May 29, 2007
Muni's Fastpass Treasurehunt
Flickr user JM3 reports a heck of a time finding a Muni pass -- despite going to a Muni station to obtain one, he had to get on the train and ride a few stops before reaching an actual vendor. "You almost have to HAVE a muni pass in order to GET a muni pass," he says, which is still only a partial list of requirements: you also have to have the secret unauthorized Muni-map hack to find a vendor nearby.
On certain days, you can also buy monthly passes online -- but you can't buy weekly passes, or use Commuter Checks at all. That functionality is "coming soon," like oh so many promised improvements at Muni. August is the latest estimate we've heard for online Commuter Check usage.
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I get mine from a Walgreen's or Rite-Aid.I haven't been to a neighborhood that doesn't have at least one of these stores.
I have run into problems with places running out, especially if I am traveling and try to get the pass on the 3rd or 4th.
I ordered my monthly online this month and it arrived late last week, plenty of time to stick it in my wallet before yet another trip that spans the end of one month and the beginning of the next...
Maybe it's harder to find a weekly pass, but I sure don't see what the big deal is finding a regular fastpass. Even without that Google Map thingy, you just look up what's in your neighborhood, usually a Safeway or Rite-Aid or something. And there look to be a lot of vendors in and around BART stations where someone might arrive from out of town.
Try finding a Muni pass in Noe Valley. It's practically impossible, especially on 24th Street.
It can be hit or miss sometimes, esp. at the Market St. Safeway, which can either have plenty, or run out too fast. If worst comes to worst, I get mine at The Source on Geary St. A true hassle, but at least you know they'll have some.
Try finding a Muni pass in Noe Valley. It's practically impossible, especially on 24th Street.
[4] Posted by: hifidigitalboy | May 29, 2007 2:09 PM
There is both a Walgreen's(Castro St)and Rite-Aid(24th St)
Not all Walgreens sell them.
If you look at the google map of vendors, there's some big gaps. And the rules about what days you can buy them on are just arcane and stupid.
i have never had any problems buying a pass. What's the big deal? i found a place near my house like 7 years ago and i get one there on the first day of the month. you guys gotta work a little bit, then you can complain. if it's a few months into the game and you still can't figure it out, maybe something else is wrong.
@Ciaran- which Walgreen's are you talking about?There are 56 Walgreen's in San Francisco.It is my under standing by San Francisco and Walgreen's that all San Francisco Walgreen's are contracted to sell Fast Passes.
OK. Here's how it works in civilized, advanced, industrialized, first-world democracies:On any day of the year, buy your 30-day pass (or 7-day pass or 3-day pass or 1-day pass or 365-day pass) from a ticket vending machine. There's a ticket vending machine at every major bus/tram stop, and there are plenty of them at every rail station. (Of course. It would be completely stupid to make it hard to buy the most useful fare media, right?)
I'm going by the vendor list on the Muni website, but if you're in the Presidio/Marina area, the Marina Safeway is the only vendor. Not the Walgreens on Chestnut or Lombard.
But I admit I've never tried going into a Walgreens not listed on the muni site and asking for one.
Haha Richard - you're so right. Unfortunately the United States ceased being a "civilized, advanced, industrialized, first-world democracy" back when Regan got elected.
An open apology to
-Ciaran-You are right.I called the stores and then the corporate HQ to find out why this was and talked about the contract that I had located.The reason that I was given as to why some stores don't carry the fast passes is due to demand.So our faithful contract negotiator (city attorneys office)for this contract lets it go in order to keep Walgreen's as a viable distributor that will handle commuter checks.
Procedure to buy my May Fastpass on April 30 (Walgreens doesn't have them in Sunset btw):
1. Safeway Noriega - sold out
2. Safeway Taraval - sold out
3. San Francisco State University - vendor didn't show for work
4. Nordstrom Stonestown - success!
so connect these dots. BART put in completely new Ticket vending machines in the shared tunnel within the last five years. Muni Fastpasses are a BART ticket variant. BART TVM's DO NOT sell Fastpasses. Why are ANY of the persons who dropped this ball still employed in delivery of public transit? (or breathing)
@transit troublemaker, richard and others: join the fray with other soldiers of MUNI.
The Facebook group does not appear to have open enrollment.
@MattyMatt: it's a wide-open group, but i believe you need to belong to the San Francisco network -- i'm not sure if there's a way to change that. Are you in the SF network?
Whew, okay, got it now. This computer hacking is hard work!
Oh sweet, excellent.
i just posted the transcript of a conversation i had with my corner store owner on why they don't sell FastPasses - the economics are pretty bogus.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2366614219&topic=2841
I'm sure most of you have already finished this thread, but I did want to drop in a little bit of my personal experience as a seller.
I work in property management (at a high-rise in SoMA) and we sell transit tickets to our tenants. This is fairly typical in the major downtown buildings. We sell fast passes, tokens, AC transit, Bart tickets, ferry passes, and now CalTrans. We don't make any money on them, accept commuter checks, and sell the current pass until the MUNI revenue section picks up our pack around the 18th of the month.
It's a great system for those of us who work in the fancy-schmancy buildings, but unfortunately I don't know of any that allow the general public.