Reader Mail: A MUNI Ride With a Treat

Got this note from Reader Paul the other day regarding a rather amusing/disturbing commute on the N one crowded day:

Hi Greg,
I feel bad complaining because I usually have good luck on the N. That and I live close enough to work — 3 stops from Church to Powell — that my ride can be as little as six minutes.
Anyway, I’m on the way home this evening, and the train makes an unusually long stop at the handicap ramp. The driver peeks out the door and speaks to the attendant, who disappears inside and returns with … wait for it … a bottle of Snapple, which he hands to the driver.
The train is packed and I don’t know what the capacity of a 2-car train is, but I’d guess about 250 people? So we all waited while he got Snapple. All told probably 45 seconds to a minute, but if you multiply that by the number of riders on the train, it becomes quite an expensive beverage.
Thanks, keep up the good work, and best of luck balancing a day job and keeping you blog up to date!

Drivers are entitled to breaks and such, it seems that would be the best time to do such things. I have been on a few 30 Stocktons that have made pit stops and left the bus running, unattended while someone picks up lunch. Seems a bit odd.

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3 Responses to Reader Mail: A MUNI Ride With a Treat

  1. I was on a cable car once when the brake guy/driver guy jumped out and bought pizza while we waited in the street. Come to think of it, it might have been cable car pizza. Huh.

  2. Steve says:

    Last week while waiting for a friend at 26th and Church, J car #1540 slid by with just one passenger but the driver was having himself a good smoke on his big ol Sherlock Holmes pipe. Smoke was pouring out of the driver’s open window and he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

  3. Joseph H says:

    Um … one detail being overlooked here is that operators aren’t permitted to consume food or beverages while operating.

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