Category: Funny: Muni LOLs

Necessary Skills to Drive the 1AX-California

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IMG_7980
Photo by Tom Prete

Muni rider Susan wants to give her 1AX driver a high five. Here’s why.

My daily commute involves the 1AX. I realized that one of the drivers in the mornings (my stop at 7:45 a.m.!) is awesome! Her number is 1619. She always announces that “this is the last stop till downtown.” Regular riders are always amazed at how many people don’t get this concept, and that usually prevents a mid-express route stop to let the lost soul off.

She also has a great skill at driving the bus; she doesn’t feel the need to speed up, then jam on the brakes, sending all of the standees flying (a skill that would be good to teach most of the other 1AX drivers!).

A few months ago, to try to balance all my negative reports to Muni, I sent in a compliment about her, and printed out a copy to hand to her in case the Muni computer eats the compliments the way they seem to eat the complaints. She was really suprised to read that compliment, and now I always get greeted with a big smile.

THANK YOU #1619! You are a wonderful example of how Muni could be.

Ah, daydreaming now of “what Muni could be.” If you have more examples of exceptional Muni operators, let us know.

Category: Funny: Muni LOLs

Muni has yet to smell like Teen Spirit

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Photo by Flickr user jen_maiser

A couple weeks ago, rider Martha told us about a 49-Van Ness that smelled like basil, which was noteworthy because the 49 never smells like something you’d want to eat.

“Muni smells like…” actually shows up a lot on the @munidiaries Twitter feed. Here are our recent favorites.

Yummy
@jessicasuzette: #Muni smelled like strawberries, somebody went to #farmersmarket love clean trains.

Could go either way
@WillieFDiazSF: Someone on this Muni bus smells like Hot Dog juice. Makes me wanna have a BBQ.
@jdaisy: this LTaraval smells like fish AND chips.

The Bad
@cache_theory: the smells of the #sfmuni…urine & moth balls
@RGreenberg: Guy just got on #muni smelling like week-old pants, and fertilizer.

The Optimistic
@fsquared: This bus smells like pancakes and syrup. #wishfulthinking #muni

We’re constantly impressed by your creativity and the, um, evocative descriptions you send. So keep ’em comin’!

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

Joyce Lee’s Mom Takes on Muni

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Poet and artist Joyce Lee is a force to reckon with, and if you have ever seen her perform (at the amazing monthly Tourettes Without Regrets in Oakland, for example), you know I’m right. But did you know Joyce’s mother is also an incredible force on her own? At the last Muni Diaries Live, Joyce talked about one memorable Muni ride with her impeccably dressed mother and a bunch of kids who didn’t know who they were dealing with.

I first saw Joyce at the Tourettes Without Regrets’ 10th anniversary show, where she knocked my socks off with her poem, “Crazy:”

“I’m only as crazy as my love is. And my love checks your Facebook every fucking day.”

Joyce has an upcoming poetry CD/DVD, her first professionally produced CD/DVD. She’s also got a Kickstarter page to help get the CD/DVD produced, so check it out if you liked what you heard!

Want more Muni Diaries Live? Check out our Muni Diaries Live event recap page and relive shows you might have missed!

Category: Funny: Muni LOLs, Muni Diaries Live Tags: ,

What if a cute bunny gave NextBus predicitions?

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That must be what Ciaran asked himself. He says, “I finally found a use for this French wifi connected rabbit I bought.”

Inaccurate predictions sound a little better from the robot rabbit, eh?

Update for the geek inside all (ok, some) of us:

Ciaran sent over more notes about how he programmed the robot rabbit called Karotz, which he details on his blog.

An excerpt: First you write javascript programs that interact with an API to control the various Karotz functions like the ears, text to speech etc. Find the developer’s forum on Google Groups (use Google’s automatic translation feature because it’s mostly in French).

Then spend a few evenings writing the Muni times app, using available bus arrival data through xml feeds. You’ll need to use tinyxmldom.js. Upload the code to the rabbit through the website — good luck trying to debug it, though. There is a Linux vm for developing but it’s only a javascript vm, not a simulator.

Wow. Or, you can always just watch the video above like we did.

Thanks, Ciaran!

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs

Wanted: Muni advice for an out-of-towner

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DOUBLE DECKER MUNI BUS
Photo by Lulu Vision*

British dude James sent us the most charming email the other day asking about standard procedures and etiquette on Muni. Oh, how we wish some of our fellow riders would be as considerate about etiquette as James. Here are some of James’s questions:

  • Do we pay when we get on? Or do we need to have pre-paid passes or something?
  • When we’re at a bus stop, do we need to put our hand out to catch it or does it always stop at every stop?
  • Is there a bell you ring to get off the bus?
  • What do I say to the driver when I get on? What’s the little phrase that people use? (for example, here in the UK, it’s usually “one to town, please” or something like that).
  • Do I get given a ticket? Do I need to keep hold of it?

A few things have changed since we did a “newbie orientation” last year. The SFMTA has a new customer guide, which addresses some of these questions in more detail but doesn’t really go into my favorite question from James: what you say to the driver when you get on?

We thought it more fitting to turn his inquiry over to you, the Muni-riding community. So whadaya say? Help a guy out.

* Pictured is one of the short-lived Muni double-decker buses, which, you know, is so … British.

Category: diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs Tags:
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