3, 2, 1…Happy New Year!


Photo by Maxence Derreumaux

Now that we’re all back in work mode (or slowly but surely finding our way back into it), happy 2012! Max sent us this cool photo, snapped at 12 a.m. on 1/1/12.

This is Muni’s centennial year, making me wonder if it gets self-conscious about big birthdays. What should Muni knock off its bucket list before the big 100 in December?

Back For More! Muni Diaries Live on Jan. 21

Muni Diaries Reunion/Open Mic Show
Photo by Amber Wolf of Wiz Bang Photography

We’re back with our first show of the year! Are you ready for Muni stories and songs, live on stage?

Join us for a drink or three and listen to true hilarious stories at Muni Diaries Live on Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Elbo Room. You’ve read about a strip show on the bus, live rickrolling, and misadventures of odd cargo found on Muni (life-size Styrofoam! taxidermy deer head! used condoms!). Now hear stories (and songs) about Muni with a drink in hand as we bring this website and your stories to real life.

Got your own Muni story? As always, be ready to share during the audience portion of the show to win great prizes.

If you’ve never been to Muni Diaries Live before, check out our event recap page to get a taste of what you can expect. We’ll be revealing our exciting lineup for this show in the next weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

Muni Diaries Live
Elbo Room
647 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Take Muni there: J-Church, 12, 14, 22, 33, 49, or BART: 16th or 24th St stations

Sat., Jan. 21, doors: 6:30, show: 7 p.m. Tickets: $12.
Buy advance tickets

Traveling Wilburys Travel on Muni?

Here’s what happened Friday: @katrinaheller saw this three-piece on Muni, snapped a photo, uploaded it to Twitter, and @’d @munidiaries. I saw it, thought it was rad, and posted here. And now I’m asking for your help: Who has audio of these strapping young gents, or knows what their band is called?.

Oh, and happy New Year!

For all you Millennials, the headline references a band from the 1980s. Ask your mom or dad.

Free New Year’s Eve Muni Service

packedmuni
Photo by Shawn Thrope

On New Year’s Eve, SFMTA will be offering free service from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day, with additional Metro service from 9 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. from West Portal to Caltrain and until 4 a.m. from Embarcadero to West Portal Station.

So, celebrate and send us any crazy stories on the bus.

Here are the details from SFMTA:

On December 31, New Year’s Eve:

  • Muni travel, including cable cars, is free from 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 6 a.m. New Year’s Day.
  • Customers are encouraged to use the Metro to get into and out of the Downtown area.
  • Additional Metro service from 9 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. from West Portal to Caltrain and until 4 a.m. from Embarcadero to West Portal Station.
  • J, K, L, M, and N Metro lines are operating on their regular schedule, until shortly before 1 a.m.
  • Owl service: Extra service on Muni Owl Lines (1 to 5 a.m service): 5 Fulton, 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 24 Divisadero, 38 Geary, 90 Owl, 91 Owl, and L and N Owl motor coach service. Frequency will be shortened from 30 to 15 minutes.
  • Extra Owl service is subject to change, based on operating conditions.
  • The San Francisco 311 Customer Service Center, is open all night, as usual, for travel assistance.
  • The F Market and Wharves service will be provided by motor coaches after approximately 4 p.m. There will be reroutes only if necessary.
  • Caltrain will operate on a Saturday schedule and add four extra trains. Southbound trains leave at 7:15, 8:15, 9:15 and 10:15 p.m.; 12:01, 12:45, 1:15, 1:45 and 2:15 a.m.

Rickroll, Tattoos, and Love Stories: Count Down 2011 in Muni Tales

2011 rewind [no pants subway ride]: underground movement
Photo by Bhautik Joshi

Life on Muni/BART is never boring: this year’s Muni Diaries entries brought you tattoos, live rickroll, and so much more unexpected stuff that you just can’t make up. Here is our tribute to 2011 — 12 great Muni stories that made the year.

  1. Real Live Rick Roll on Muni. Genius.
  2. Girl With the Muni Tattoo. This story is probably better than the movie.
  3. “I ran into my dad and he was driving Muni!” True story.
  4. Muni Drinking Game. More dangerous than riding the bus.
  5. Wil’s Muni love story warms the coldest of hearts. I’m waiting for the wedding invitation any day now.
  6. RIP Jesse Morris. A incredible talent that touched many lives.
  7. J-Church Got Meat. You never know what you’re gonna find, do you?
  8. Old School Dance Moves on Muni.  These kids can move.
  9. Muni monsters. Watch out!
  10. Cops, Muni, Occupy SF. The comedy writes itself.
  11. Big Buck Hunter on Muni. Mobile version needs some work.
  12. Best Muni themed wedding ever? Even the chocolate is shaped like the bus!

Photographer on Documenting the Subway Life

Photographer Bruce Davidson started photographing the New York Subway in the 1980s. In preparation, he started a crash diet, a military fitness exercise program, and jogged in the park early every morning because he knew he’d need to be physically able to carry a heavy camera in the subway for hours every day. But still, nothing prepared for him for the gritty and sometimes violent subterranean world of the subway.

I found this story via one of our favorite San Francisco photographers, Troy Holden. Davidson’s book, Subway, documents a world that we are familiar with, where public transit is a part of our daily lives. He writes:

From all over the earth, people come into the subway. It’s a great social equaliser. As our being is exposed, we confront our mortality, contemplate our destiny, and experience both the beauty and the beast. From the moving train above ground, we see glimpses of the city, and as the trains move into the tunnels, sterile fluorescent light reaches into the stony gloom, and we, trapped inside, all hang on together.

So well said. Head over to Wayne Ford’s blog to see more of Bruce Davidson’s photos and read about the rest of the Subway series and this amazing photography project.

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