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These 5-Fulton riders were disappointed with their 20-plus minute wait during mid-day. Service cuts to this particular line a few years back are still being felt.
One way to gauge the frustration level of mass transit customers is to see how many people stand in the street (or crosswalk or intersection) in order to take a gander for the next vehicle. Moving into the street appears to be a strategy for coping with a longer than expected wait. It doesn't make the next bus come any faster of course, and those who loiter in traffic run the risk of collision with those cyclists on the look out for John Law. Rider beware.
SFist Photo: What's Your MUNI Coping Strategy?
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Elihu Hernandez is running for Board of Supervisors in District 6 and he is having his campaign kick
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OMG...
that orange and blue outfit is wearing that girl
;)
Yep, I wander into traffic all the time myself (looking for cars/bikes first of course)...I used to use the old light-a-cig-and-it-will-come trick before I cut out smoking while waiting or walking. Free newspapers help too if they're handy.
Those two pigeons are in serious danger!
If nextbus was installed more widely and worked more reliably we wouldn't have to do the Muni Dance to try and guess whether we're wasting our time at the stop.
I was stuck in an underground MUNI tunnel one Friday night recently with my eight year-old nephew. He entertained himself by rewriting the MUNI acronym. His fave: "Mug Ugly Nutcase Idiot".
Damn, the 5 is usually one of the few reliable lines (except on weekends, of course, when all of Muni goes to shit). I've done the Muni dance FAR more times waiting for the 24, or 48, aka the worst lines, ever.
I find the best way to cope with the unacceptable waits is to chain smoke in the middle of the street, with headphones and a free paper. It's the only time I can read the Epoch Times. The combination of the three at least serves as a good distraction. Sending perverted text messages to your friends of the opposite sex (or same, I suppose) helps, too.
Oh, hell, even with NextBus on my cell phone, I still step out into the street to see if there really is a bus coming in 2 minutes. NextBus is great, but it is not infallible.
NextMuni's J predictions are fun. "it's coming in 5 minutes...no wait, in 35 minutes...I keed!"
I always have my iPOD on, but if the MUNI takes way longer than 6 songs to arrive, I put a call to 511 and get my passive-aggression on against the operator. Pretty sure it doesn't do much, but it sure makes me feel better.
My strategy is to ride my bike so I don't have to wait for Muni. And I'm always careful when passing pissed off would be passengers standing in the street watching hopefully for a bus. Poor Muni.
- A good lock and two strong legs.
Nextbus on your phone is your friend:
http://www.nextbus.com/wireless/miniRoute.shtml?a=sf-muni
iPod, book, staring down the street from the sidewalk every twenty seconds to see if the bus is in view. If it takes too long, or I start to get antsy, I call 311 for the wait time.
When I was a kid (8 or so), I used to stand in the space where the bus is supposed to stop (you know, that big rectangle) and stick my head out to check for the bus. I did this on Geary Street. I'm surprised I never got decapitated.
I just try to always bring a book with me and never, ever use Muni if I actually have to be someplace on time (e.g. a job interview).
I moved to NYC.
I waited at this same stop for 30 minutes on Saturday mid-day. There were plenty of us standing in the bus top zone staring hopefully up the road. The 5 is terrible on the weekends. We finally took the 22. Thanks MUNI!