Who Can Outwalk Muni: SF Examiner or Willie Brown?


Photo by Mike Koozmin/Examiner

Who can walk faster than Muni? Intrepid SF Examiner reporter or Da Mayor?

SF Examiner transportation reporter Will Reisman says that the 30-Stockton is his nemesis, and he took on a personal challenge: “To exact revenge, I decided to best the 30-Stockton, on foot, covering a distance from the bus stop at Pacific Avenue and Stockton Street to Market Street.”

You might remember another man attempting a similar challenge to best the bus. In September 1998, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “Mayor Walks, Muni Runs“:

The race began at the Civic Center station at 7:40 a.m. Brown, stung by a Chronicle story on Tuesday that said walking down Market Street was as fast as riding beneath it, said he wanted to give the Municipal Railway another chance. He donned his sharpest Panama hat, Rockport wingtips and orange polka-dot hankie for the jaunt.

Looking at young Mr. Reisman, I can only surmise that his gait may be faster than the mayor and that he may be wearing footwear more appropriate for power-walking than Willie’s wingtip shoes. You can read more about Reisman’s trip at SFExaminer.com.

Cupid Shot Me on Muni

roses are red
Photo by Tian Jiang

Cupid is that overpaid lazy fuck who is always on a cigarette break. On the rare occasions when he actually does his job, though, sometimes he does it on Muni. I know. Here’s proof.

Eric forms a quick plan on the bus so he can meet his future wife:

I see the most amazingly beautiful woman ever in my life…Holy shit! What to do?! “Sit next to her, idiot!” I tell myself. Well, I don’t want to seem like a fool so I hold my paper out in front of me (turns out that it was upside down). I can’t stop staring at her hands.. they are long and sleek, so beautiful.. plus I can’t just stare directly at her, that would be rude.

Read the rest of Eric’s story.

Wil proves that he’s not just random guy on the bus:

It started, like most of my days end, waiting for the N-Judah outside the CalTrain station, reading, listening to my headphones. The train ambled up a couple minutes earlier than NextBus predicted (for perhaps the first time in history.) So, I scrambled to get my bag together and slipped onto the second car as the “door closing” warning chimed out. I looked up at the almost empty car as I pressed the back of my wallet against the Clipper terminal and saw a girl that made my heart immediately break into a hundred pieces.

Read the rest of Wil’s story.

Steven and Vickie met one day while riding the 22-Fillmore en route to the outer Richmond. Their initial attraction to each other survived a transfer to the 38-Geary:

Listen to Steven and Vickie’s story

People are finding Muni a perfectly romantic San Francisco place. We’ve even received wedding photos taken on the bus:

Heather and Ed had their wedding photo shoot at the Muni yard.

Mooflyrabbit Wedding
Photo by Jessica Palopoli, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Muni was Chantilly and Domonique’s wedding shuttle

IMG_3848
Photo by Lawrence Pan

…as well as for this happy couple in the back of the bus.

loveandmuni
Photo by jennifer7people

If this post made you gag, my sincere apologies. Worry not: we’re only a few hours away from our regular programming of food fights, suspicious liquids, celebrity sightings, and cameos in adult films! In the mean time, if you have a Muni love story to share, today would be the day.

Weekend Photos: Versions of You

Meanwhile on Muni
Photo by David Lytle

Today’s one of those days when I am not going to ask how your commute was this morning. We know. Hopefully our tweets kept you entertained while you wait for one of the shuttle buses during this morning’s big clusterfuck.

Here’s something else to muse over: on Muni Time Capsule this week, we bring you a gallery of PCC street cars from 1978! Yes, seriuosly, 1978. Check it out.

In other Muni news this week:

  • Major Muni Metro Delays Friday Morning – Derailment near Castro Station (here on Muni Diaries, thanks to you and media reports)
  • Commuter Check Users Surprised By Monthly Fee To Use Clipper(SF Appeal)
  • Most BART Riders Escape Tickets for Eating and Drinking (SF Weekly)
  • City Hall Hearing Turns Spotlight on Problems Plaguing 14-Mission Line (Streetsblog SF)
  • S.F. High School Student Attacked While Riding Muni (SF Weekly)
  • Maximize Clipper Card Inter-Agency Transfers & Discounts (Akit’s Complaint Department)

There are other goodies that you can grab on the site, like the chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Espetus. Oh, and our shirts and Clipper Card holders are all 20% off in our anniversary sale.

Enjoy these photos and your weekend!

DSC_0685
Photo by Jeremy Whiteman

Dirty Cartoons
Photo by Jeremy Brooks


Photo by Brad Evans

I Wanna Take You There
Photo by Sean Davis

Major Muni Metro Delays From Castro Station – Update


Photo by Chris Rogers

Update:

2:52 p.m.:

The latest from SFMTA:

As of 2 p.m., crews are still on the scene at Castro Station assessing the damage to the vehicle and the infrastructure, making the necessary repairs and working to restore normal operations.

Inbound (toward downtown) Muni Metro service may be slower than normal, but is operational.

The N Judah and J Church lines are operating normally.

Muni Metro customers traveling outbound from downtown should expect delays. The K Ingleside, L Taraval and M Ocean View lines are still switching back outbound (away from downtown) to inbound (towards downtown) at Castro Station.

Bus shuttles continue in operation between Castro and West Portal stations for customers traveling outbound in the subway past Castro Station on the K, L or M lines. West of West Portal station, Muni Metro light rail vehicles (LRV) continue in service.

10:30 a.m.:
On Twitter, @dbrownusc took a photo of the crowd waiting for the shuttle at the West Portal station.


Photo by @dbrownusc

9:32 a.m.: Word from SFMTA:

As of 9 a.m., trains on the M Ocean View, L Taraval and K Ingleside lines traveling outbound at Castro station will have to switchback outbound to inbound. Bus shuttles are operating between West Portal and Castro stations.

The N Judah and J Church lines are operating on their normal routes, but are moving slowly.

Outbound service won’t likely resume for another four hours, reports SF Examiner and SFAppeal.

9:26 a.m.: Some outbound services have been restored after this morning’s derailment outside of the Castro station at 7:39 a.m., but there are still major delays all morning. Currently the outbound trains are running only to Castro Station (@francesabc7). Bus bridges are still in place between Castro and West Portal stations in both directions.

Riders are understandably irate, with an epic argument on the bus (@imkj), body slamming, and major f-bombs (@Chanslor). Were you on or near the derailed train outside the Castro station this morning? Let us know.

9:15 a.m.: From ABC7’s traffic reporter Frances Dinglasa on Twitter @francesabc7:

Paul Rose, MUNI spokesperson, said some OB service restored. but there are still major delays expected all morning.

Original post:

8:51 a.m.: A derailment outside the Castro Station this morning is causing major Muni delays all over town, reports various media sources and Twitter. According to Transit 511 and the KQED blog:

On Friday, February 11th at 7:39am, SF Muni reports a derailment of an SF Muni train on the outbound portion at the Castro Street platform. Currently there are 16 shuttles secured to operate from Van Ness and Market to West Portal, and shuttles are being sent to the M, L and K lines

Trains are still not heading outbound, and SFMTA has not released information about the cause of the derailment, KTVU and SFAppeal report.

“No direct Muni Metro service past Church St station. Muni running coaches West Portal to Van Ness. Inbound service is also subject to delays,” according to KCBS on Twitter.

We’ll keep you posted on the progress here and on Twitter. Please comment or @ us on Twitter (@munidiaries) to let us know if you have information from your commute this morning.

Single-Spotting on Muni and BART

*giggle*
Photo by blarfiejandro

Emily Ostendorf had an idea about how to facilitate singles meeting each other on BART. She’s calling her idea “Singled Out on BART.” How does it work?

This Valentine’s Day—Monday, February 14—indicate your unattached status (and willingness to be approached) by tying a ribbon around your ring finger: pink if you’re looking for a woman, blue if you’re looking for a man. Look for others wearing ribbons and make a connection.

Hmmm idea! It’s like a cute version of the jelly bracelet (remember those?). What do you think? Would you do this on Muni? Not everyone has Wil’s gumption to approach a beautiful girl on the bus, so maybe with a little ribbon, we can have a little fun on our Monday commute…

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