed the blind man’s walking cane and began to talk with him.

Boy: “Sir, what’s that stick for?”
Blind man: “Oh, it’s to help me find my way around because I cannot see.”
Boy: “You can’t see? What do you mean? Can you see me?”
Blind man: “Unfortunately, no, I cannot see you, at least not in this dim light [on the bus].”
Boy: “I wish you could see me. I would give you my eyes so you can see.”
Blind man: “You are so very sweet, thank you.”

The boy’s mother, meanwhile, seemed uncomfortable with her son being overly inquisitive with a stranger. She continued to hush and scold him for asking too many questions throughout the conversation.

Boy: “Do you cook?”
Blind man: “Oh, no way, I don’t. But my girlfriend cooks for me.”

The blind man motions to his girlfriend in the general direction of her voice.

Boy: “Oh, you are his girlfriend?”
Girlfriend: “Yes, I am.”
Boy: “Can you see me?”
Girlfriend: “I also cannot see, but I can see better than my boyfriend.”
Boy: “Why can you both not see? I wish I could give both of you my eyes so you can see me and everyone else here.”
Girlfriend: “That’s so very kind of you, thank you.”

The boy and his mother had to get off the bus around Fillmore. Before he got off the bus, he bid his farewell to the couple.

Boy: “It was nice meeting you, Sir.” He takes the blind man’s hand into his own and shakes it.
Blind man: “It was very nice meeting you, too. Thank you.”
Boy: “It was nice meeting you, Miss.” He hugs the girlfriend.
Girlfriend: “You are so sweet, thank you. You take care of yourself and your mother now.”

The boy and his mother exited, and enough seats freed up between the couple so they could find one another again by the sound of each other’s voices.

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

A Look Back on a Year of Muni Diaries

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Muni passes, 2009
Photo by Flickr user joshleejosh

In the last year we saw the ups and downs of transit-riding in San Francisco, marked by your Muni tales and pictures. 2009 was also the first calendar year that Muni Diaries was live. We saw major Muni service cuts and fare hikes, an iPhone app controversy, and a stepped-up proof-of-payment game from SFMTA. We also saw disturbing crimes on Muni ranging from iPhone thefts to a body found on the 5-Fulton in the bus yard, and the stabbing of a boy on his first solo Muni ride. And who can forget the infamous Muni humper?

But thanks to your submissions, we saw that riding the bus can also be a shared activity that makes us smile. I really couldn’t help but say “aaaw” when we received this photo of two very sleepy passengers leaning on a reluctant and awake third. Julie Michelle’s picture of kids playing a handheld game on Muni and the surprising waterfall at the Van Ness station are still some of my favorite posts.

At Muni Diaries, sometimes we get photos that really just need no caption, like one of Jeff’s favorite posts, Muni Say What? by Steve. From Jeff: “This photo perfectly illustrates what many riders (and readers) feel Muni thinks of them. It’s also just hilarious. You’re not allowed to disagree.”

As we’ve always said, Muni Diaries lives on your transit stories. Jeff pointed out a memorable diary titled, Muni driver going the opposite of rogue. From Jeff: “Now, from a literal standpoint, what the driver did was more aberrant than roguish. Never mind that. I just like the post because the driver shows that he’s human, a fact we forget all too often. Sometimes, rightly so.”

We ran some numbers on the site and here are the top posts that you viewed in 2009:

1. Muni Fisticuffs

2. Angry Oompa Loompa

3. Anyone got change for a five?

4. Interview with the woman who broke up the Muni fight

5. Hump and Run on the N-Judah

6. F-line crash on Market

Because Muni Diaries is all about your life on Muni — be it public transit issues or the random, sometimes poignant, more often than not annoying things that happen on Muni — we want to remind you to keep the stories coming! Whether it’s sharing your Muni soundtrack, pics of odd finds on the bus, or opinions on Muni news, we want to know.

We also want to know what your most memorable 2009 stories on Muni Diaries were. Let us know in comments.

We hope you enjoyed reading and submitting the stories as much as we did publishing them. And here’s to an even more thrilling roller coaster ride in 2010!

Category: diaries

New Year Recovery

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Photo by Whole Wheat Toast

How’s 2010 on Muni treating you? Contributor Whole Wheat Toast sent us an account of his Muni ride on New Year’s Eve, and we’ve also received some…interesting NYE outfits spotted on Muni.

Whole Wheat Toast spotted a presidential-look-alike on his New Year’s Eve Muni ride and even met a Muni virgin. More from Whole Wheat Toast:

Happy New Year for everyone at the Muni Diaries! Firstly, may 2010 bring you no Muni Fails and utter fortune on the Muni! But, before that happens, of course there are some fails to talk about, right?

So, anyway, after the fireworks ended, I made my way towards the 1 bus stop at Drumm. However, by the time I got there, the bus was already leaving as it arrived. The driver didn’t want to take any chances on a break because traffic was already so bad. In fact, traffic was so bad that it took us twelve minutes to make it from the terminal down to Drumm and Sacramento.

After we made a right onto Sacramento, the operator had accidentally dropped the wires on the bus. So we were maneuvering pretty slowly, but faster than being stuck in traffic. The bus was already a bit half-full when we almost pulled over to Davis. That’s when a mob – literally – started to rush towards the bus. But the driver didn’t let anyone on, and some of us on the bus were cheering that we would be continuing on. However, the driver opened the back door, and the mob already on the bus groaned.

As the mob rushed up the back door, the driver attempted to make his way out the front door. For some reason, the door jammed, despite everyone heading towards the back, and it took him about a minute to force it open. He finally forced it open, and made his way towards the back of the bus to fix the wires. While he was doing that, the bus started to fill up even more! When he finally came back and turned on the power, the back door wouldn’t close because the bus was already so full someone had to step on the back door steps! But, eventually, the door closed miraculously despite having people still stepping on the back door. The mob on the bus cheered and we were on our way…

Read more of his account here.

Got any more tales and pics from the new year? Let us know!

Rider Joseph spotted some revealing fashion on the N on New Year’s Eve. Photo after the jump.

Read more

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags: , ,

Pleasant surprises

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Rider Alert
Photo by Telstar Logistics

It’s hard out there for an urban lady. You get cat-calls on your way to work, then you get yelled at all the way down the block for ignoring them. You turn around and look at everyone walking behind you, conveying to even the innocents that you could identify them in a lineup if you had to. It’s a part of a semi-automatic routine adopted for our various journeys throughout town. So pardon us if we’re a little suspicious of any and all people, particularly males, if we’re waiting for the bus.

So there’s this tall, larger, older-to-middle-age guy standing at the 14-Mission/49-Van Ness/former 26-Valencia stop on Otis Street. He’s got a little bag of presents in a tote bag, a receptacle that, for some reason, was not capable of holding the many items he had dangling around his neck. FastPass. Keys. Other card-type things. He’d probably have a troll on there if he could. His jeans are hiked up beyond his gut, resting comfortably around his chest. His vibe was a little off, right from the get-go. But a lot of people in SF are a little off; the question, as always, remains as to whether he was silly-off or dangerous-off.

He turns and asks me and Jeff, Mr. Muni Diaries, about the 26, after realizing on his own that it wasn’t in service anymore. His conversational rhythm came with lengthy, continued stares once you’ve answered his questions. He didn’t turn and look away at anything while he was talking. He didn’t turn around and see if the bus was down the street. While he stared our faces raw, he explained how he had many VHS tapes he was attempting to convert; had a little machine and everything. We basically ran into Milton from Office Space.

Less than a minute into this conversation, I did what any urban lady (or gentleman) does: suspiciously attempt to figure out whether this stranger is dangerous or just weird. The resulting train of thought, for those of us who weren’t Green Berets, is actually an amazing one, I must say. It can prompt everything from laughter, to embarrassment, to relief, to further suspicion, in the span of a minute, unlike any other learned or innate behavior.

“…what’s he staring at?” > “Hmm, could he be sizing me up for his freezer at home?” > “Does he have anything sharp?” > “What’s his expression like…you can always tell these psycho killers from their eyes, right?” > “Ah. Harmless.” It was a pleasant surprise, one that did make me feel a little silly (Who’s afraid of Milton? Turns out I am.)

But I really wouldn’t have it any other way if I’m going to keep (and I will) calling this wacky place home. Thanks, evolution.

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs, reflection Tags: ,

The 49 From Hell

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Having put in a good 6-mile walk the day before, I decided I would take it easy today. Ha! What should have been a leisurely jaunt ended up being a 5-mile forced march.

I decided I would take a trip down memory lane and go down to Fisherman’s Wharf and the place where, in 1971, I worked as a teenager — Cost Plus Imports.

After checking the bus schedule, I decided to take the 22 to Mission and 16th and then catch a 49-Van Ness. The 49 runs every 10 minutes, so the wait would be short.

I got to 16th and Mission without incident.

I waited as 10 minutes went by and no 49 bus. Then 15 minutes, then 20. By now, an obviously impatient crowd was gathering and constantly looking down the street for the 49. One woman tried hailing a cab with no results and then got back up on the curb and started her wait again.

Elvis, seen above, seemed to be taunting me as I impatiently waited for the 49 to arrive.

While waiting I had the pleasure of being harangued by some crazy woman who accused me of being a cop and there was a constant parade of the unwashed masses going by the bus stop. I had never had the pleasure of waiting for a half hour at a Mission and 16th bus stop before. What fun!

Finally, the 49 came and it was already packed. We crammed our way into the smelly, stifling sardine can of humanity and all clung on for dear life as the bus lurched back into traffic. I was flanked by a woman holding her nose, a guy on a scooter in the handicapped slot, and some poor slob who was trying to manage a large heavy box on his shoulders while trying to hold on.

Meanwhile, some lunatic was hurling disparaging remarks punctuated with expletives at the bus driver while a woman next to him gave him crap about it. With each stop it got worse as more and more people jammed themselves onto the bus. By now it was like a sweat bath. Yummy.

Finally, the driver stopped taking more passengers (there was another 49 bus just a block behind us). At Geary Street half the bus emptied out and I got to sit down for the remaining four blocks of the ride. I got off at California with a great sigh of relief and relished the cool breeze. What a ride. Thank god I don’t have to endure this on regular basis like many of these hapless souls. Jeezus…

Excerpted from Epic Road Trips.

Category: diaries, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags: , ,
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