SFist: Ask a Muni Driver

andyc

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:08:55 -0800

yah i want to hear about driver reactions to A and also, wtf happened to the J this week it's back to old school times with dudes all bunched up and 20-25minute waits at rush hour. it was actually pretty good for the last few months?? or maybe i was just getting lucky??

Belgand

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:03:55 -0800

I'm really curious what actual Muni employees think about Prop A and whether it will improve things and increase accountability. As for holiday bus service I used to work at a customer support call center and, likely since we didn't have a union, we were required to work holidays. The system was that if you got off one holiday (and that was a big if) you were required to the work the next one (and might be even if you did get it off). I mean, sure, people just didn't come to work because it's a terrible, minimum-wage job staffed almost entirely with high school drop-outs, mental/social defectives, and the occasional college student, but I think Muni would have more control. The fact that a place that feels they need to stay open 365 days a year just so someone can call in and bitch about not receiving their computer yet can have no problem covering holidays while a vital city service like Muni is almost completely unable to cope is ludicrous. I know it really, really sucks being forced into working on holidays when you really don't want to, but you find ways to deal. My mother's a nurse and they don't seem to have any problems keeping other critical services operating smoothly (though not in SF), why not Muni?

suckafree

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:27:59 -0800

alright murph, i apologize for confusing you with someone else. the tahoe moniker must have thrown me as well. did you own a ford pickup truck and live in westwood village at one point too? just found that on google.

mariconsoy

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:44:33 -0800

San Francisco, a transit first city completely under the control of unions who block real reform. Voting yes on A will further the unions' powers.

citi_zen

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:29:47 -0800

It seems like other public agencys can require work on holidays/ busy days/ event days - like the police department. I would hope that the Muni & city officials who want to "improve" muni will see this & put in in the next contract with the drivers. If they don't want to play - then they can go out in the job market & find a job that doesn't include "public service" in the job description!

murphstahoe

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:51:18 -0800

sorry suckafree, I live here and am not leaving anytime soon, will stay here to torment you as long as is necessary. I'm hoping measure H passes so I can put in a curb cut even though I don't have a car. The way I figure it, I can take out 2 on street parking spaces from in front of my house with one curb cut and keep the car driving vermin from blocking my view.

suckafree

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:41:37 -0800

mamcart, that would imply we had some sense of accountability from top to bottom at muni. never!

mamcart

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:23:34 -0800

What?! Why can they only staff the extra buses that they already know they will need on a volunteer basis? Isn't Muni a public utility/corporation in the public interest? Don't Muni managers have authority to plan routes and the number of buses and drivers? Don't managers also have discretion over firing people who refuse to show up to work? I honestly don't get why managers can't add "holiday weekend" + big crowds + the "transit-first city" crapola we're all spoonfed and come up with even an approximate answer. Not to lay this all at your doorstep, Ask A Muni Guy/Lady. I appreciate knowing this so I can plan my screaming into the phone at Nat Ford accordingly.

suckafree

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:31:45 -0800

well someone in our building has to rescue us every year since we can't get a bus we'd be more than happy to pay for. something is wrong with that.

cowsaysmeow

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:15:50 -0800

As for B2B, there are extra shuttles that cost $5 or something and there are silly rules involved that I'm not remembering right now (I think they do something similar for 49ers games). No one takes them because there are other regular-priced buses available, even if you have to wait 5 million years for one to show up (that might just pass you by anyway because it's too crowded).

suckafree

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:54:20 -0800

lol! murph, if you live here, i apologize but for some reason i recall you admitting being an ex-sfer somewhere. maybe it was on another blog? for that reason, i wonder why you spend time reading this blog or commenting on local political issues that would take a 3.5 hour drive to affect you?

mattymatt

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:48:34 -0800

Suckafree looks to be the winner here, due to his use of "doofus." Murphstahoe could still pull of a victory, though, if he can work "fiddlesticks" or "your father's mustache" into an insult.

suckafree

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:28:43 -0800

speak for yourself murph. your name says it all doofus!

wsanders

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:02:02 -0800

All those people on Fulton after BtoB are so stoned and drunk it's a wonder they could make it on a bus, not to mention keep from puking all over it once they got on. We barely avoided running over several - and there were a few *passed out* in the right hand traffic lane. Such a lovely assignment for a Muni driver! Besides, like Muni Driver suggests, it's really the lack of drivers that keeps teh buses in teh barn. Unless you want to give Muni a holiday on the Monday after.

murphstahoe

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:49:41 -0800

you don't even live here, suckafree. Keep your comments on local muni issues to yourself.

suckafree

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:30:44 -0800

i dont know about that. after bay to breakers i see literally 100's of people stranded along fulton every year trying to get on any available bus. nike does a much better job of course with buses they make folks pre pay for, 10.00. why can't muni take that action back?

wsanders

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:14:36 -0800

I volunteer for the Red Cross and have been at the finish line for both events, and it takes at least 1 to 1 1/2 hr to drive back across the City from those events. We are in Red Cross vehicles, so we can't drive aggressively like your normal SF ass****, so I estimate our pace as similar to a bus - slow. People would just bitch about how long it takes and how the buses get all bunched up. Plus I'm sure the drivers can laim octuple-overtime on days like that. I doubt Muni even has enough available buses. There are literally dozens, maybe hundreds, of buses chartered for the occasion for participants, volunteers, and camp-followers.

suckafree

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:58:38 -0800

why can't you find a few extra drivers to work the well known and easily planned events like bay to breakers or the nike women's marathon that finish at ocean beach and require transporting 1000's of extra people back across the city? you could probably balance the budget at 1.50 for each participant on that single sunday. what gives?