Dear Mr Ford
Reader Nick quite intelligently sent his feedback to Muni, and even more cleverly sent his experiences to us. Here's hoping he gets a response from Muni on his concerns -- Nick, keep us posted!
On Tuesday, I was waiting for a bus to take me from 4th and Market to 4th and King. A 30 came by and I got in line and waited for everyone to get off so I could board. While I was waiting, I saw the 16AX stop at the corner and let off passengers. This was great because I was there at just the right time (8:49, the bus was 4 minutes late) to catch the ONE instance of the 16AX per day that doesn't end at Market but instead expresses to the 4th and Townsend.I jumped out of line to get on that bus, only to be told by the driver that I couldn't get on. "This is the one bus per day that goes to the Caltrain station..." I said, confused and annoyed. "No," said the driver. He wasn't nasty just terribly bored and disinterested. So I boarded the 30 instead (good thing it was still there!) and, fortunately, made it to my train on time.
When I got to work, I called 673-MUNI and reported the driver. The operator said he would send me a report within 10 days, which I imagine I'll receive next week. Who knows what will happen with that. I now carry a copy of the 16AX schedule in my bag so I can hopefully talk some reason into the next driver that tries to scam me out of a ride to the Caltrain station.
On a much happier note, I caught a 45 from the same corner on Friday. It was pretty close; the train leaves at 8:59 and I caught the bus at 8:49. It has definitely taken me more than 10 minutes to get down 4th on a bus before. Thankfully, this driver knew that there were people on his bus trying to catch a train, and knew when it left. When some boarders were slowly trying to figure out where they were going, delaying our leaving a stop, the driver said, "C'mon, I've got people here who need to catch a train!" and hurried them along.
I caught my 8:59 train. Thank you Muni!
After the jump Reader Christine asks the eternal question: "When does a two mile trip take 45 minutes?" The answer, of course, is "When it's on Muni!"
I live 2 miles from my workplace, and 2-3 blocks from bus stops for 2 major lines, the 30 and the 47.I can take the 47 from Northpoint & Hyde to O'Farrell and walk one block to work; or the 30 from Columbus & Francisco switching to the 2 or 3 at Stockton & Sutter to Van Ness and walk 4 blocks. Either way, it takes me 30 minutes. And if all the connections don't happen, or if the 47 just drives by my stop without picking me up as sometimes happens, it takes me 45 minutes. Yes, 2 miles can = 45 minutes on Muni time.
You might wonder why I don't just walk to work - well that would be 40 minutes and I would be sweaty by the time I got to work from walking uphill. (I do walk home; downhill, and anyway who cares if you sweat at the end of the day.)
If I drive, it takes me less than 15 minutes to go from my door to a parking garage, then to my office. But I want to support public transportation; that was one of my reasons for moving to the city.
So, why can't Muni have express runs on the 47 route once an hour, between 7-9 am and 5-7 pm? Stops might be Northpoint & Van Ness or Polk, Geary & Van Ness, and Market & Van Ness. There's an express that starts in the Marina and goes to Financial District. And it is always jam-packed. We need an express for folks who work near Van Ness, or take a connecting route from Market St.
Then 47 riders could take public trans but still get to work in a reasonable time frame. I'll bet that would cut down on traffic on Van Ness, too.