MUNI's bad enough -- people laden with bags moshing their way onto teeny-tiny trolley cars, a mother holding an infant and frantically clutching at your head and jacket sleeves as she attempts to cling onto a small metal bar welded to the side of a seat as the bus banks sharply left, people dying of consumption and coughing in your face -- so you think, . Gas prices are going down, MUNI passes are going up, save yourself the stress.

Well, maybe not. In the continuing saga of Newsom's "you didn't vote for my tax increases" I-Told-You-Sos, the always-beloved DPT has proposed hefty fee hikes in an attempt to balance its budget. So meters will go up by 50 cents an hour (so $1.50-2.50, depending on where you are), garages will go up by 50 cents an hour too, and all parking tickets will go up by $5 (so it'll be $40 if you forget to move your car on street-cleaning day). The biggest hike: parking in a red zone or blocking an intersection goes up 200%, from $25 to $75. That operatic shriek you hear in the background is from San Francisco's parking/classical music blogger, The Standing Room.

We have to say, while we're not thrilled about this, it seems only fair that, given that we're not paying higher city taxes, to share the pain equally between public transportation takers and car drivers. But we also almost never park on the street anymore either. We predict an upsurge in social activities along the BART axis as a result -- meet you guys in Glen Park!

Update: (New) picture courtesy of The Standing Room!

Fine, I'll drive