Category: WTF: Weirdness on Muni

Photo by Steve Rhodes

What would you do if a theft was happening right in front of you on Muni? Here’s what Rachel did.

Last night, three 38Ls rode by, all of them packed to the gills, so I waited for the regular. When it came, it wasn’t crowded but there weren’t any free seats, so I stood near the accordion fold.

There were a few kids in the back door stairwell. They played with their phones and slurped tapioca drinks.I don’t know why I watched the kids – nothing else to occupy myself with, I guess.

Most of them got out at Scott, then a couple at Divisadero.

The bus stopped at Baker and the doors opened with their usual hydraulic whoosh.

Two kids got out, and then the last kid lunged at a woman sitting across from the door and ripped the iPhone out of her hands.

She pulled away from him and shouted something. And then I was at the door too, yelling, “HEY, HEY, HEY!” as loudly as I could, grabbing for the boy, grabbing for the bright white phone, the headphones, whatever I could get a hold of.

We scrabbled for the phone and got it back. The kid took off down the street, his hood covering his face, no chance to identify him if it ever came to that.

The bus driver didn’t pay any attention. She shut the doors and we were on our way.

The woman sat back down and wound her headphones around her phone before shoving it into her bag.

“Thanks,” she said.

No one else said a thing, and no one moved.

Wow. Watch out for your phones, purses, and other items on the bus, everybody. Not everyone’s lucky enough to ride the bus with Rachel. Got your own Muni story? We wanna hear it.

Photo by Jason Tester

Beware of all fluids on the bus. As Kristee tells us:

I was riding a 24-Divisadero around 8 a.m. It was crowded and I was on one of the center facing-front seats reading a book. It was an embarrassing old-lady romance novel that I didn’t want anyone to see the cover of so I had it flat in my lap. At one point, a droplet fell from above me onto the page. It was too red to be water, but too diluted to be blood. Startled, I look up and there on the hand railing was a gnarled old fist tightly gripping a half-eaten ripe tomato. I loudly cleared my throat to express my irritation. In the smoothest Isaac Hayes voice, he calmly said, ‘Awww… sorry baby, my tomato,’ and casually stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans.

Head’s up?

Photo by Jeff Rosen

Christopher D. Lewis sent in a tale of drive-or-dare.

I’m a regular rider of the L-Terrible. Of late I’ve become increasingly irritated by auto drivers who decide that when a Muni train stops to let passengers off and on, that they can accelerate past the train and get ahead of it, despite the fact that, of course that we all know the passengers have right of way on the street when boarding/disembarking the train. It’s gotten so bad that nowadays I refuse to get off the train by the door in the very back of the train.

A few nights ago I was on the L with one of my favourite train operators (I recognise his voice: once at Taraval and 22nd where the L stops outside the KFC/Taco Bell he reminded us that this was “The KFC stop, and it’s finger licking good”!). This operator decided to reprimand one rogue driver for whizzing past the train and almost knocking over an elderly passenger as she got off the train.

He opened all the doors then screamed over the loudspeaker system: “You jackass! You trying to kill my passengers? Why don’t you come on here and try that with me!” The car driver sped off but it put a smile on my face and on my fellow Muni passengers. I like a Muni operator who will stand up for his passengers and hopefully avoid us getting killed by some ignorant driver trying to get home in a hurry.

We like a Muni driver who looks out for us too! Got your own colorful Muni tale? We’re all about it.