The key point is to get lots of details. Either write them down, or text them to yourself, or call your voicemail and leave them as a message. Details are crucial: bus number, driver number, driver description, bus direction, stop location, run number (that's the 3-digit sign in the front windshield).

Both Muni and NextMuni are eager to hear complaints. NextMuni is very concerned about buses that disappear from the maps, signs that don't work, and faulty predictions. Please, they request, submit complaints (and also complements, if you have them) to website at nextbus dot com. They really want to hear from you. In your email, include as many details as possible: the route, the location of the stop, the direction (like, "towards Downtown"), the time and date, and what exactly was wrong. If you catch a glimpse of a bus that isn't appearing on the tracking map, report that too -- and get the vehicle number if you can.

The process for complaining to Muni is a bit more official. You can do it on their website, or you can just call 311. They'll ask for similar data: the numbers for the bus, the run, the driver. Once you submit a complaint, you can ask for the report's PSR number -- that'll allow you to follow up on it later.

And don't forget to let us know when you submit a report, either to NextMuni or to Muni itself. We love to hear about this stuff, God help us.

Our last tip is that you try not to think about how your bitching basically amounts to a leap of faith. You're just going to have to that your complaints get heard, because often, Muni's policy is to refuse to provide follow-up details. At best, and if you're very lucky, you'll get a completely generic form letter that doesn't even slightly address the specifics of your report. But they really do read complaints, and they even take action. Really. Honest. Promise. We can't prove it, and neither can our sources at Muni; but they're adamant that they're trying, they're really really trying, and that Muni just doesn't know how to fix itself without a little help from you.

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