Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Photo by Steve Rhodes
I’m anticipating a fair amount of Oscar Grant-related blowback on this (fair enough), but this story in SF Weekly got me wondering — does the crime on BART justify the presence of more BART officers riding BART?
Photo by Flickr user Orin Zebest
BART rider Beth W. writes in to proffer these suggestions, no-nos you might call them, for passing through fare gates:
* Meander up to the exit, block one of the gates, and then fumble around in your pockets/bag/etc. for your ticket.
* Go through the gates quickly and successfully, then stop walking once the red plastic bits close behind you. For bonus points, start
talking on your cell phone.
* Try to go through one of the gates showing a red circle with a bar through it. Look confused when it doesn’t work. Keep trying.
* Try to get through the gates with an invalid ticket. Get irate when the machine beeps at you. Attempt to slide it through 5 or 6 more times.
* Slide your ticket into the slot for the disabled exit, then try to pick up your ticket from the (nonexistent) spot on top of the machine. If you were in a wheelchair, could you reach up there? No? Then that isn’t where your ticket is.
* Go through the gates with a large suitcase or stroller. Get stuck. Eye passersby pleadingly for help.
* Push your bicycle through the fare gates. Watch as the red gate closes on your bicycle.
* Pay with an exact fare, then throw a tantrum when the machine doesn’t give your ticket back.
What are your favorite BART fare-gate fails? Share.
All photos by Flickr user Telstar
Rider Todd sent us these fantastic photos of Market Street Railway volunteers decorating Muni street cars for the holidays. The volunteers decorated the Milan 1818 and New Orleans 952 streetcars last weekend at the Geneva yard with loads of ornaments, wreaths, and garlands.
The other day when I saw an F train with a little green wreath on its nose, I kind of squealed like a little girl. So thanks, Todd, for the photos!
See the rest of Todd’s photos from last weekend’s Muni holiday decoration party.
Photo by Flickr user Transit Nerd
Update 3:58 p.m. Tuesday: CBS and others are reporting that the SFPD has, in fact, arrested a suspect in the case.
Update 2:48 p.m. Tuesday: SF Appeal reports that ABC 7 reports that the police have a suspect in custody. SF Appeal cannot confirm the report. we shall see whether it’s true, and whether there’s a good chance that it’s the right guy.
Update 12:36 p.m. Tuesday: SFGate has a few more details and quotes from the victim.
Update 10:58 a.m. Tuesday: KTVU has an interview the victim, as well as a sketch of the suspect.
Update 8:58 p.m.: According to SF Appeal, the SFPD will be releasing images from the surveillance video sometime soon. Let’s hope lynch mobs or vigilante committees don’t form, but that with the public aware of what the perp looks like, he is brought to justice somehow.
Update 5:49 p.m.: MTA says it handed surveillance video of the stabbing over to the SFPD. The video will be used to help the police in their investigation. There is no word on whether or when the video will be made available to the public.
Update:
As of 12:50, SFMTA says that the incident has been cleared.
Original post:
We received an alert from SFMTA that, as of 10:40 a.m., regular J-Church service has been disrupted due to police activity on an outbound J light rail vehicle on Church and 18th Street. Bus shuttles are running between Church/16th and Church/22nd Street.
The alarming part:
“According to initial reports, one female passenger was stabbed by another passenger. The female who was stabbed was transported to San Francisco General Hospital. The severity of her injuries is unknown.”
(from SFMTA).
We will keep you updated.
Seventy-One from memetic field on Vimeo.
Memetic (coincidentally, the winner of our “Be our 1,000th follower on Twitter” contest) sent us this poignant video. It’s called “Seventy-One,” and it’s neat.
We got a report Tuesday about the Muni party earlier this month. Quite the rowdy scene, as the video above attests. Here it is, from the organizers’ perspective:
We are excited to say that the Muni Party (November 12, 2009) was a great success. We were greeted at the M-Train stop at 19th and Holloway with a huge crowd of people, photographers, press, and police. We boarded the two car M-Train with 150+ people, and filled up the whole space. We rode toward downtown with high spirits screaming, chanting, and even singing songs by Journey and James Brown. On the way, we even picked up some bystanders who were waiting at Muni stations. We rode all the way to Montgomery Station, and as a group walked to the Muni Party After Party at Otis Lounge, chanting all the way. We had a great time dancing and mingling at the after party. It was an awesome experience, and we are planning on doing this again early next year. This time, we are going to have a ‘secret’ Muni Party by keeping the exact location secret until the day of the event so we can have a little more freedom. The amazing part of the whole Muni Party event is that we did not spend any money in planning this event, just lots of time, and help from sites such as Muni Diaries. Thanks for all of your support and helping us make this all possible!
MUNI PARTY
Brianna & John
