The N-Judah Chronicles

One of the most obvious examples of Why There Is A God is the creation of the Do Not Call List, helping to put an end to countless calls at dinnertime offering things you don't need or want. At last, there is a way to stop the madness.

One of the most obvious examples of Why We Need To Keep Praying is the invasion of City streets by armies of the Children of the Corn (as they have been named by a friend of the N Judah Chronicles).

All allegedly represent Good Causes, and all hassle you over and over and over again. One cannot call up a phone number and be placed on the "Don't Bug Me While I'm Waiting for the N Judah" list, or the "Please, Will You Just Leave Me Alone" list. No matter how polite you are, they just don't leave you alone.

Today, I was walking to the N-Judah stop at 9th and Irving, and didn't see until it was too late that once again, we'd been invaded, this time with a pack of Greenpeace-ish folks. They are getting smarter, too, just like successive models of Cylons, or whatever. You can see in this picture how they staked out EVERY SINGLE CORNER, so there was no escape from the sales pitch.

Now, I'm not a mean person, and I usually give out a polite "no thank you" when approached by these salespeople for La Revolucion. That said, if one of these clowns attempts to use any sort of engaging sales chatter, they've met their match, as I once had a similar job ages ago. I know the tricks, I know they work on "quota," and I know most of my money goes back into keeping up the fundraising, so they can raise more money, to pay for more fundraising. Thus, my patience is very thin,

I walked to the bus stop and the chatty hipster guy was trying his best to use an assortment of liberal guilt, praise, and bad humor, to get me to hear more about why I needed to part with my money and give it to Greenpeace. I did the usual polite "thanks but not today" and went to the bus shelter. Looking up at the NextBus display I went through the rigamarole about when the "N" is closed at night, then saw the time - and instantly realized I Was Trapped.

Next Trains. 8 Minutes and 20 Minutes.

Which meant that I had to deal with this Chatty Charlie for a whole 8 minutes. Maybe more if some lout double parked on Judah. I tried polite humor to blow him off, but nothing worked. I wondered about using the "I can't sign as I'm a twice convicted felon" blow off, but he wasn't getting signatures for some insane ballot measure, so that wouldn't work.

Finally, after Chatty Charlie would not leave me alone, I finally said "Look, I know all the techniques, your Jedi tricks won't work on me, boy. Now please, let me read my OfficeDepot catalog in peace." This was accompanied with that look that says "and this is the last time Im' gonna be nice."

Chatty Charlie left, and mumbled something rude about how I wasn't a friend to the Earth or a hero or something. I instantly buried my nose into the now fascinating OfficeDepot catalog I had planned on tossing in the garbage, and waited for the N.

Chatty Charlie tried his rap, as did his brethren on the other corners, and it wasn't working. News flash - 9th and Irving in the mid-morning sucks for this kind of stuff, guys. Don't they teach you anything at Corn Children School?

I was never so happy to get on the N as I was at that moment. Well, maybe not. But it was great to get on board...just as the rain started. Fortunately, I didn't have "quota" to make today! Hasta La Vista, suckers!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

There's a new game show on MUNI Street Theater- "Crazy? or Bluetoooth?" It's a fairly simple game - the next time you see someone talking to the wall or gesturing frantically to no one in particular you make a guess - are they insane, or are they using a Bluetooth headset with a cell phone?

The trick is, you may be surprised at how often you're wrong. For example, on the N-Judah there is a regular rider, who I have nicknamed "Satan's Spokesman" because it seems like every time I've seen him ride from downtown to the Fillmore St./Duboce stop, he's talking in a Charles Manson voice about something Satan-related. No doubt to anyone that he's in the "Crazy" category.

That said, the last three times I've guessed, I've been completely wrong. Not too long ago I got on the N at Irving and 9th, and on board was a guy with odd hair, talking loudly and waving his arms. I was ready to assume he was Yet Another Loud Crazy guy, until I saw him tap the side of his head, where sure enough, there was a Bluetooth headset.

Later I saw him pull out one of the most expensive cell phones a person can buy. Turns out he was not "crazy" at all - just loud and obnoxious, with a weird sense of fashion.

Likewise on two separate occasions I've seen people talking to the wall or whatever who seem normal at first glance, but in both cases, said seemingly normal people were, in fact, those lost souls you see around town who are talking about all sorts of Whatever, to anyone who will listen. Even a MUNI car.

Try it out for yourself, and report back your results! Enjoy!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Sorry for the belated coverage of the MUNI Town Hall organized by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi - but the timing of the event, so close to events affected by my other job prevented me from writing a decent review of the meeting. And what a meeting it was!

It was notable, not just for the cool swag they were giving away, but also for the kind of straight talk MUNI riders have wanted from MUNI for some time. As such, The N-Judah Chronicles is now officially taking Mr. Nate Ford, General Manager of MUNI, off the goofy "On Notice" board we featured a while back.

Why? Simple - because he was willing to stand up on a stage at a community event, unfiltered by bureaucrats and spin-meisters, and give frank, informative answers to citizens' questions. That is all anyone really wants -and he was also willing to freely admit when he didn't know a solid answer to a question and would have MUNI department heads also get up in front of the group and answer some specifics as well.

True, some of the snarky folks sitting behind me (whose constant talking made it really hard for me to hear sometimes - please people this is not a movie theater, keep it down!) had their opinions, but I think most people who attended got a clearer picture of the status of MUNI today, and what it's going to need to survive in the future.

Topics covered ranged widely, from specific questions about the N-Judah and 44 lines, to broader questions about MUNI policy and future financial solvency. On the former, Mr. Ford pointed out that many decisions made in the past currently affect MUNI today. When one citizen asked as to why it seems MUNI drivers aren't polite or helpful to riders, he first told the crowd that there was no excuse for MUNI employees who weren't polite or respectiful to MUNI riders.

But he also indicated that one thing that has been cut over the years has been customer training, as part of one of those "let's save money quickly" ideas in years past that's now coming back to haunt us. He also told the crowd that by giving MUNI as much info as possible, they'd have a better chance of tackling a specific problem at a specific time.

Likewise, when a citizen asked a question that many of us wonder about - why it seems the N-Judah line is getting shorted on trains, while K,L and M lines run empty cars. Two challenges MUNI faces with the streetcars, according to Ford and his staff, have been the fact that they've consistently cut the number of mechanics servicing the trains - and that the maintenance barn can't hold all the cars in the system. Also affecting the assignment of trains to lines, he said, was that the assignment of operators to trains needs to change to serve the needs of customers, not just an abstract budget.

But not all news was doom and gloom. One of the most celebrated announcements was the one made by MUNI's assembled leadership about the changes to the 9th and Irving and 9th and Judah traffic lights, so that the signals for pedestrians and the signals for cars and MUNI trains will be seperate. This will not only speed up trains, but also ensure no pedestrians get run over by cars or trains. Finally!

And, when I asked Mr. Ford directly how often he rode MUNI, he gave a fairly detailed answer, indicating that he rides MUNI lines every week, both as The Boss, and as an anonymous passenger. He also said he requires his managers to ride MUNI on a regular basis, and that often times, specific "problem lines" will be ridden by all managers, for a period of two weeks, and required to report their findings.

Needless to say, he hit that one right out of the park. I assumed he'd say "Yes I do" and move on, but I have to say it was heartening to hear that he and the managers have to ride the bus and MUNI trains like we do, on a regular basis. Heck, when Our Mayor rode the 1 California, that seemed to inspire a pilot project to analyze the line in detail to get it moving faster. Wasn't there some crazy ballot thing years ago to make all the electeds ride the bus or something?

Many people who attended had specific suggestions on ways to improve MUNI service and it was suggested they get involved in the Transit Effectiveness Project since this is where decisions about the future of MUNI service (which as a system hasn't changed since the 1970s) are going to be made.

This is pretty important. Just about anyone who rides MUNI on a regular basis notices all sorts of contradictions, and other symptoms that the system hasn't changed, while our City has. And, at the same time, it is critical that MUNI start finding more stable, long term revenue sources to pay for those changes, otherwise the TEP will be a book of good intentions, without a way to pay for them.

Overall I learned a lot from the meeting and felt it went well. I spoke with Supervisor Mirkirimi after the event and he agreed it went well, but that he was already working on another meeting in six months, so that citizens could have another chance to ask questions, as well as hold MUNI accountable to promises made to citizens in the future.

I agree. While this was a good start, I think a slow-moving bureaucracy created over decades can't be changed overnght. That's why we, as citizens, have to continue to ask our elected officials to do the right thing and fix the system so it run on time and ends this chronic "no money" situation we keep hearing about. Keep your eyes open

Posted by Greg Dewar at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

While attending the MUNI Town Hall hosted by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi (which I'll write about in more detail later this week) one of the handouts given was this really neat little postcard, which had a die-cut "model" of a MUNI train, along with safety tips for kids in and around the T-Third line which will be up and running in a few months.

I'd always wanted a model MUNI for my desk, but no one makes one for model train sets, so I was resigned to perhaps building one out of Legos, but now I have one thanks to MUNI!

Posted by Greg Dewar at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Editor's Note: Don't forget to attend the MUNI Town Hall tonight!

This morning I read an interesting missive in the SF Chronicle about Yet Another Rude MUNI Driver - only this time it was not you or I , the average MUNI rider that was the victim of said MUNI Follies - now MUNI drivers are taking public time to use their PA system for partisan politics and insults!

As reported, a MUNI driver decided to attack Supervisor Chris Daly for the "crime" of riding the F-Line, and singled him out for ridicule to the other passengers. Now, whatever one feels about Mr. Daly, the fact is he is as entitled to a rudeness-free ride as the rest of us.

Thus, a MUNI driver making rude, false statements, for the entire car to hear, was simply uncalled for. It's stupid, unprofessional, and wrong. It'd be stupid, unprofessional and wrong if the (well paid) MUNI driver did the same to any rider, be they Mayor Newsom, you, I or any other taxpayer/rider on the MUNI system. Is it too much to ask these folks to act like the professionals they claim to be? I guess so!

Supervisor Daly is lucky that he has the means to hold this bozo accountable. I just wish we as riders could get the same kind of service addressing rude, stupid, or incompetent MUNI employees as well. I don't think it's too much to ask well-paid public employees with large pensions to act in a civilized manner to all passengers, regardless of partisanship, race, sexual orientation, ZIP code, and the like.

I'm not holding my breath on this one though. Something tells me the some of the MUNI drivers these days don't really care anymore, because, well they really don't have to -and let's face it, it's not like the buses they have to drive are in the best of shape anymore.

This is too bad, because when you get great service from a pro operator, you realize how simple it is for people to act like a pro and everyone wins. Unfortunately the "bad apples" seem to be multiplying, as I hear similar stories from riders around the city every day.

Mr. Ford, are you listening? Unions, how about you? "Union labor" is supposed to mean the best quality workers with the highest standards. I use union businesses all the time and they seem to get it. Show us you're better than this, gang!

UPDATE: Muni Executive Director Nate Ford spoke frankly to people at the MUNI Town Hall on 11/1 about the issue of driver courtesy, which was something of significant concern to the assembled crowd, and assured those in attendance that drivers who were rude to customers (any customers) would be investigated, as Mr. Daly requested in his situation. Most recently the union representing MUNI drivers not only defended rude, obnoxious behavior by their members, they have also taken more steps to attack Mr. Daly. Impressive!

Once again, the bad apples spoil the bunch. Unfortunately in this case, the leaders of the ATU are promoting the bad apples, and spoiling things for the good folks in their membership. The bad apples get the protection, the good folks don't get squat out of their union leadership, and it's the public that loses. Sad.

Posted by Greg Dewar at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)