adventures in muni

Although I do not even remotely miss driving to work, I'd forgotten that Muni can be just as exasperating as stupid drivers on the 101.

On Thursday, I was running a bit late, so I didn't check the news before I dashed out of the house. When I got to the N-Judah station on 19th and Judah, I noticed that we were waiting phenomenally long for a train. Usually, they come every 5 - 10 minutes during rush hour. All of a sudden this bus pulls up - something that almost never happens on Judah street.

Confused, I follow the masses onto the bus, and hope for the best.

In the wake of the London subway bombings that morning, Muni was taking extra precautions and discontinuing underground service. The thing that was really confusing was that the Outbound trains were still running.

On the bus, I ask the person that I was squeezed up against if she knew why we were on the bus or where we were going. "No clue," she said, in regards to our destination. "But I'm guessing its because of the bombings."

We amble along for about 15 blocks, when all of a sudden the bus stops. "There's a train behind you," the driver said. Apparently, Muni officials thought that stopping just 3 Inbound trains was enough of a "security precaution." So of course everyone gets out and tries to pack into an already overstuffed N.

I couldn't get on, so we get back on the bus. The bus was heading to Duboce and Church, was almost completely empty, and I had already gotten to know my fellow travelers from rubbing up against their backpacks.

Unfortunately, the driver had no idea how to get to Church and Duboce. So we were all giving him directions while speculating about the morning's events.

We finally reach Church, and once again, everybody gets out. Some head towards Market to catch a street car, the rest of us wait for another N. When it finally arrived, we knew there was just no hope of getting on. You can imagine how crowded it is, considering it was the same train that was holding all of the people who held out for a train at their original stops, plus all of the people who got off the bus in the first place.

So the three of us walk up to a supervisor talking to the bus driver to ask him when the next one is coming. At that point, he says, "Actually, I'm sending this bus downtown." So we once again climb back on the same bus, with the same driver, and have to give him directions.

Eventually I made it to work in one piece. But what an adventure.