Smoke inside an 8X-Bayshore Express (updates)

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Photo by LiveSOMA

Update 10:29 a.m.: LiveSOMA now has photos of the removal of the smoked-out bus (wasn’t that a story at our last live event?).

Update 9:49 a.m.: Eyewitness Brooke has these details:

I was about to walk into Whole Foods on 4th at Harrison when I heard a commotion across the street. I looked over and saw several people running out of long Muni bus, the 8 line. A big purple cloud was coming from the back of the bus. It looked like a very particulate smoke, and people appeared to have some of the smoke powder on them. I stopped to see if I should call 911, if they looked hurt. They were pretty much freaking out and looked scared, but they didn¹t look hurt. Then I saw the driver walking to the back to assess the situation, so I didn¹t think it was necessary to get nvolved. I went into whole foods to buy a couple of things. When I came out of Whole Foods about 5 minutes later, the cloud was gone, but on the sidewalk and street there was a layer of violet-purple stuff on the ground about the length of the back half of the bus. It appeared that several of the people that had been on the bus were still there talking to the bus driver about what had happened.

Original post: @jblebrun reports of smoke inside an 8X:

Whoa.. muni 8x suddenly filled with fine white powder… looked like smoke. Entire bus was covered by white cloud. 4th and Harrison

LiveSOMA has photos and a story:

The bus driver explained how the whole bus filled with white smoke to the point where she couldn’t see and had to stop. Her quick reaction prevented any injuries, although an SFFD Ambulance arrived a few minutes later to double check the situation. Passengers were also asked to fill out ‘comment card’ type sheets that allow Muni to follow up.

Anyone else witness this? Any idea what happened?

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A Muni bus filled with ‘Oxford scholars’

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22 fillmore
Photo by lorelei

100 Muni Stories

Muni rider Tara K. has a story that goes to show, you never know what kind of colorful character you’ll encounter on Muni:

Okay, today is the day I’ll be early to work…well, on time. I set out in high hopes of catching an early 22-Fillmore bus. I get on the bus and there is actually a seat!

Inevitably, 2 minutes into my ride, the bus breaks down in the middle of Church and Market. The passengers, all grumbles, start to shuffle. The bus driver announces that she will drop everyone off at the next bus stop and wait for assistance. As the bus stops at a stop sign people step down and everyone gets off. The bus driver announces for a second time that she will take people to the next stop but no one seems to understand.

That’s when the magic happens. A older woman, probably in her 80s, dressed in matching red and white from head to toe, turns to the remaining three people on the bus and yells “well, looks like this bus was filled with a bunch of God damned Oxford scholars. I tell ya the City is filled with ‘em!” I glance at another passenger as we suppress a burst of laughter. Then the show begins. The older woman continues on asking, “why the hell are people so stupid? Didn’t they hear that the driver is gonna take us to the next stop. A bunch of cattle, they are.”

As the driver pulls up to the stop the older woman turns to us all once again. She smiles and says, “well, it’s too bad they all missed the extra ride, the idiots, but it was nice ridin’ with y’all.” I catch her eye and say, “it’s really too bad they missed a great comedian!” She looks at me askance (Oh God, was that too cutesy for this lady, now I’m gonna get it), giving me a half smile and guffaw…and whaps me on the leg with her cane while nodding in recognition of her performance!

Note to self: Always ride Muni early cuz the bus will break down and you could be smiling for days.

It either happened to you, or around you. Share your Muni story on Muni Diaries.

Category: 100 Muni Stories, diaries, Funny: Muni LOLs Tags:

The Random Deployment of New Muni Bus Shelters

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The right good folks over at Tenderblog noticed something rather strange about the deployment of Muni’s sleek/appalling bright, shiny new bus shelters. So they wrote a blog post about it. And they published that blog post.

[H]ow on earth are they figuring out the deployment pattern on these things? There’s the really nice new ones at Geary and Leavenworth (this happening corner), but then they go no further up. There’s one at Sutter & Van Ness, but then none the rest of the way down Sutter.

Indeed, what could the plan possibly be? Read the rest of Tenderblog’s thoughtful and observant post here.

Image above copied and pasted from its original resting place on the intertubes.

Category: diaries, reflection

Brave 38 Bus Driver

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Photo by Flickr user Jesse Johnson

It was approximately 2 p.m. yesterday. It was beautiful hot afternoon; one of the first days during this fantastic Bay Area heatwave. I boarded the 38L Geary at Arguello. After a pleasant 10-minute ride, I was about to get off the bus at Fillmore/Geary when I noticed another group of people entering the back of the bus — a typical occurrence on Muni. I didn’t pay much attention until I heard over the intercom, “Please come to the front of the bus and pay the fare, young man.” The bus driver stood up forcefully and yelled, “This bus will not be moving until you pay the fare like the rest of the folks on this bus!”

As I entered a fairly empty 38L, I noticed something very interesting about the bus driver: He was a man on a mission…someone not to cross the wrong way or come across sideways.

Now, we’re not talking about a typical-size bus driver. We’re talking about a fairly large man in his early 40s with a very bald head. The young man smoothly walked to the front of the bus while on his cell phone, and paid a portion of the fare. The bus driver aggressively said, “Now look, I’m not playing with you, either you pay the fare like the rest of the working folks on this bus or get off my bus!”

The young man paused, switched his cell phone to his left hand, and calmly made a swing-like gesture to the driver! The driver moved away from the attempted fist swing then stood up, grabbed the operator phone, and yelled, “Now get the fuck off my bus or swing. I want you to swing so the cops could take you to jail. You’re on camera with a bus full of witnesses. You make a move!” The young man, clueless for his next act, turned and aggressively attempted to swing again, but missed. He looked around yelling, screaming, and unsure of what to do. He then got off the bus without making another gesture.

Now this is a bus driver with balls. Drivers like him take a stand and lay down the law. This made me proud to ride Muni every day. Yes, it was scary at times, but I was confident that the escalated situation was handled very appropriately. The bus driver showed commanding respect and set limits with this punk kid.

As a Muni commuter, I see punk kids trying to be smooth and slick to get away from paying fares on a daily basis. They cheat fares, punk commuters, smoke weed on the bus, start trouble on the bus, and intimidate other kids on the bus. I asked myself, Where do these entitled, disrespectful group of people get this behavior? They’re so confident in committing these acts; they’ll never experience consequences.

I felt empowered to speak out after my experience, so here I am. I felt this was a good deed and deserved a few cents from a daily Muni rider. Thanks for hiring folks that are tired to speak out and put my tax dollars to good use.

Do you have a story about a driver or fellow passenger whose actions made you proud? Have you told a Muni story to your friends at dinner? Share your Muni stories here at Muni Diaries.

Category: diaries, reflection Tags:

5 injured as car loses control near Muni bus shelter (updates)

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Video courtesy ABC 7/KGO

Update Wednesday 2:33 p.m.: Five victims still in hospital. SUV drive unlicensed, had no insurance. (BCN via SF Appeal)

Update 11:39 a.m.: ABC 7 now reports in more detail:

Investigators said the car shutdown and the driver had no control as she slammed into a group of people waiting for a bus. Because of the heat, the pedestrians were waiting in the shade of an apartment building and not a bus shelter.

“Her vehicle lost power, she lost the ability to brake, to steer the vehicle and as the vehicle was coming down the hill it gained speed and it veered across the street into a group of people that were waiting for a bus at this bus stop. We have five injuries as a result of this accident. Four people were transported with life threatening injuries. One person was transported with non-life threatening injuries,” said Mindy Talmage of the S.F. Fire Department.

Update, 10:58 a.m.: KCBS radio reports that four of those hurt in the crash have sustained life-threatening injuries.

Update, 10:54 a.m.: KGO radio tweets: “KGO traffic reporter Joe Vincent: Driver of the SUV that crashed into the bus shelter told SFPD that she lost power, was unable to steer”

Original post, 10:30 a.m.: ABC 7 reports that five people were injured when a car crashed into a Muni bus shelter on San Bruno and Arleta. We’ll bring you updates as we find them.

Category: News
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