Mission Mission

From Iron Davy Cole:

Overheard on the 14: “Now Obama is prez. When they gonna give ME a job? I’ma put the hurts on ‘em. I’ma open up a can of hurts on they ass.”

Link.

Sitting on the good old bus 49 over the weekend, I came across something that is rarely seen in San Francisco – a bus driver who fought for his fare. All too often the driver doesn’t even glance at my MUNI pass and I go for days without actually needing it, wondering why I even waste the $45 dollars each month. That is a lot of ice cream at Bi-rite, well, not really all that much.

But this driver was tenacious. He kicked a middle aged man off the bus for using a senior pass. When someone got in through the back door, the driver refused to budge the bus until this man showed him his transfer. Because this man pretended he didn’t know the bus driver was talking to him for a full minute (sitting down), flashed his transfer (and sat back down), went to the front of the bus to show his expired transfer (and sat back down), and then finally came up with the necessary $1.50 (and sat back down!), we sat on the street for a good 3 minutes not moving. My ride from 26th street to 16th street took 15 minutes.

On one hand, I had places to go and things to see.

On the other hand, I was secretly happy.

But then I think about how incredibly long it would take to get the bus moving if everyone went in through the front door: stops at 24^th and 16^th street would probably take at least an extra minute or two. And then I get angry at the people who go out the front door who have clear access to the back doors and who are in no way physically challenged. I am even occasionally upset with the old people who insist on pulling carts everywhere – if you have enough gumption to pull a wheeled basket up onto the bus, you are strong enough to exit through the back door.

Bus rides are often long and angry for me.

And then I read how poor MUNI is, and how they are thinking of raising the monthly fare. Couldn’t I just send 10 people to the front of the bus to pay their fare and add my extra $15 dollars that way? Maybe by making people follow the few simple rules about entering, exiting, and paying fares, not only would we have a better funded system, but is possible it would no longer be one of the slowest public transport systems in the nation.

I need a bike.

Friday morning, walking down Mission, stopped in my tracks by frantic shouts of, “Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!” The overhead wire technicians were up on their elevated platform (their vehicle parked in one of Mission Street’s center lanes) performing repairs to a section of track that serves the 14, the 24, and the 49, when this semi tries to sneak past. The driver heard the shouts and stopped inches before his trailer ripped the workers right out of the sky.

I guess it’s brushes with death like this that justify those guys being allowed to double park in front of La Taqueria when the rest of us cain’t.

Dunno, isn’t the 26 kind of useless? Maybe it is less crowded than the Mission Street buses and thus smells a lot better, but it doesn’t really do anything they don’t. And it’s so much nicer just walking down Valencia. Anyway, does anybody have any anger to express?

Link to Transit Effectiveness Project.

Previously on Mission Mission:

Bright Green Blobs in Own Sticky Goo Discarded on Outbound 26-Valencia

I got on the 12-Folsom today en route from work to Dolores Park. Was gonna be a relaxing ride, but no sooner did I settle into my seat and open up my book than this lunatic (pictured) started barking:

GOD BLESS YOU ALL! Ban the Koran! Ban the Buddha! BAN THAT ABORTION! The government needs to protect the Holy Bible — THE ONLY TRUE WORD OF GOD!

The bus driver had already issued a warning, but by this point had pulled over and powered down the whole rig. Dude took the hint (apparently he gets kicked off buses on the regular) and started making his way down the rear steps, stopping midway to encore thusly:

BAN THAT GAY MARRIAGE… if you want to honor your mother and father! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!

Another commuter, clearly over it, could be heard muttering, “C’mon, one more step.” Finally, he took it, and we all got to move on. Anybody else seen Thumpy do his thing?

Photo by David Gallagher.

A couple weeks ago, there was some dispute as to whether Muni’s 67 (serving Bernal Heights from 24th and Mission) could be as entertaining as some of the other buses that run on Mission Street. On Friday, TK had an experience that just might further the controversy:

So there’s a 67 bus stopped there at the stop. Just as I get there, a cop car pulls up and the 2 cops get out and get on the bus. Then a Muni supervisor-type arrives and gets on too. Obvs. everyone standing around is staring at the bus trying to figure out what’s going on.

The cops come out with a little guy who’s wasted. I mean, he was fucked up. I love this – he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. WOO-HOO! LET’S PARTY!!

See how it all ends here.

Photo by Octoferret.

They look cute together, but what do you think they’re up to?

Previously on Mission Mission:

Bright-Green Blobs in Own Sticky Goo Discarded on Outbound 26-Valencia

Whippits Discarded on Outbound J-Church

Electric streetcars braving a flood at 16th and Folsom circa 1905 (click to enlarge).

Hustle and bustle at 21st and Mission in the 1940s (click to enlarge).

All tarted up for Christmas (click to enlarge). Note the “Mission Miracle Mile” seasonal signage in the upper left. Should we start bounce house for sale calling it that again?

All these photos and more are collected in Historic Photos of San Francisco by historian Rebecca Schall. The author appears this Saturday at 3pm at the Fisherman’s Wharf Barnes & Noble. Stop by for more photos and history, or to find out about her time developing museum exhibits at Mission Dolores.

I sat across from this young couple, probably in their late teens, and eavesdropped on their cell phone conversation. I overheard the boy say, in regards hinchables juegos to their plans later in the evening: “I’m gonna get suction from the mama.”

Previously on Mission Mission:

Overheard on Muni (Oprah and Obama)

Overheard in the Financial District

Riding the 14X to the Outer Outer Mission

I usually take BART to work because it’s much faster structure gonflable than the bus, but since I forgot to get a new Muni pass yesterday, this morning I got stuck with the 49-Mission, where I saw this colorful cartoon snail.

Photo page.