![_Whitney Houston, 48, Has Died [Updated]](http://sfist.com/assets_c/2012/02/whitney-houston-dead-2-thumb-250x250-693364.jpg)
Ask a Muni Driver
Have a rant against Muni? This week, our Muni Driver rants too, all in a response to a comment from last week. And remember, folks, if you got a question, send them to jon@sfist.com. We may not get to your question automatically, but we'll get to them as soon as we can.
And away we go.
{Disclaimer: I am not an official spokesperson for anything except my opinion as a MUNI driver, San Franciscan, and daily passenger just like the rest of you sorry sods relying on MUNI to get us to work on time. If you figure out who I am, please, please don't tell my bosses 'cause I want that pension some happy day - assuming there's any money left in the fund for the lowly drivers by that time.}
Why does the 71L change drivers at Van Ness at the height of rush hour?
Excellent question! But of course one I have no answer for...All I can do is commiserate with you on how utterly stupid this is. Not only is it stupid from the public's point of view, it's stupid from the driver's point of view. Using Van Ness as a relief point is idiotic because if your relief driver doesn't show up, you're forced to work at overtime.
This is because you have to drive the bus to the end of the line before returning to the barn, which takes about an hour. Or you're instructed to throw a whole busload of passengers off and go directly to the barn, thus taking the bus out of circulation at a critical time, meaning the bus following will be overwhelmed. If your relief driver is merely late, it's a huge problem because obviously it's not a location that makes any kind of sense for stopping and waiting. You end up snarling massive amounts of traffic - or at least making gridlock far worse than it has to be - and inconveniencing a full busload of passengers into the bargain.
The stupidity of the 71 hardly stops here, though. I've never been able to figure out why the 71 doesn't go all the way to the Ferry building at all times. On nights and weekends the route stops at 2nd Street, a totally unnecessary curtailment that confuses the hell out of everyone, especially passengers used to taking this bus during weekdays. This problem is more acute since the 7 Haight is no longer running. This means that if you come from the Haight Street corridor and want to go to the Ferry building, you have to transfer from the 71 to the F-Market or hoof it. Walking is fine unless you're disabled or elderly.
From the driver's point of view, another problem with this line change is that while there are MUNI bathrooms at the Ferry Building, there aren't any at the 2nd Street turnaround. I guess nighttime and weekend drivers just hold it all in???
I really think this is one of those mangled routes where public dismay/rage, if appropriately expressed, might make a difference. Passengers need to call and email MUNI to change the relief point from such a busy intersection and to force MUNI to allow the 71 to complete the route to the Ferry Building at all times. And while you're at it, maybe you could throw in a complaint about the lameness of the 48 Quintara having a staggered route where only every other bus stops at Kansas & 23rd, while the other one turns around at 3rd & 20th? We're always throwing at least fifteen passengers off the bus at Kansas who had no idea they weren't gonna make it all the way to the T-Train or CalTrain. Dumb, dumb, dumb!