The N-Judah Chronicles

Mason Powell alerted me to this, which is a classic 70s Sesame Street video. It seemed appropriate for the site:

Also, don't forget about the meeting slated for tomorrow to discuss how to fix the 38 Geary line. As I've stated before it's important that people stand up for sensible traffic solutions in all parts of the city, since bad service in one part of SF can affect other parts pretty easily.

Meeting info, once again:

What: Richmond Town Hall Meeting with Mayor Newsom and Supervisor McGoldrick


When: Saturday, July 29th from 12:00 to 2:00


Where: Presidio Middle School, 450 30th Ave between Geary and Clement.

Thanks for your help!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning's papers are full of news about our MUNI. They're starting to do test runs of the T-Third Line, which is due to open on weekends January 2007, and for full service later in 2007. There's the fallout from the Spare The Air Days (both positive and negative), and the inevitable call for free rides every day, all day.

All interesting, to be sure, but what stuck out today was this peculiar editorial in the billionaire out of towner owned Examiner suggesting that privatizing MUNI would make the system run better.

Umm...yeah. Right. That will improve things. I look at the oh so brilliant innovation and customer service of big monopolies like AT&T, Comcast, and the like.

After dealing with customer service by way of New Bangalore when I have a billing problem, and put up with mediocre, overpriced service that profits a handful of execs, you'll pardon me if I don't sign up for privatizing a service that inherently can't make money without cutting off service to a vast number of neighborhoods and people.

But that's not the point. What's most surprising is that a paper that was once a part of San Francisco History and a former flagship paper for the infamous Hearst Corporation, can't seem to remember San Francsico's own long history of competing streetcar lines. Nor does it seem to remember that consolidation of these many systems into one devoted to the public interest, not personal profit, was necessary for the city to be served properly.

And, it seems the out-of-town editorial writers didn't read any of SPUR's analyses which point out that much of the inefficiency of today's MUNI is left over from duplication of service left over from the old systems, which need to be addressed.

If someone can show me a city where they have a privatized system that serves the entire public equally and cheaply, hey, sign me up. But when a private, chain owned paper that's supposedly been a part of the City for the last 100+ years can't even remember some basic facts of San Francisco history, well, perhaps that's just one more reason we shouldn't rely on large, out of town interests to work in the public interest.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Betcha didn't know that Muni's been running kinda slow lately, did ya? Well just in case you really didn't know, a new study was commissioned that found MUNI has been slowing down 1% a year, for the last 20 years!

Now, what struck me was not so much that the MUNI system has been getting slower and whatnot due to traffic and the like - rather it was the fact that these kinds of studies hadn't been done over the last 20 years. Now you would think that a system that keeps saying it "needs money" and complains about "no money" but can only seem to come up with fare hikes and crappier service as a stopgap would instead take a look and ram through some real changes that would make the system work better.

Then, oh I don't know, if it worked better, maybe more people would ride it, sans bribes from Spare the Air folks. But instead, we've had pencil pushers who just look for some half-assed fix, and never really confront how to make a system that works, how much a functional system costs, and then find stable ways to pay for it.

The report on KTVU was illuminating in one respect - it seems Mayor Newsom was delayed so much by a 1BX bus he ended up walking to work. At least he rides the bus once in a while. We all knew Slick Willie was too arrogant to even look at a bus, much less ride it, and I don't know how many of our esteemed electeds actually ride a bus anymore.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

N-Judah Chronicles contributor Mason Powell makes his blogging debut today. He's already been providing us photos, and now provides some commentary on fare inspectors!

It's not often that we get to see karma in action. Sure, we like to tell ourselves that the array of jerks that we encounter will "eventually get theirs", but how many times do we get to see it happen? Not very often. But when you get to see the cosmic forces at work, it can really be fun.

For example, a few weeks ago I was on the N-Judah on a somewhat crowded Thursday. I got on at Powell and headed outbound. Around Church & Duboce, in this fairly crowded car... a voice called out the words hippie wannabes and other deadbeats fear...

"Fast Pass, transfers, or tickets!"

The Fare Inspectors had arrived. And while sometimes it can be hard to shuffle things around to get out your Proof of Payment, everyone did and showed the inspector. Except for one. In a seat a few rows from where I was standing, sat someone who I had no opinion of until he opened his mouth. He was a Yuppie In Training. Let's call him "Chip". He's not quite to the point of having an SUV in the 'burbs with a trophy wife and accessory kids, but he's on the way.

This guy must have been in his mid to late 20's, and had the uniform of the 21st Century YIT - a vertical striped shirt, semi-spiky hair, and the fake worn-out jeans. And the attitude to match. When the inspector asked him for his POP, the BS started to flow faster than a Fox News commentator. From what I could hear, Chip didn't have a transfer because he "couldn't get one". He transferred from BART, and the MUNI station was "closed". He even got out his BART ticket to prove his story was true.

Let's step back for a moment. This guy looked like he was somewhat educated. Was that the best he could do? On a weekday, during the middle of the day, there is always a staffed window and faregate that accepts coins in a downtown station. This guy was just too lazy to find one, or more likely, just thought he could get away with it. And showing the BART ticket to prove his story is even more ludicrous. In a two part statement, proving Part A true does not automatically make Part B true. Anyway...back to the story.

After hearing the tale of woe, the inspector nailed down some of the particulars of the story, and then reminded Chip that he needed Proof of Payment at all times. Then he asked to see Chip's ID. Chip handed it over, and the inspector said that he would be back. He then went to the head of the car, and started filling out the citation, while still checking people who were getting on. It was an impressive display of multitasking.

A few minutes later, the inspector returned, and asked for Chip's signature on the citation. To my amazement this was the next thing I heard: "What am I signing?" When he was told that it was a citation for not having valid Proof of Payment, Chip started repeating his story over and over, like that would have opened a portal to another universe where people are actually swayed by Yuppie BS and are allowed to ride MUNI for free.

The inspector, always maintaining a professional manner, very politely said "Sir, it is your responsibility to have Proof of Payment. Everybody on this car made the effort to get it and you did not. That's why you are getting this citation." Chip was very quiet for the rest of his trip.

Now I don't know which part I enjoyed better. The fact that someone who tried to cheat the system got busted, especially when that someone was not in dire financial straits, or that 'ol Chip just couldn't accept the fact that he was caught and had to take his medicine like the rest of us in spite of his story. Perhaps the latter.

I wasn't the only one enjoying this. Seated next to Chip was a woman of similar age who I first thought was with him, but she had a look of intelligence about her. After Chip got his citation, She used a lot of energy to hold back a VERY large grin, keeping it to just a smirk.

It seems more of us fare-payers enjoy seeing someone get busted that I thought

Posted by Mason Powell at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Yesterday, "Mason Powell" and I did a photo shoot for my work, taking advantage of the unusually clear and bright weather we're having. Here are some samples, with pop-ups. Most were taken at the park in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood, which is just a few blocks from my house.

This is a nice photo of the Sunset, framed by the trees of the park:

Here's another from the park, looking towards the city. Later we went to the Presidio, and over to the Marina. San Francisco is really not that big of a city!

Here's a view of Sutro Tower and Twin Peaks from Moraga Avenue, on the way to the park:

The Mighty N-Judah making the turn at Ocean Beach:

And some birds at the beach, enjoying the sun:

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Good news! The sun is shining, the weather is warm, life is good...but oh, there's that whole smog thing going on. So while you're enjoying the non Twain-like summer weather be aware that we may have a bit of a problem with the air.

Not to worry. The kind folks at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District have found the funds to pay for Yet Another Spare the Air Day.

That means that MUNI, BART, the esteemed CalTrain and many more Bay Area mass transit systems will be free to all who wish to ride.

Now, don't think that a Spare the Air day is just for people too lazy to spend some cashola on El Muni to get to work. Soon-to-be-contributing writer Mason Powell used a "Spare the Air" day to take advantage of BurgerMeister's excellent chicken wing deal on Monday, quickly commuting from the Peninsula to get one heck of a deal on a week's worth of excellent chicken wings and get back to the Peninsula.

Now, if that isn't helping our capitalist system, I don't know what is. Fair to say, if he didn't have the Spare the Air day, he might not have purchased those wings (since they'd have a 10 dollar premium from BART and MUNI).

It is too bad those of us who buy monthly passes don't get a little check in the mail on these days, since we did pay The Man in advance. But you know what? I'm willing to cut some slack on this one. Even if my chicken wing deal wasn't as great.

UPDATE: July 21st has now been declared a Spare the Air day and the hot weather is with us one more day (at least). Ride MUNI to your favorite after-work place and have a cocktail and watch the sunset.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Those of us lucky enough to right our beloved N-Judah, complete with tracks and a certain "get the Hell out of the way, cars and cyclists, the train is comin' through" character sometimes forget just how herky-jerky a bus can be. Then you transfer to one and wonder "just why DID they go to these crazy buses anyway?"

That in itself is a long and tortured story, one that is not unique to San Francisco. But after 50 years of fallout from some disastrous decisions made in ways only San Francisco can seem to invent, there's some hope, at least for our Oppressed Brothers and Sisters who ride the 38 Geary.

Not everyone knows that the 38 Geary is the busiest transit route in the Western US (and one of the top 5 in the United States!), serving 40-50,000 +passengers every day. Now, with that many riders, you'd think that the system would work well to serve those to use it every day, but it's easily one of the biggest pain-in-the-ass routes one can ride.

I speak from personal experience when I used to live off of Geary and rode the 38 downtown to catch BART, and even in my not-so-remote location, the buses would often fly by, totally packed, and more than a few times miss my connecting BART. Let's just say after enough times on a crappy, over-booked, herky-jerky bus, I moved, and I'm happy I did.

However, there's an effort by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research group and the coaltion of supporters known as Go Geary to organize support for a Bus-Only lane that could one day be upgrade to a rail line.

While the hope of a rail line on the former B Geary Line might be hoping for a bit much, the fact is a Bus-Only lane on Geary St. would make a hell of a lot of sense. Sure we wouldn't get the satisfaction of a "real" rail line, but who cares?

The benefit of a rail line would still exist, but there'd be no need to lay track and build the assorted expensive whatnots one needs with a full fledged rail line. More importantly, if you make mass transit work, run on time, and use modern, clean, and non-craptacular buses, guess what? More people will use it, and the system will ensure that the local business and residents are well served by something they pay for via taxes and fares.

As it stands now, we spend millions for a system that's not working , groaning under the load of passengers it has - and it has no room to grow. True, this is not as easy as snapping one's fingers and making it happen - there's gonna be disruptions and construction hassles. However, they will be nowhere near the mayhem caused by putting the BART/MUNI tunnels on Market st. back in the day, and it's incumbent on us to press for a plan that minimizes the hassles as much as humanly possible.

But this being San Francisco, we can't all work together so everyone - residents, business owners, and riders SHOULD be able to work out a plan that serves the best interests of the city. But no.

There's always someone who has to take on the role of self-appointed loudmouthed jerk, and in the case of the plan for fixing the 38 Geary line, we've got one in the form of an angry one-man band whose personal grudges threaten good policy.

I'm not bothering to even link to this grudge-match guy, because frankly, I'm sick of dorks like him dominating policy discussion when it comes to trying to move the city forward. People like him mistake personal animosity for political action (or in his case, inaction) and its this kind of attitude that has turned San Francisco from "The City That Knows How" to "The City That Knows How To Whine, Bitch, and Moan."

That's why if you can, you should sign a petition, send a letter, wave a sign, or do something to get our elected folks, our appointed folks, and the other folks who are paid by us to make transit work properly, and find a way to make the 38 Geary plan work for everyone involved, and not have plans scuttled based on the irrational rantings of one person.

Trust me when I say you don't wanna f*ck this one up. We've been paying for the mistakes of the past of those who looked for the half-assed way out for a long time, and one has to think about the legacy to future generations before signing some idiot's petition to screw things up yet again.

For a chance to stand up for an HONEST fix to the 38 Geary mess, you should consider stopping by the meeting at Presidio Middle School where you can talk to Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, and Muni folks about how to best go forward on moving San Francisco into the 21st Centry - and avoid screwing up because some bitter men can't get over the fact they suck.

Richmond Town Hall Meeting with Mayor Newsom and Supervisor McGoldrick
When: Saturday, July 29th from 12:00 to 2:00
Where: Presidio Middle School, 450 30th Ave between Geary and Clement.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Even though it's not complete, NextBus is still rather useful, particularly on our Mighty N-Judah line. It's especially useful where I live now, given that I'm just steps from an actual stop. Knowing when the train is coming early in the morning is a big help.

Firing up a web browser all the time though, is a hassle, and while I don't normally like the Dashboard function in OSX because it's such a memory hog sometimes, it has proven useful for calling up NextBus quickly, via two Widgets - NextBus Widget and NextMuni. I tried finding a similar widget for Yahoo Widgets (compatible with MS Windows and OS X) but I couldn't find one - if you know of one let me know!

Both are pretty good, but I'm giving extra bonus points to NextMuni, simply because the other one has a tendency to mysteriously crap out after a set period of time, and it's not shareware. I've reloaded it several times, done all the usual OSX geek maneuvers, and it still doesn't work. Plus the NextMuni one just looks cooler. So there.

Someone also makes a BART Widget, but I haven't really used it much.

Anyway, enjoy the great weather, and the World Cup finals!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)