January 31, 2008
News Flash: Muni Not Without Some Problems
Local-TV Tivo alert! We've got some exciting news about everyone's favorite concerned local investigative reporter, Dan "My Rumpled Tie Says No But My Piercing Gaze Says Yes" Noyes.
The next installment of his long-running Muni investigation airs tonight at 6pm on ABC-7, and it sounds like it's going to be awesome: after spending months pouring through Muni's complaint records (while simultaneously fighting off the drivers' union), Dan's I-Team has the goods on Muni's most complained-about drivers.
We've known for some time now that there's just a small group of repeat-offender drivers who account for tons of complaints. So this brings up some pretty obvious questions -- like, why hasn't Muni fired them, what's WRONG with these people, does Muni even care about passenger complaints, why is Muni so fucking terrifying, and so forth. We can't wait to see it all hit the fan this evening.
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Rain aside, it's spelled "poring."
Willie Brown summed it up in the excerpt from his forthcoming book week before last in the Chronic Sunday mag.
Basically, for example, it's against the union rules to fire a Muni employee because they are in prison for assaulting a passenger. But Willie figured out it's not against the union rules to fire an employee for not showing up for their administrative hearing because they are in prison for assaulting a passenger.
In addition he used the term "pettifoggery!". Willie is a marvel.
The Muni people warned us about thisat their public meeting in the Sunset last night . They said the ABC report was a bunch of hype and to "take it with a grain of salt".
Everything's fine. Pay no attention to the man being dragged to his death underneath the train.
If in a rare moment of awesomeness the driver's union let the 10 baddest of the bad apples walk the plank, they'd buy so much goodwill from the riders....seriously...most union drivers want to do a good job and I'm sure it is not fun to see the guys paid out of their dues defend folks who don't care.
sadly I missed the MUNI town hall meeting last night due to a last minute assignment for work....darn paying job getting in the way of all that bloggy fun.
i'll never forget the time a muni driver closed the door on my arm and started driving away.
Notice how at the end of the report Dan Noyes hinted that the number 1 worst Muni driver is female. I wish I could say more, but she's a monster! Zero people skills. The video footage related to her more serious complaints should be pretty damning and/or disturbing.
Dan Noyes and the rest of the I-team deserve our thanks for exposing these 25 horrible drivers and the union and MTA officials that cover up for them.
My son actually came tearing in at 6 to turn on the news to watch this. Glad to know he's learning SOMETHING at school.
that muni union boss is an amazing piece of shit. i'd laugh in his face if i had to negotiate with people like that over real issues like abusive employees he keeps on protecting.
has anyone tried that?
actually tried asking him why he continues to defend this behavior? does he think it's acceptable?
I love the way the union rep kept saying it's a private personnel matter. Uh, guess what buddy? Your employees work for the PUBLIC. If they're telling handicapped people that "you wheelchair people get on my nerves" and telling the immobilized to "catch the next bus", then that IS a matter of public concern.
My grandfather was a labor organizer, and he'd roll in his grave to hear me say this, but this is one union that needs to be busted Reagen-style.
my grandfather was too, blue and he'd roll in his grave to hear what unions have become. he united the afl and cio out here in oakland back in the day.
i seriously doubt that their was ever a vision for unions to become the bastion of mediocrity. in fact, i know they weren't. people like these fucks would have had their skulls cracked by other union members for making them all look bad. when people like this guy run the modern unions, how can anyone defend their existence anymore?
Muni drivers? Wow this topic sure got attention.
San Francisco Commercial Real Estate
Let's get real for a second -- Dan Noyes is the one and only member of the I-"Team".
Let's get real for a second -- Dan Noyes is the one and only member of the I-"Team".
Actually, it's me, two full-time producers, the photographers who shoot our stories, production assistants, etc ...
Thanks for watching, though.
Dan
First thing: I hate rude MUNI drivers as much as anyone.
BUT: I have had the misfortune of actually riding on the 22 Fillmore with the crazy wheelchair woman they did this story about. The bus we were on was totally full (with ever front seat taken up by very old folks). The driver tried to point to a bus that was just a block behind us that was nearly empty. She would have none of it and sped her wheelchair in front of the bus.
The driver quietly relented and let her on. The poor old folks all had to get up and stand because this whale-sized woman couldn't wait 2 minutes for an empty bus. As soon as she got on board she was verbally abusive to the driver. She kept yelling that she had MUNI on speed dial blah blah blah. She cussed and yelled for the entire ride. The driver never once raised his voice or said anything abusive to this woman.
She is a total nut-case.
Remember that there is always two sides to ever story, I just happened to be right in the middle of this one...
Yeah, a total nutcase for wanting to get on a bus. How rude! Seems like she was the only one who's read the signs indicating that the front seats re required to be made available to disabled and elderly MUNI victims as per *federal law*.
Think about it. It's MUNI. You have no idea where the next bus is going because the headsigns are usually wrong. What if the wheelchair lift doesn't work on the next bus? What if it was crowded? Etc, etc.
I saw a similar situation a while back at West Port. Only it was a packed outbound M during "rush hour". The driver was trying to get the wheelchair guy to board a subsequent train. What the asshole driver was missing was that it's going to be far easier for a few people to squeeze on to a packed train than a single wheelchair bound individual.
Have some fucking respect.
P.S. manys: ME TOO.
Zippy:
First Things First: did you even read my post numb-nuts?
EVERY front seat was filled with federally mandated elderly and/or handicapped already. This self-absorbed Jabba-the-Hut in a wheelchair, felt that she was more important that the 12-15 people that were already sitting in the front seats. There were a couple of very very old and walker-bound people that literally got run over by her wheelchair as she entered the bus. They then had to put up with her foul mouth and loud outbursts for the rest of their ride.
ALSO, the bus behind us was VISIBLE, and visibly half-full.
Just because you are wheelchair bound doesn't mean you get respect. You still have to act like a civilized human.
Elderly people who can... stand?