Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Perhaps it seems a given that this site would wholeheartedly endorse a measure calling for massive improvements to regional, commuter, and public rail programs. But on the ballot in California next week is Proposition 1A, and it’s got this blogger tied up in all sorts of knots.
Thanks, 14-Mission. Now Mayor Newsom is never going to funnel money into Muni.
Stay safe, folks. Any moving vehicle on Mission Street (as well as some of the pedestrians) will take more than your mirror off if you zone out too long.
-Tara
The Gus Van Sant movie Milk premiered here last night. It chronicles the life and times of slain S.F. Supervisor Harvey Milk, who tirelessly advocated for gay rights and other community issues, including public transit. He was thanked for all that hard work with scores of adoring fans across the country, broken barriers to equality, and five bullets in his body, courtesy of then-Supervisor Dan White.
In a tribute to Milk, the San Francisco Municipal Railway has dedicated one of its cars as a moving tribute to the supervisor, who was killed almost exactly 30 years ago. You can read the SFGate story here.
Here’s my favorite quote, which is most relevant to this site:
“He was pushing for a better Muni at a time when no one else really was in City Hall.”
-Rick Laubscher, president of the nonprofit Market Street Railway.
I complain to no end about the F, as a commuter, because it was a good idea that was/is poorly executed. But as I’ve noted before, they are charming little pieces of San Francisco history. If more and more people, including tourists, ride this memorial car and get a hint of what Milk did for our city 30 years ago, then I’d say the investment was a good one. Thanks, Muni.
Tara Ramroop can’t wait to see Milk when it comes out for all us regular people. She also hopes that the district elections bring more inspired, tireless public servants to the SF Board of Supervisors.
The Candlestick Express, which carries SFers to 49ers on game day, crashed into a pole on Van Ness near Geary.
Come on, admit it, you’ve been known to check out a fellow rider or two on your bus ride — besides reading the wrong book or avoiding the over-friendly weirdo, what else is there to do on Muni? Vote for the hottest Muni line in the city or tell us if you think your line should have been nominated.
Here we are on Powell just south of North Point on a Wednesday afternoon; I think we’re looking at a 9 or a 9x. And yes, it’s definitely getting towed.
So, what? Dead engine? Run out of gas? Flat tire(s)? Kind of embarrassing if any of those is the case, because a Muni hotel (parking lot/servicing spot) is less than a block from here. Also, this is the third or fourth stop from the start of the line. I think I speak for everyone when I say, “WTF?”
Obvious questions include: why’s it getting towed? Were people on this bus? Did a bus come to save the day? (SuperBus wasn’t that one in the background, if you were wondering). And was this a freak mechanical/electrical uh-oh or does this happen fairly regularly? Where’s Judson True when you need him?
— Tara