Weekend photos: My Favorite Bus Stop

My Favorite Bus Stop
Photo by eviloars

Among other things, this week saw the beginnings of what we hope is a concerted effort on behalf of SFMTA to alert Fast Pass holders of the Jan. 1 increase in the cost of Fast Passes. Details are here.

We also learned that Muni isn’t the only public transit system suffering service cuts this season. Both New York City’s MTA and the closer-to-home AC Transit reported upcoming slashes to service. It’s hard out there for … all involved.

But our favorite bit of Muni news this week was Mike Sugarman’s report on CBS 5 of one of the new voices of Muni announcements. And how she kinda … yeah, FAILed at that.

All righty then. Have yourselves a merry little weekend.

IMG_5082
Photo by goodpotatoes

Ain't it true
Photo by hereandthereblog

Disabbreviation
Photo by moppet65535

abandoned
Photo by mikedthorn

My unexpected ride-along with a fare inspector

JWG's Muni fast pass collection
Photo by Flickr user frankfarm

It was late-ish. 11 p.m. Late for my getting-old ass, anyway. I was tired, having just come from a Muni Diaries editorial meeting, and needing to commute from Pac Heights back to the Mission. The NextBus marquee read 8 minutes until the next 49-Van Ness was due. Fine.

As is my custom, I staked a space just beyond the bus shelter. Tired as I was, my legs could stand to … stand a bit longer. Minutes went by, and I walked back over to the shelter to see what NextBus would prophesy. But before my head could do a wrap-around 180, one of the dudes sitting down informed me that it would be about 4 minutes. Fine.

I remained by the shelter for some reason, and that was enough to warrant some banter between the two seated dudes. It was then that I looked closer and realized that they were fare inspectors. Nice enough gents, working late. Cool stuff.

Then that thing in me that my fiancée loves to hate reared its ugly head. I can’t remember what topic I chose, but I did it: I shot the shit with these guys. Nothing big or consequential, but the talk inevitably revolved around Muni and their work, inspecting fares.

A few minutes later, as NextBus began “NextBusing” (4 minutes, 2 minutes, 7 minutes, arriving), an SFPD officer pulled up in the stop. The fare inspectors simultaneously saw the bus coming, and one of them had glommed onto me conversationally. Things were getting really interesting.

The cop parked his car all the way forward in the striped part of the bus stop and got out of his squad car casually just before the bus pulled up. I boarded first, just in front of the inspectors, who were followed by one of SF’s finest.

I took my backward-facing seat and overheard a call for show of proof of payment. We started moving, and a few minutes later, the inspector who seemed to like chatting with me slightly more than his partner found me. We shot it some more, and this was where things got really interesting.

I managed to slip in earlier in the conversation that I “help run a Muni-related website.” I think he liked that, probably more than he actually liked me. But here’s what it got me: The guy showed me two or three of his confiscated fake Fast Passes.

One was on really thin, standard copier paper. It was printed in color, but only on one side. This dummy coulda spotted that thing a mile away.

Another was on thicker-stock paper, something I’d call hella close to what SFMTA uses. It was printed on both sides, and my immediate reaction to its dramatic simulation was: “Whoa, how can you tell this one is fake?”

“Look at the magnetic stripe,” he said. And there it was, the non-shiny giveaway.

The inspectors deboarded around Market, and I’m sure I had a silly grin on my face the rest of my ride home. It was like I had been to the Muni museum, circa 2009. It was like a field trip, a ride-along. It was out-of-this-world, and to this day, one of my favorite Muni rides.

It just goes to show: sometimes small talk can yield rewards.

Veteran on Caltrain

Burlingame CalTrain Station 29May06 - 3
Photo by Flickr user roland

Many people have told us that Muni isn’t the only Bay Area transit with colorful tales. In November, with the help of trusty commuter and Muni Diaries reader Laura, we launched the Caltrain Diaries Twitter feed. If you’re not already following, we’ll pause while you go and do that.

Now then, do you think Caltrain commuters have the same voracious appetite for transit stories and photos as their Muni counterparts? We certainly hope so. Laura’s seen an endless supply of entertaining, informative, and thoughtful tweets so far, and we thought it’d be nice to give stories from other Bay Area public transit systems a space on our site. Check out the Other Bay Area Transit page (over there! On the top, next to the Home link).

If you have stories from Caltrain, email them to caltraindiaries@gmail.com. Laura received our first Caltrain diary from rider Jason, who saw a seemingly confused man board the train and learns that the man has just been released from the VA hospital. Read about what happened next.

BART escorts for West Oakland?

West Oakland BART
Photo by Thomas Hawk

KCBS reports of a partnership between BART police and Oakland Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association to provide escorts at the West Oakland Station tonight and tomorrow. The volunteers will be available to walk people to their cars or give them rides to a nearby parking lot.

We can see the necessity for this, but really? It’s come to this?

Bike Theft on Muni

Getting on the 108
Photo by Flickr user juicyrai

Muni rider Sara sent us the following tale of jackassery on the 21-Hayes:

The rider caught my eye from the second we boarded the 21 at Market and Montgomery on Monday night. I noticed as the cute 20-something with amazing curly hair slipped his bike on the front rack before jumping aboard, sitting in the very first seat across from the driver. I noticed as he chatted nicely with the driver about the new line changes, and how he groaned with the rest of us about the obscenely loud speaker (seriously, that’s another entry – since the Muni updates on Saturday, some of the speakers have been blaring out of control). And then I also noticed how he dashed off the bus lighting fast on Hayes and Buchanan as the driver yelled something muffled. All I made out was “Your bike!” But that’s all that mattered. Even from the watchful eye of the first seat, the 20-something’s bike was snatched off the rack before he could stop it.

I was floored, but as word traveled around the bus, people came forward with other stories about bikes being jacked off the front of the bus (“They took one from a group of tourists!”). Is this a common occurence? It struck me as really sad. And slightly annoying, because the driver wouldn’t leave until the police came, so we all had to wait for the next bus to arrive. It was a bonding moment on the 21 last night, no doubt, but I’m guessing the poor guy never got his bike back.

It’s ridiculous enough to get your phone snatched out of your hands on the bus, and now your bike might be next?

Did your bike get stolen on Muni or did you witness what Sara saw? Let Muni Diaries know.

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