What Supervisor Scott Wiener learned about Muni

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wiener

San Francisco Transit Riders Union’s 22-Day Muni Challenge ended earlier this week. We fed you the results yesterday (here). Castro supe Scott Wiener’s whopping 106 rides took the top prize.

But Wiener wasn’t content to summarize his experience only with shoe selfies. He wrote a long, heartfelt, and a little politiciany (appropriately) piece for Medium.com. I checked it out, and here’s the bit that really struck home for me, and, I hope, for you, too:

“I’ve experienced pretty much everything you can experience on Muni other than being assaulted. On many occasions, Muni has gotten me where I’m going on time and in one piece. On other occasions, it’s made me late to work, dinner, and doctors appointments. I’ve been late to dates because of Muni and have met dates on Muni. Muni has even made me late to meetings with senior Muni management and to regional transit meetings where I advocate for Muni funding. I took Muni to both of my swearings-in to the Board of Supervisors (both trips got me there on time). I’ve been caught in more Muni subway meltdowns than I can count, including the nightmarish system implosion in the summer of 1998 when the subway was first switched from manual control to computer control. I’ve smelled many odors on Muni and have seen substances on seats that I wasn’t quite able to identify.”

Wiener went on to list the things he learned about Muni, despite being an 18-year veteran of the system. His observations include:

  1. Muni has improved.
  2. There are major disparities among different parts of the City.
  3. Muni’s bus system is pretty amazing.
  4. People like seeing their elected officials on transit.
  5. Transit matters.

Read the full post on Medium.com: “What I Learned During the 22-Day Muni Challenge”

Photo by (duh) Scott Wiener

Category: News

Muni Warrior crowned for 22-day challenge victory

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22_day_final_results

The results are in, folks. Castro-area supervisor Scott Wiener blew away the competition from his fellow boardmembers in SF Transit Riders Union’s 22-Day Muni Challenge. It wasn’t even close.

Besting his nearest competitor by a whopping 41 rides aboard a Muni vehicle, Wiener takes the gold. Supervisor John Avalos, who represents many southwestern neighborhoods, tallied 65 rides. And Mission/Bernal supe David Campos came in third, with 52.

SFTRU challenged all boardmembers and the mayor to honor 1993’s voter-approved Proposition AA, which stated: “City officials and full-time employees [shall] travel to and from work on public transit at least twice a week.” Wiener’s rate of riding was closer to 35 times a week, but who’s counting?

And because we know you wanna read what Scott Wiener had to say (no, really), you can read what Scott Wiener had to say here.

To celebrate the completion of the challenge, SFTRU is hosting a party tonight at Mr. Smith’s. Here are the details:

Closing Celebration for 22-Day Muni Challenge
Let’s celebrate this inaugural campaign! Awards and raffle prizes and rubbing elbows with City Officials. Join us!
6:00 PM : WEDNESDAY JUNE 24 — AT MR. SMITH’S
Facebook Event page

And while we have your attention, if you want to help change Muni for the better, there are no better people to hook up with than SFTRU. Check out their site and get involved. Or just keep bitchin’. Either way.

Category: News

Whee! New UCSF rooms let kids imagine they’re riding a cable car

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UCSF

Getting an MRI, which scans the body to help detect medical problems or diseases, can be a claustrophobic experience. Or as friend of Muni Diaries Erich puts it “it’s like getting stuffed inside a toilet paper tube”—with thumps.

To make the experience more pleasant—for kids in particular—the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay has created MRI suites with different Bay Area themes that feature murals, music, sound effects, and even images projected on the inside of the machine. Our favorite, for obvious reasons, simulates a cable car ride, letting kids imagine they are zipping down a big hill.

Making kids feel more comfortable can eliminate the need for sedation or anesthesia, according to a UCSF article that explains more about the MRI suites.

Pretty cool, we think, but it does beg the question: Who’d have ever thought public transit could calm somebody down?

Category: Aww: Cute on Muni Tags:

Did your defining San Francisco experience happen on Muni?

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If you’re a transplant, do you remember what defined your San Francisco experience? Muni rider Jesse James moved to San Francisco from smalltown Thousand Oaks to attend SF State, sight unseen. And the Powell Street Muni Station and the M-Ocean View line were the settings of his defining urban moment.

“I had a family connection to a little Italian restaurant downtown called Buca di Beppo. I quickly obtained a host job and my life consisted of me going to school during the day, boarding the M train, taking the M to the Powell Street station. There was nothing more beautiful to me at that point than coming up the escalator at the Powell Street Station, and the Virgin Records megastore was glimmering in the summer sun. It was just such a symbol of darling urban life in the most suburban lens of urban life. Read more

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

Peak douche reached on BART?

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BART_douche

I mean, you tell me. Can it get worse than THIS GUY?

Ronn Vigh, comedian, Muni Diaries Live veteran, and reigning Muni Haiku champ, brought this to our attention.

“Hey buddy, they got rid of all the bacteria soaked seats on BART. You didn’t need to bring your own!”

Don’t tell him. He’s busy pointing out for all to see just who and what is so awsum about him.

Category: BART
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