Ghost of the 26-Valencia, AKA “The Rich Man’s 14-Mission”

As spotted by Blair, behold the 26-Valencia enshrined in a mural at Senor Sisig on Valencia St.

Though the 26 bus stopped running in 2009, when one person lovingly eulogized it as “The Poor Man’s 14-Mission,” we can certainly remember its “I’ll see you when I see you” presence on the other Mission artery.

Blair is always great for a Muni sighting and, in their day, moonlighted as a makeshift Muni mechanic and saved happy hour. For real.

Thanks for sharing, Blair. You, too, can be featured by emailing munidiaries.sf@gmail.com, or tagging us @munidiaries on TwitterInstagram, or Facebook.

Janice Li: BART Board by day, Muni superhero by night

When BART Board Director Janice Li saw a fight break out on the bus, she took matters into her own hands. But what she saw after making a public information request for the bus footage (which anyone can do, BTW) was something else entirely.

Listen to her story:

You can also watch the story below:

Keep up with Janice on Twitter @JaniceforBART, and check out janiceforbart.com to learn more about her platform, why she cares so much about public transit, and what she’ll continue to do as a director if reelected!

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Katie Havercamp, LeBron James (the cat) just can’t quit SF

Leaving San Francisco for parts north was no small decision for Katie Havercamp, mom of a Muni-riding cat named LeBron James, musician, and bigtime local transit and local history buff. Her experience runs the gamut of grief stages, but, thankfully for her and all of us, never settles into acceptance.

Listen to her story:

Also, nobody loves the Boat Tram more than this lady, as this story makes abundantly clear.

You can also watch the story below:

Thank you to Katie for sharing her story, thank you to LeBron for being a fantastic feline transit ambassador, and thank you San Francisco for that magnetic pull that keeps drawing people back in.

Keep up with Katie and LeBron @goat_of_cats, and join us in the wayback machine to when Katie and her band, Mesquite and Mustard, performed at Muni Diaries Live in 2015.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Mr. Miller’s wild Muni ride

I find it stressful being the navigator in a regular car, clarifying GPS-delayed directions from the tiny machine—is it the next turn or is it the next next turn? I might as well be guiding us through the solar system.

Now imagine trying to do the same for a bus, driving through San Francisco, with strangers who definitely aren’t on a fun road trip with you.

Well, imagine no more because it happened to Hayden Miller, who joined the Muni Diaries Live stage for the first time (and hopefully not the last) in April 2022. He might be in high school, but his expertise was known to a n00b Muni operator, who leaned on that knowhow for driving directions (seriously). All ended up in some…uncharted territory.

Listen to (or watch on the ol’ Muni Diaries YouTube) Hayden’s story:

Catch Hayden’s transit-oriented adventures on Twitter @HaydenM16 or his public comments at an SFMTA Board meeting near you.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Meet the Muni operator who went viral

It’s been a while since we brought you a tale from the stage, so we are extra thrilled to share a podcast episode featuring a story from Muni Diaries Live on April 7, 2022. Today’s episode features Muni operator (and Muni Haiku Battle alum) MC “Mack” Allen live from Rickshaw Stop, our first show back after our long pandemic winter.

We knew him from the Twitters as a transit fan and poet, but his love for the city and its transit system went above and beyond when he decided to become a Muni operator during the pandemic.

He jumped through many hoops to become a Muni operator (we think you’ll really enjoy the behind-the-scenes look into the journey), but MC had no idea what was yet to come. In mere weeks, he’d be briefing the entire Twitter universe about the ins and outs of driving Muni via a viral thread about the blockbuster movie, Shang-Chi. His star rising, SFGate called him the most famous bus driver in San Francisco, and we’re proud to have known him when.

Listen to (or watch!) MC’s story:

Mc is dripping with San Francisco pride and it’s hard not to get caught up in his hella local wave. Follow MC and his bus operator pursuits on Twitter @that_mc.

Photo by Amanda Roosa. Video by Maya Curry.

Meet the newest editors in the Muni Diaries crew

We are excited to introduce two awesome people who are joining the Muni Diaries crew to make this quirky diary of city living even more fun. If you are a part of the local Transit Twitter community, you are probably already familiar with their names: Kat Siegal and Sarah Katz-Hyman are joining the Muni Diaries Crew as our new editors! 

We’ve always admired Kat and Sarah’s deep knowledge of public transit, their local activism, and their love for this city. I feel so fortunate that as Muni Diaries grows into its teenage years, we are keeping the storytelling strong by adding two incredibly thoughtful (and witty) San Franciscans to the crew. 

Here’s more about Kat and Sarah, in their own words:

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