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A New Hope for Transit
"Stand Clear of the doors"
As the bus heads downtown, more and more people board and fewer seats remain. In the middle of the line, however, musical chairs begins. Seniors spy a better seat across the aisle open up as someone departs now valuable real estate as the neighborhood they are sitting in is no longer attractive: teens are boisterous or playing music or games, a heavy person has squished them in, or their seat is too far from the door.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that we have seats on the mezzanine level which require juggling to step down, particularly if bags are being carried. All this makes it imperative to keep our large interior mirror set so we can see what’s going on in back. A quick start, or rough pavement creates a fall on board situation which leads to an accident report and shutting down the coach on the line.
A card laid is a card played is the best rule to prevent a fall, and stay put while the bus is moving.
Pull-In at Market
Last Trip
Sometimes people get angry when I go out of service. The sense is I have failed them or I am not doing my job. Such as, I am intentionally stopping short and I am scamming the system and cutting-out early. I have to adjust my thinking to realize they may have had a bad experience on an earlier trip that day, or that they have been cut short by some other run or pull-in where the operator did not follow the rule of announcing the pull-in correctly or without regard for their need. And this understanding took a while to get used to. Their anger is not about me, but about some other time and place.
So one night near Halloween, on my pull in from North point, I saw the paper in the scroll roller was torn and would get caught and tear a bigger rip. So I had to look for another sign to put up that would be clear I was not going all the way out to Ocean. And, being in a playful mood, I decided to scroll all the way up to “Nowhere In Particular.” And this was a good decision. I got a lot of smiles along the way. Even some toots from coaches going in the other direction. People were noticing the sign more so than if I had put up the standard sign of “Mission,” or “Market.”
Read the full story below:
We Got Air!
On a recent week the temperatures stayed above 90 degrees. And a funny thing happened in the news about Muni. Nothing. All surface trolleybuses stayed in service. There was no Muni Meltdown! Thanks to John Halley and Ed Reiskin's overseeing new trolley purchases we had no news, which is good news! We also have air conditioning in our new trolleys. It's like having a new job!
The High Line
On my recent visit to NYC, I got to walk along an old elevated rail line.
Along the west side of Manhattan, an old rail line for produce delivery to the south end, has been converted to a walking trail. Here is a photo showing the old tracks covered over by the plantings for shade along the way.
Environmental engineers
International Acclaim
Tearing down an old eyesore of a freeway canopy and replacing it with a parkway hasn't slowed traffic entering the central freeway and offers a park for art sculpture, ice cream, and a place to do yoga and group exercise! This is a far cry from what we once had before the Loma Prieta Earthquake.
New curbs and smooth streets.
Thanks to recent bond issues, we are upgrading our water and sewer system plus adding new curb clears at intersections which offer ramps for seniors so they don't have to step off a curb when crossing the street
High Line Walking Trail
Replacing an old elevated rail line with a walking trail is truly an environmentally friendly design.
Boarding Steps be Gone
Our new trolleybuses lay low to the ground so seniors with walkers, and even wheelchairs can smoothly board the coach without having to use the ramp. This speeds lines like the 22 Fillmore and the 1 California.
Walking on an old rail line in NYC
Taking transit infrastructure and making it in to a walking path on the old right of way is a great way to meet others, relax, and get some exercse
Save what we Have
Or replace an old rail line with a garden, such as on the walking path from Hudson Yards to Greenwich Village seen here in Manhattan.
