Tag: announcement

What could possibly happen on Caltrain (left) and BART (right)? Ask our new Twitter masters.

What shenanigans are happening right now on public transit in the Bay Area? If you follow us on Twitter, you’ll know. In addition to @munidiaries, we have two excellent people at the mic of @CaltrainDiaries and @BARTDiaries: Laura and Ed! They’re curating the best slices of life on Caltrain and BART, minute by minute.

Laura has been at the helm of @CaltrainDiaries since 2009, when she approached us at Muni Diaries Live with an awesome Caltrain story. As you might guess, that is the quickest way to our hearts.

More about Laura:

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Laura’s first public transportations experiences were with the VTA (that’s Valley Transit Authority in the Peninsula) and Caltrain.  Little did she know she’s end up taking Caltrain from San Francisco to Palo Alto, from Palo Alto to San Francisco, over and over again as a adult. Luckily the latter trips came with a smart phone and the know-how to always tag off.

Mr. Ed Casey is the newest addition to the Diaries team. We found Ed through his blog, BART Don’t Lie, and his hilarious tweets only meant one thing: We have to assimilate this dude as soon as possible.

More about Ed:

A survivor of five years of the daily Concord to San Francisco BART run, Ed has witnessed all of the finer points of BARTing up to and including occupying multiple seats with bags of smelly, drippy take-out, nail clipping (fingers and toes), passed-out drunks, terrifyingly conscious and talkative drunks, and overall societal breakdowns that made him question the very existence of human decency. Ed is tired.

So if you’re on Caltrain and BART, remember to follow and tweet @CaltrainDiaries and @BARTDiaries. Laura and Ed could make you internet-famous for at least 15 seconds! And you’ll never be bored on your commute again.

Photo by prawnpie

Ready your vomit buckets and stake out your stoop (again, stoop; keep it neat, folks): the 100th Bay to Breakers is this Sunday. Two-thirds of your editors will actually be running the damn thing, so you kids have fun with your hula hoops and Zima after the 7 a.m. shift clears out.

SFMTA and the SF Examiner have more on the what and where, particularly if you plan on using transit at some point that day. Muni starts running express buses at 4:45 a.m. and express buses continue doing their thing after the race. But we do not have to remind you how of ugly the transit situation will be. Unless San Francisco surprises us for the 100th anniversary with an eleventy-billion-person, cushioned flying bus *crosses fingers*.

Photo by gregoirevdb

So, if you’re on the verge of tears after the fifth bus passes you by, or if you’re blissfully seated on a Muni chariot speeding back downtown, here are some options. Tweet your transit-themed photos and updates @munidiaries, write sloppily on our Facebook Wall, or, after your nap, visit the site and submit your harrowing, exceedingly positive, or wasn’t-so-bad transit tales. There are always Muni-themed costumes, so keep an eye out for those, make friends, and send those blurry captures our way.

Happy B2B! Hoping the transit gods smile on all of us that day.