Photo Diary: Do you accept Muni’s apology?
Matt Baume says, “Too little, too late.”
MUNI HULK BREAK SILENCE
“HULK WORRIED HULK LOOK CRAZY ON TRAIN. HULK NOT YELLING TO SELF, HULK YELLING WHILE PLAYING ANGRY BIRDS!”
“HULK WATCH YOUNG MAN PICK NOSE FROM 19TH TO 30TH AVE. HULK NOT ONLY BIG GREEN THING ON TRAIN.”
Muni Diaries spoke with the Hulk recently and got to the bottom of some very important matters.
Muni Diaries: What routes does Muni Hulk ride?
Muni Hulk: HULK RIDE LINES 1, 1, 3, 5, 8, 13….
MD: How does Muni Hulk fit into bus seats?
Muni Hulk: YOU CALLING HULK FAT?
MD: What does Muni Hulk do when someone smells bad on the bus?
Muni Hulk: HULK HOLD BREATH UNTIL HULK TURN TURQUOISE
MD: Who is Muni Hulk’s greatest friend/foe?
Muni Hulk: HULK’S BEST FRIEND IS SUTRO TOWER. HULK GREATEST FOE IS NAIL CLIPPING LADY.
MD: What are Muni Hulk’s special powers?
Muni Hulk: STRETCHY PANTS
MD: What is a Hulk smash on Muni?
Muni Hulk: HULK SMASH WHEN HULK GET SHORT TURNED. HULK SMASH WHEN HULK GET GHOST BUS! NO SMASH ON CROWDED BUS. THAT CAUSE DELAY.
MD: Does Muni Hulk direct more rage at Muni employees, or fellow passengers?
Muni Hulk: HULK RAGE AT PASSENGERS. LOUD MUSIC NO HEADPHONES GUY, NOSE PICKER, AND SUNFLOWER SHELL SPITTER ALL MAKE HULK RAGE.
MD: Has Muni Hulk ever toppled a light-rail vehicle?
Muni Hulk: WHEN HULK GET ON LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE IT BECOME HEAVY RAIL VEHICLE.
MD: What is Muni Hulk’s Number 1 wish for Muni and its passengers?
Muni Hulk: HULK WISH EVERYONE GET THERE ON TIME!
Keep up with the Muni Hulk on Twitter.
BART Seats: Officially Gross
Photo by Jared Zimmerman
Muni seats are cleaner than the cloth seats on BART, which carry bacteria resistant to antibiotics, the Bay Citizen reported yesterday. Citing laboratory tests of swabs from BART seats done by an SF State biologist, the Bay Citizen says the results showed several antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains living in the infamous blue cushioned seats.
In two separate tests, [SF State biology lab supervisor Darleen] Franklin identified characteristics of the MRSA bacteria growing in the seat. The first test confirmed the presence of staphylococcus aureus, the skin-borne bacteria. A second confirmed that the bacteria, like MRSA, was resistant to the antibiotics methicillin and penicillin. But a third test intended to isolate the MRSA bacteria was negative.
MRSA is known as the “superbug” because it is resistant to antibiotics. It infects people through open wounds, attacking the immune system; 19,000 deaths each year are related to MRSA infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
You might have read a couple of gross stories on Muni here (hell, we even have our own crowd-sourced dictionary of Muni aromas), but according to the Bay Citizen’s report, Muni seats are actually cleaner.
Franklin’s analysis also revealed that Muni, which uses acrylic plastic seats, appears to be more sanitary.
She tested a seat on the No. 28 bus, a route frequented by college students traveling from San Francisco State to Daly City. Two benign bacteria colonies were found. Unlike the BART seat analysis, Franklin’s test of the Muni seat after cleaning it with an alcohol wipe detected no bacteria.
Read the entire Bay Citizen article (“BART Seats: Where Bacteria Blossom“).
BART is asking what kind of seats riders want when the system upgrades its trains in the next few years. What do you propose?
Weekend Photos: On the Floor of Muni
Photo by CarbonNYC
Still with us? Okay. Earlier this week on Muni Time Capsule, Eric Fischer’s photo of an old streetcar dressed in cable car clothes, and on a street that was never part of a streetcar route, had some of us scratching our heads and admiring at the same time. Perplexing stuff.
Did you know that Muni Diaries has a Facebook page? If not, check it out and never be without your daily dose of Muni this and Muni that. We’re also on Twitter. Speaking of, this week saw the debut of a new MD feature: Meanwhile, on @munidiaries, where we’ll be compiling the best tweets and twitpics of the week every Thursday.
SF Appeal has details on this weekend’s Muni traffic advisory.
Here’s the week’s Muni news:
- Muni drivers sleeping, speeding, snacking while operating trains, state agency says (SF Examiner)
- We’re transportation innovators (SFGate)
- Muni objects to state criticism of rail lines (SFGate)
- Tab for Muni collision in West Portal Tunnel nears $6 million (SFGate’s City Insider)
- Washington airport group makes no decision on hiring Nathaniel Ford (SF Examiner)
- SFMTA Fires At Least Seven Employees for Ticket Fixing, Investigation Ongoing (SF Appeal)
- SFMTA Board Votes to Give 12,000 Free Muni Passes to Low-Income Students (BCN via SF Appeal)
- SFMTA: Local Hire Will Kill Central Subway Project (SF Appeal)
- Muni N-Judah train strikes car that ran stop sign (SF Examiner || SF Appeal)
- CPUC leaders absent from Muni’s hearing on regulation infractions (SF Examiner)
- Muni operators accuse agency of ignoring safety protocols (SF Examiner)
- Cameron Beach and Jerry Lee’s Future as SFMTA Board Members Uncertain (Streetsblog SF)
What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, enjoy!
Photo by Keisuke Omi
Photo by WarzauWynn
Photo by eviloars, via the new-look Mission Mission
Photo by Brandi666
Boob on Muni
We’re all familiar with 2 o’clock titty. Here, Rob shares Muni boob with you. Thanks, Rob!
PTSD and the tourists on the F-Market
Photo by Keoki Seu
For a locals-driven site, Muni Diaries has an arguably unusual amount of F-Market/Wharves posts and tweets. This is partly because I ride it twice almost every workday. Another reason is that the F is just plain-old cute when you’re not in a hurry. I loves me some retro streetcars.
But on this cute streetcar, less-cute things can happen.
I have no idea what started it. But I snapped out of the fog to hear him threaten to fight her and her threaten to take him up on his offer. He noted that he “didn’t care about that race shit.” (He was white, she was black.) That’s when the operator told the guy to stop, multiple times, even after the woman stopped responding to him. She continued tapping into her phone and said, “OH LORD where is my stop??” which prompted a couple laughs. She got off, but I’m convinced that the guy was angry enough to beat her up right then and there.
He got off in a huff at the Ferry Building, and some nearby tourists still on the streetcar seemed to feel sorry for “that veteran with PTSD threatening that woman.” They then proceeded to remark at how “it’s a shame to see so many young people here sleeping on the sidewalk” as we rolled past a hidden corner of Justin Herman Plaza.