We're big Muni token fans, as our Muni use is pretty much limited to daily weekday morning rides on the N Judah. When Muni announced that a token shortage necessitated creation of Muni token coupon booklets, we weren't thrilled, but went along with it. The crappiest aspect of the booklets is that they, as opposed to the tokens, have a stated expiration date.

The current token expiration date was December 31 2005, which sucked because we somehow miscalculated our Muni use and currently have three unused token booklets sitting on our desk (a $45 value). Imagine our happiness when, on an unrelated search, we came across yesterday's announcement of the expiration extension to June 30 2006.

That's right, folks, your Muni current token booklets will not be expiring at the end of the year, as is printed on the front cover, but are now good until the end of next June. Could this be an example of Muni doing something almost right? Pardon us as we check ESPN for any figure skating competitions taking place in Hell.

Of course, given the confusion many drivers seem to have when confronted with the token booklets, we worry that this mid-month announcement will not make it through the Muni rank and file by January. Our recommendation? Print out this release on the extension and carry it with you. It probably won't make a damn bit of difference to any driver who might be challenging your use, but you'll definitely have a better case if you have to complain to Muni.

Image of Market Street railway token from San Francisco Muni History