Muni Metaphors

MUNI = MESS
Photo by Flickr user anitakhart

Within a span of 12 hours, I’ve seen two people on Twitter compare shittiness in some other system to Muni.

(via @troy) i think AT&T & Muni have the same biz model: over promise and under deliver. raise prices, lower SLAs. i hate them both equally.

(via @whole_tost) Damn you firefox, you used to take five minutes to load, now it takes 20! Starting to become the next Muni

I’m not going to pretend to scratch my head over this phenomenon. Instead, I’m wondering how many other metaphors we can come up with. I’m thinking:

Dude, this elevator is taking as long per storey as Muni does per mile. Ouch.

Or:

The sidewalks on Valencia are all Muni’d these days.

Or something. Got any other Muni metaphors? Let us know in comments please.

From a Muni operator: ‘The facts’

Ed. note: While the discussion continues on the post we got from a Muni operator’s wife, we received a first-hand account from Will, a Muni operator, who lays forth his ideas about MTA and describes what it’s like to drive for Muni:

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about Muni Drivers. First, operators are not unwilling to make sacrifices when it is appropriate to do so. However, the MTA’s proposal to freeze scheduled wage increases for an additional 12 months (we are currently under an 18-month wage freeze that expires in July of this year) came at a time when city officials were publicly questioning whether the MTA is misappropriating money budgeted for Muni service. We would like to know why the MTA gives $67 million of the Muni operating budget to other City Departments.

As for the Charter pay survey that determines our wage increases: Muni operators are worth every penny! We are the most uniquely trained and highly qualified transit operators anywhere in the world. Where else can you find antique cable cars, high speed light rail vehicles, articulated electric and diesel coaches as well as antique street cars all being operated by the same group of people?

Also, try to imagine the frenzy of activity (700,000 riders per day, 21,000,000 per month) in and around transit vehicles every day. Operators successfully manage interactions of all kinds with riders while navigating the chaos on city streets, (like patting your head and rubbing your stomach and walking on a tight rope 100 feet up). This is not a complaint but an attempt to describe the experience.

As for work rules: Operators are disciplined and fired for excessive abscences… disciplined and fired for too many passenger complaints… disciplined and fired for unsafe driving. Contrary to popular belief the MTA is very tough on drivers (many would say excessivly so). Because of the current economic conditions many San Francisco residents are unemployed and angry. This is understandable. However, it is no reason to blindly bash Muni operators for trying to hold the line against the anti-union opportunists trying to take advantage of the situation.

Photo Diary: Metrosexual Rage on the 21-Hayes

21 Hayes
Photos by KayVee.INC

Saw the above gem via @nom_de_guerre this weekend. Indeed.

5 Fulton

And then this screed came into my Google Reader this morning, via Mission Mission. I call it “Pastry Rage on the 5-Fulton.”

I dunno. Looks like slightly different handwriting to us. Check out the difference between the two “ON THE”s. Different N. Different H.

Still, we hope this is the beginning of something new and totally life-altering. Or something.

Muni Employee Quote of the Month

Cole Valley Ghost Train
Photo by engnr_chik

Muni rider Jessica sends in this report from Cole Valley:

I was eager to jump on my daily N Judah this morning after 4 days away in the east coast snow. As I’m riding along, we pull up to the Carl and Cole stop and the driver yells something to Neon-Vest-Muni-Guy-On-Sidewalk. Neon walks up to the door shaking his head and says “It’s not your fault man. It’s Muni. We are a sinking ship!”

Wait a minute. This guy works for muni and is calling out his own employer- in front of a bus full of people! At least they acknowledge the downward spiral. They say you have to hit rock bottom before it gets better, but how much farther is the bottom? I hope for our sake and Muni’s that this boat stays afloat because I have to get to work! Think positive Muni, the sun will come out tomorrow.

We all get to gripe about work a little, especially when you’re feeling disgruntled. Too bad this MTA employee was overheard by a diligent Muni Diaries reader. We can’t help but wonder if the exchange was sparked by the Muni operators and their union’s rejection of the concession proposal to help MTA balance its spiraling deficit. In any event, I’m with you, Jessica, on the Muni-please-stay-afloat thing.

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