Weekend Photos: Until Next Season, Giants

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Photo by Dave Golden

Even I am over baseball now. I didn’t go to the parade Wednesday because I decided I was tired of crowds. I did watch it online, though. Looked wonderful, except for that god-awful music that played while they introduced the players. Also, I hear Muni gave free rides afterward. Sounds about reasonable.

That said, I jumped at the chance to do this post today after Eugenia forwarded me some more photos showing people on Muni going to the parade or celebrating on Monday night (see below). It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, being here when the team won the World Series. So one last time, I just want to say: Congrats to the team.

Tonight, we’ll be at Julie Michelle‘s i live here: SF art opening at SOMArts. Julie is amazing. Her work is amazing. This show is gonna be through-the-roof amazing, celebrating one of the best reasons to love this city: its people. If you can’t make it tonight, the show will stay up until Nov. 30. Oh, and also, too: Muni Diaries will be hosting a night at Julie’s show on Nov. 17. We invite you to come share your stories with us in person. Stay tuned for more details.

There was also an election this week, I think.

The week’s Muni news:

  • Muni drivers lose pay guarantee (SF Examiner)
  • Muni may reduce stops to increase speed, save cash (SFGate)
  • SFMTA Transit Director Predicts Better Muni Metro Service in Coming Months (Streetsblog SF)
  • Muni Budget Deficit Predicted as Parking Citations Dip (Streetsblog SF)

Getting there is half the battle
Photo by Brandon Doran

And here are a few shots by Lee from Monday night, just after the Giants clinched the World Series win:

Category: News

What Would Lady Gaga Wear on Muni?

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Photo by Lilah Johnson

Lady Gaga, you got a call, it’s from the Muni Diaries store!

We said goodbye to the type “A” Fast Pass this week, but you can show your beloved monthly passes (and Muni Diaries) some love with these shirts. They are designed by New Skool‘s Nate1, who is also an in-house artist at Secession Art and Design.

Here’s what the shirt looks like if you don’t have a soda can wig to go with it:

This design is also available in baby onesies and adult hoodies at Secession Art and Design on 3361 Mission Street (and 30th Street).

Upclose:

I’ve got my bubble wrap ready so check out the Muni Diaries store if you want to buy one of these awesome shirts!

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Kicking Off Muni Fashion Friday

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James Taylor, CCSF student & Stylist

San Francisco is a fashionable city, and we look good riding the bus. To celebrate that, we’d like to start a little fun post that we call Muni Fashion Friday. Here’s how it works: submit a photo of a fashionable rider on and around Muni, and you can win a prize from our post sponsor. Our first sponsor is Secession Arts and Design, where you’ll find mixed-media art, beautiful clothes, and jewelry.

The deadline for submission for our first Fashion Friday will be Thursday, Nov. 18.

To give you some inspiration, here are some fantastic photos of fashionable Muni riders taken by Racine Serrano. Racine is a student at San Francisco State University. She said:

“In a city where fashion can be spun any which way, I found individuals whose personal attention to detail forces those around them to pay attention and observe the story their personal style tells. Some people are blessed with not only a keen sense of fashion and a great eye for what works well together — whether it be color, prints, or patterns; they also have the confidence that exudes far past the garments they so skillfully engineer together.”

In the photo above, James Taylor, a student at City College of San Francisco, waits for the F while sipping his iced green tea. His military-inspired style was sourced by H&M, American Apparel shorts, vintage hat and belt, and Marc Jacobs boots.

Racine caught up with more fashionable Muni riders:

Kayla Jaramillo, SF State Art major

Kayla Jaramillo, SF State Art major, was on a break and waiting for the M inbound to do some shopping in West Portal. Clothing: compilation of vintage finds from all over SF. Jewelry: vintage pieces, including a Sergio Gutierrez bracelet, Urban Outfitters boots.

Leilani Thompson, Sac State Nursing student

Leilani was just about to hop on the J to the Greyhound station to head back to Elk Grove after visiting family for the weekend. Cardigan: Urban Outfitters. Tank and leggings: Forever 21, Handbag: Nine West, Boots: Bakers

Javier Francis, CCSF Fashion Merchandise Marketing student

Javier Francis, CCSF Fashion Merchandise Marketing student, Javier exits Civic Center Muni heading to the Academy of Arts for a go-see (model casting call.) Leather bomber jacket: Zara. Tee: Hans. Acid-wash denim: Levis. Snakers: True Religion

Bianca Solorzano, SF State Student & American Apparel VM

Bianca Solorzano, SF State Student and American Apparel VM. She was waiting for the 49 to see some friends. Coat: Ruffian. Crop top: American Apparel. High waisted trousers: Vintage. Shoes and bag: Marc Jacobs.

Inspired? The next time you see someone rocking some seriously good fashion, take a picture of them, let them know that it is for Muni Diaries Fashion Friday (and that they look beautiful), and send the picture to us!

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Nominate Your Muni Route in GOOD Magazine’s Best Bus Route Contest

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Meltdown In Progress
Photo by Troy Holden

The good people at GOOD magazine are having a big Best Bus Route Contest! If a Muni route doesn’t win this contest, then nothing in life makes sense. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But check it out, a word from GOOD magazine:

Bicycles can be chic, subways artful, but buses? Buses are not exactly the golden child of transportation. They’re more like the red-headed step child: Deep down you know they mean well but they’re just a little harder to love.

Yet public buses are an essential form of transit in cities across the country, and they account for a big chunk of the nearly 10.2 billion trips Americans took on public transportation in 2009. We think it’s time to give a little love to one of the least celebrated modes of transit. To that end, we’ve teamed up with Transportation Alternatives and an impressive group of bus-loving jurors to see and hear why your bus route is the best in America.

What is it about your bus route that you love? Is your bus driver brilliant? Is the view from your window breathtaking? Do your fellow riders characters belong in a Hemingway novel?

Is your Muni bus driver brilliant? We’ve got drivers who threw a party on the bus, decorated the bus with Halloween goodies, saved you from fare-evading hooligans.

Is the view from your window breathtaking? Our Muni Flickr pool doesn’t lie.

Do our fellow riders belong in a Hemingway novel? We’ve got Dali, a chicken, Jack-In-The-Box, and “service animals” riding the bus here in our fair city.

Buses are such a big part of San Francisco that at least two of you even took wedding photos in Muni.

You guys, we Muni riders have this competition in the bag.

If you need inspiration, try the drop-down menu on the right hand side of the page to see stories by line. And meander over to GOOD Magazine to see details to enter.

Hat tip: Streetsblog!

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Are Muni Riders Good for Business?

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"N" Scale
Photo by Brandon Doran

Are transit riders good or bad for business?

StreetsBlog points us to a report from Columbus, Ohio, where businesses actually don’t want bus riders on downtown commerical streets. The Columbus Dispatch reports that “downtown developers have complained that COTA passengers waiting for transfers … and buses lining the curbs make the area less attractive for retail stores and their customers.”

Some businesses in downtown Columbus claim that bus riders who transfer downtown don’t shop, and that “large numbers of people waiting for a transfer can be intimidating for someone walking down the sidewalk.”

StreetsBlog and the Columbus Dispatch rightly point out the class and race implications in these reports.

Having never been to Columbus myself, I can only guess that maybe the negative attitude toward transit riders comes from the city’s relationship with public transit. In San Francisco, Muni is a must, whereas in other cities it might be cast as some kind of “second-class” transportation. As one of the commenters observed, maybe the problem is with the businesses if these retailers don’t cater to the many people who pass by their storefronts — are they only selling stuff that car owners (and not transit riders) want to buy?

Maybe I am being naive, but I think we live in a town where easy transit access to your business is a good thing?

Category: diaries
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