Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
In the swivular section of the LRV, no less. How meta!
Hello “Bring Your Own Chair on Muni. It’s been awhile. Namely:
Bring Your Own Seat While Waiting For Muni
On Muni, Bring Your Own Chair. Lots of Them
Better Muni Seating
Above: Via Muni rider Vindigo: “#BYOC ? ‘Bring your own chair to the train’ day!”
Photo by throgers
Editor’s Note: What do Muni drivers do when the bus breaks down? Here’s how the drivers see it, from a story submission by Ricardo M, who drove Muni for seven years. Ricardo drove just about all the trolley buses spanning from the 41, 21, 6, and on. “But, mostly, I drove the 14 Mission line because then I could speak Spanish while I drove all day, from Embarcadero to Daly city and then back again.”
In this story, when Ricardo finally figures out why the bus isn’t moving, the passengers banded together to help Ricardo get the bus on the road.
“Please move to the rear of the bus.”
No one listens.
I pull the bus into the 24th Street and Mission Zone and pop the front and rear doors open. On the instrument panel, both, front and rear green interlock lights turn on. Brakes on, and are confirmed locked. New passengers start to climb up the front stairwell. So I call out one more time:
“Please keep moving to the back of the bus.”
But no one listens to me. They never do. Instead, the new passengers take their stand at the front of the bus; a couple of them stand over the yellow line. This will block my view while driving, so I ask them to move. The rear doors slam shut, so I lock them. Rear light is off. I shut the front doors too. Front light goes out, the brakes are off and the bus is free to move on. So I turn the wheel to my extreme left and slam down on the electric accelerator, and the bus moves forward.
An old man screams, “Wait! Bus driver, wait, I’m getting off!”
Read more
Photo by WHardcastle
Because Muni is cold. It is hard. It is truth. Live it, know it, love it, like these fine folks are doing.
This chapter of the Gospel of Muni was written for you by @beausepher, @katiedreaper, @mollybierman, @TheLuisRocha, and @mschung. What have you got to say? Tell it @munidiaries.
Artists Diane Ramirez and Stephen Kral created a series of drawings and paintings about public transit, like the image above. The artists also produced a “collaborative zine” called Tales from the Tenderloin, which, in their own words, “documents the freaky, fun and grimy stories of life in the Tenderloin as told and drawn by those who have walked its streets, breathed its air, and came out the other side with a tale to tell.”
And can you teach us all to be at least half as awesome as you are, dear sir?
Via Muni rider Karen: “I couldn’t even approach the glory of the gold top hat guy on the 5-Fulton.”
Image via Meanwhile, in San Francisco
We met artist Wendy MacNaughton back in 2010 when she illustrated a series of gorgeous, whimsical, and very San Francisco drawings done on Muni and BART. Since then, she’s done loads of amazing work, including Pen and Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them, written with Muni Diaries Live alum Isaac Fitzgerald (watch his story here). Her latest book, Meanwhile, in San Francisco, is an ode to the city we all know and love. Featured prominently at the beginning of the book, of course, is the personal story of a Muni driver.
The illustrations shows a day in the life of a Muni operator in his own words. From Wendy: “The driver is my neighbor, Edmundo. he lives just up the street from me – so I asked if I could join him at work. I went at the crack of dawn with him one day – before 5 a.m., I think it was.”
We asked Wendy in an earlier story about why she draws on public transit: Read more