Violence on Muni, and Reports of Violence on Muni

Old No. 7003
Photo by Brandon Doran

After last week’s stabbing of a teenager on the 14-Mission, Mission Local followed up with two reports. One said that teens who ride the 14 consider violence on that bus route to be normal. Another suggested that 14-Mission drivers agree with them.

Just last weekend, Tyler experienced first-hand an altercation on the 1-California. Also over the weekend, a man was punched and robbed on a bus (14? 49?) in the outer Mission.

Stories of violence on Muni can appear and jolt those of us who don’t experience it on an everyday basis. For some riders and some routes, violence is clearly more the norm than the exception. But we’d guess that the vast majority of Muni riders feel safe riding the system. The latest statistics of crime on Muni show that it’s trending downward, clearly a good thing.

So, we wanna know: Do you feel safe riding Muni?

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Mayor Ed Lee to Streetsblog: TEP Is Top Muni Priority

Reception after Ed Lee sworn in as San Francisco Mayor 44
PHoto by Steve Rhodes

How does Mayor Ed Lee really feel about Muni? In the first of a series of interviews with Streetsblog SF, Lee says that implementing the Transportation Effectiveness Project (TEP) is his top priority for Muni during his administration.

TEP contains recommendations of a years-long study that aimed to make Muni more efficient by line changes, bus stop consolidation, and other strategies for each Muni line.

Lee told Streetsblog’s Bryan Goebel:

“The Transit Effectiveness plan and program has to be implemented all the way. There are some fantastic ideas that have been presented, some great policy reflective of the TEP. I would like those things aggressively implemented.

“I also think that they have to quickly come up with financial schemes that would get their revenues up and make sure they’re not losing any money.”

Read the rest of Mayor Lee’s interview at Streetsblog SF.

The new mayor has made some controversial remarks about Muni, calling Muni an embarrassment, then telling the Bay Citizen that the transit system is doing fine. SF Appeal’s Susie Cagle even made a cartoon featuring the new mayor to illustrate Muni’s recent woes. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for Streetsblog SF’s interviews in the coming days to find out what else Lee has to say about our public transit.

Giveaway: $100 Gift Certificate to Espetus

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We’ve got only a few days left Today (Feb. 28) is the last day for the Scoutmob offer of a $100 gift certificate to Espetus for one lucky Muni Diaries reader. So sign up for Scoutmob so you can win $100 worth of delicious grilled meat!

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Muni Head Nathaniel Ford in the Running for D.C. Post

Natl Airport_Washington DC_01
Photo by Michael Renner

Deja vu time: Muni chief Nathaniel Ford is a front runner for an exec position to run airport authority in Washington D.C., reports the San Francisco Chronicle. As SF Examiner rightly pointed out, Ford was rumored to be a candidate to run the Washington metropolitan transit authority earlier last year. The Examiner’s Will Reisman also mentions that some folks in the Washington media world are critical of his lack of experience in aviation matters.

How will this affect our commute? The Chronicle reports:

Ford should hear whether he has the new job around March 1, [SFMTA chairman Tom] Nolan said. If it’s a go, Nolan said Ford plans to remain as head of the San Francisco transportation agency for 45 days or longer.

His possible departure comes at a crucial time for Muni, the Bay Area’s busiest transit agency with nearly 700,000 boardings every weekday. The agency faces a $1 billion-plus budget shortfall over the next 20 years without deep spending cuts and/or new sources of revenue.

Management recently began contract negotiations with Muni operators, who, under voter mandate, are losing their guarantee of being the second best-paid in the nation. Last year, Muni cut service an unprecedented 10 percent and has yet to fully restore the lost service.

Will there be a job opening soon at SFMTA? We’ll keep you posted.

Clipper HQ Answers Your E-Cash, $2 Fee Questions

Muni Clipper Ticketing Machine - Civic Center Secondary Gates
Photo by AgentAkit

Last week on Muni Diaries, you asked lots of questions about Clipper cards, which prompted Clipper headquarters to respond in the comments of the post. We compiled Clipper’s responses in case you missed them.

My Clipper card is damaged and I need a replacement. What can I do?

Clipper recently opened two walk-up customer service centers in San Francisco that can replace a damaged or defective Clipper card immediately (you have to bring the card with you to the Customer Service Center.

The customer service centers are at the Bay Crossings store in San Francisco’s Ferry Building and on the mezzanine level at the Embarcadero BART/Muni station.

I’d like to use e-cash on the cable cars, but they don’t accept it yet. Any idea when?

It sounds like you take Muni and the cable car alot, so it might save you money to purchase a Muni monthly pass (the “A” pass lets you ride all Muni vehicles and BART within San Francisco and the “M” pass is good only Muni vehicles).

Muni cable cars will be getting handheld card readers that can deduct cash fares from Clipper cards. I don’t know when the cable car operators will begin carrying them, but they are coming.

Why is my benefits company charging me $2 extra to put a Fast Pass on my Clipper card?

Clipper does not authorize the $2 monthly fee for customers who get transit benefits loaded directly onto their Clipper cards.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which runs the Clipper program, has demanded that the Clipper contractor Cubic Transportation Systems and Commuter Check’s parent company, Edenred USA immediately discontinue the $2 customer service fee.

Stay tuned for more on this issue. You can check for updates on our website, “Like” us on Facebook (Bay Area Clipper) or follow us on Twitter (@BayAreaClipper).

Caltrain needs more Clipper card readers. Some platforms only have one reader.

Thanks for your feedback on the readers at Caltrain’s stations. We’ve heard the same feedback from other Caltrain customers and have shared the input with Caltrain.

If you’ve got questions about Clipper cards, ask them in the comments below.

Post-Chinese Parade Fight on the 1-California

11623 Waiting with familiar Chinatown grocery bags in hand
Photo by geekstinkbreath

Tyler told us that he was assaulted on the 1-California by a man who tried to attack Tyler’s girlfriend and her daughter. Read his account here and please comment if you’ve encountered a similar situation on the bus.

After having waited more than 20 minutes for the 1-California to show up after the Chinese New Year Parade ended, my girlfriend, her 10-year-old daughter, and I got on the bus (along with others at the stop at Sacramento and Polk). We made our way to the back of the bus and found a kind lady getting out of her seat. Not to give it up, but to get away from a drunk man harassing her. The man then pulled the stop cord for the next stop and got out of his seat.

You could smell the alcohol on his breath from five seats away — one of those riders, you know. I noticed when he got up from his seat that his left fist was clenched. I moved as far against the side seats as I could to avoid him, but I didn’t feel right. I saw him motion his fist toward my girlfriend who was standing in front of her sitting daughter, who was a drummer in the parade hours earlier. I squared myself hoping he was going to just walk past and get off with out incident. He didn’t.

When my girlfriend turned her back to him to look down instinctively at her daughter, the drunk man drew back his fist and lunged it toward the little girl. Without hesitation, I stepped in front of him, taking the punch square on the bone below my left eye. He then fell backwards and tried to lunge again at me. I deflected his advance and he started running backwards trying to escape off the bus.

Who on earth tries to assault a 10-year-old and her mother? I’m sore and have a black eye that I’m nursing with a cold container of mint chocolate chip Breyer’s ice cream.

After the fact, I filed a report with SFPD, but if anyone was there and would contribute their two cents, please do.

Riders, be aware, be alert, and if you are going to be noble, be prepared.

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