Artist tips his cap to Muni, a refuge in tougher times

One comment

As he carted his belongings to the bus stop, Kurt Schwartzmann knew that he relied on the kindness of the Muni driver, lest he face another cold night on the streets of San Francisco. When the bus door opened on one particular night, he was relieved to see the familiar face.

This was a lifetime ago, before Schwartzmann conquered his struggle with drug addiction, found his way as an artist, and met his now-husband. While he was homeless, Muni had become the refuge for Schwartzmann.

Schwartzmann, who has lost sight in one eye due to complications to AIDS, dedicated his art series, “Yellow Line,” to the Muni drivers whose empathy helped him survive those difficult times. His art has been exhibited at the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and at City College of San Francisco.

We first met Schwartzmann on Instagram when he posted about his art series, and we were thrilled that he told his story at Muni Diaries Live in April at Rickshaw Stop.

Growing up in Fresno as a young gay man, Schwartzmann said that San Francisco had always been a symbol for “freedom of expression and refuge from intolerance.”  In honor of Pride weekend, we are sharing his story in today’s podcast episode. Take a listen:

If you have your own Pride story to share, email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com, or tag us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook @munidiaries.

Photo credit: RightAngleImages.

Category: diaries, Muni Diaries Live Tags: , ,

One Muni driver’s plea about your phone habit

2 comments
tammy

Muni driver Tammy has a very reasonable request: could we please look up from our phones as we get ready to board the bus?

From Tammy:

I wanted to ask you if you could start a dialogue with your followers regarding “Passengers waiting for the bus while distracted by [their] cell phones.” It has become increasingly frustrating to provide great customer service when my passengers are not prepared to board the bus…

Muni Driver Tammy

In case you’re wondering: the bus doesn’t stop at every stop by default: Tammy says that drivers pay attention to body language, especially when it’s a multiple-line bus stop. “In order to keep the service going, we look at the potential passengers standing at the bus stop to see if they want the bus, and then if we see that they do, we stop.”

Tammy says that passengers are looking down at their phones, or worse, with earbuds in their ears. As the driver approaches the stop, often nobody is looking up. “It’s not until you get ready to pull off, they look up and then all of a sudden they start waving” when the bus is already in motion.

Yikes. That sounds about as annoying to the drivers as it is for the riders. You might remember Tammy as the Muni driver who threw a surprise party on the 33-Stanyan for her riders when she was switching routes. Years later, she continues to brighten days for riders, even inspiring two visiting travelers to write to us recounting their experience with Tammy. We still get occasional dispatches about Tammy sightings, which are always a delight.

We have to admit that we’re also guilty of feeding the phone addiction at the bus stop while we wait. It sounds like it would make everybody’s lives easier if we looked up every once in a while with our Clipper card or fare in hand, and make some kind of motion to the bus driver to stop. What do you think?

Got other Muni-riding tips? Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com

Category: Funny: Muni LOLs

How a Muni ride went from piss to bliss

Leave a comment

Muni is probably our longest love-hate relationship, a widespread phenomenon that became the focus of one bus rider’s one-woman play. That woman, Ady Lady, is a writer and performer. She’s written and performed two solo shows: Sara Jane Tried to Shoot the President and From Piss to Bliss, the latter of which was about her desperate attempt to lead with love while riding Muni.

Update: She’s still working on it.

Ady Lady told her story at Muni Diaries Live at Rickshaw Stop earlier this spring. For everyone who missed it (or can’t wait for the encore), here’s her story:

If you have your own Muni story to pitch to our podcast, email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com. And remember to rate us on iTunes if you like what you hear.

Photo by Right Angle Images
Category: Muni Diaries Live Tags: ,

Muni fare goes up to $3 starting July 1

Leave a comment

Another good reason to get a Clipper card: Muni cash single fare is going up again this July from $2.75 to $3. According to the SFMTA, pre-paid fares (a la Clipper or Muni Mobile) is still $2.50.

The upcoming fare increase applies to cash fares, which critics are saying is a “back door poverty tax.” (Updated with this Hoodline story for more details on the criticism).

The monthly M and A passes are also going up. Here are the main changes:

Single Ride FaresCurrentJuly 1, 2019
Regular Adult: Cash (Clipper card fare remains the same)$2.75$3
Discount single ride*: Cash and Limited-Use Tickets$1.35$1.50
Monthly PassesCurrentJuly 1, 2019
Monthly M pass (Muni only)$78$81
Monthly A pass (Muni + BART within SF)$94$98
Discount monthly* and Lifeline Pass$39$40

* Youth (ages 5-18), Seniors (65+), People with Disabilities

So there you have it: remember, everybody must pay fare, lizard people or not!

Photo by @sfstreets415
Category: News

Glamorous Farrah Fawcett dog wins Muni ride

2 comments

It took me a minute to parse this one.

Rider Jack, who shared on the Muni Diaries Facebook Page, says: “After a long day of being cute, someone needed a nap on the 14.”

That hair, tho—Farrah would’ve been proud.

Check out (and submit) more cute on Muni: we’ve entered official BART cuddle zones, received fur friend dispatches from our fuzziest riders, and cuddled the most precious cargo. Take us to the next level in cute by tagging us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or hitting up our email inbox, muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

Category: Aww: Cute on Muni, Funny: Muni LOLs Tags: ,

Camp Folsom: ‘You were chosen, and they had your back no matter what’

Leave a comment

With the Tales of the City show on Netflix and the Pride flags up on Market Street, we’ve got chosen family on the brain: the people you find by circumstance, often in pivotal times in your life, whom you end up keeping by choice.

On the podcast today, we have musician Colin Daly—incidentally among my own chosen family—who stopped by the studio to share a timely retelling and ode to his time at Camp Folsom: where a room in the Mission was only $300 and life lessons—about money, community, heartbreak, and learning to be a grownup—were included in the rent.

Here’s his story:

San Francisco Diaries, and our original project, Muni Diaries, are made of your stories and everyone’s experiences. Submit your own tale from the city by emailing us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com, or tag us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook @munidiaries.

Pic courtesy of Brandy, upper left. Colin is in the foreground, and Meghan is behind him.
Category: Featured, San Francisco Diaries Tags: ,
1 … 16 17 18 19 20 … 801