Bus Report #536
My 44 O'Shaughnessy out to the Sunset Farmer's Market this morning was pleasantly empty but smelled unpleasantly like urine.
I coughed and looked around to see if I could figure out where the stench was coming from. The woman sitting in front of me said, "So it's not just me, then? You can smell it too?"
"Oh yes," I told her. "It is not just you."
I got out at 9th and Irving, quickly replaced the piss smell with the delicious scent of coffee from the Beanery.
Later, I was on the N Judah with the Teacher's Pet.
At Cole and Carl she suddenly elbowed me and hissed, "look at that scary clown!"
Magic words! Outside the window there was a creepy looking man in full clown makeup, including a hat with a golf motif. He seemed even creepier because he was sort of skulking past the storefronts opposite our N Judah car. We sat there, slightly terrified, until the N was in motion again.
We cruised through the Rock Make festival, then had lunch at Coffeebar. We walked out to 16th to catch the 33 Stanyan. The bus was only going to Haight, but that was okay. Usually there's another bus right behind it. It was a nice day, so even if it took a few minutes for the next bus to show up, it wouldn't be a problem.
The Teacher's Pet took a 71, and I waited for the 33. Our driver had said it would be along in 5 minutes. NextBus said it would be 36 minutes and 39 minutes, but that just seemed weird to me, so I waited.
Time passed. Another person in the stop checked the schedule on her Igadget. "It says five minutes," she said.
So we waited. And waited. And waited some more.
The woman shook her head and hailed a cab.
I kept looking at NextBus. It still said impossible things.
I called 311 and the operator told me there was a bus right around the corner.
There was, but unfortunately it was the wrong corner. She had given me the info for the bus coming in the opposite direction.
Finally, a bus came in to view.
It was only going to Haight and Stanyan.
"I've been waiting forty minutes," I told the driver. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
He didn't.
I called 311 again and explained the story. The operator said, "They shouldn't be turning around at Haight, let me get a supervisor."
She was gone a few minutes, then came back. "My supervisor says that there's a bus about ten minutes out."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "If it is going out of service like the last two buses, please call us back to report it."
I hoped I wouldn't have to do that.
The bus came fifteen minutes later. Luckily, it was going my way.
I coughed and looked around to see if I could figure out where the stench was coming from. The woman sitting in front of me said, "So it's not just me, then? You can smell it too?"
"Oh yes," I told her. "It is not just you."
I got out at 9th and Irving, quickly replaced the piss smell with the delicious scent of coffee from the Beanery.
Later, I was on the N Judah with the Teacher's Pet.
At Cole and Carl she suddenly elbowed me and hissed, "look at that scary clown!"
Magic words! Outside the window there was a creepy looking man in full clown makeup, including a hat with a golf motif. He seemed even creepier because he was sort of skulking past the storefronts opposite our N Judah car. We sat there, slightly terrified, until the N was in motion again.
We cruised through the Rock Make festival, then had lunch at Coffeebar. We walked out to 16th to catch the 33 Stanyan. The bus was only going to Haight, but that was okay. Usually there's another bus right behind it. It was a nice day, so even if it took a few minutes for the next bus to show up, it wouldn't be a problem.
The Teacher's Pet took a 71, and I waited for the 33. Our driver had said it would be along in 5 minutes. NextBus said it would be 36 minutes and 39 minutes, but that just seemed weird to me, so I waited.
Time passed. Another person in the stop checked the schedule on her Igadget. "It says five minutes," she said.
So we waited. And waited. And waited some more.
The woman shook her head and hailed a cab.
I kept looking at NextBus. It still said impossible things.
I called 311 and the operator told me there was a bus right around the corner.
There was, but unfortunately it was the wrong corner. She had given me the info for the bus coming in the opposite direction.
Finally, a bus came in to view.
It was only going to Haight and Stanyan.
"I've been waiting forty minutes," I told the driver. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
He didn't.
I called 311 again and explained the story. The operator said, "They shouldn't be turning around at Haight, let me get a supervisor."
She was gone a few minutes, then came back. "My supervisor says that there's a bus about ten minutes out."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "If it is going out of service like the last two buses, please call us back to report it."
I hoped I wouldn't have to do that.
The bus came fifteen minutes later. Luckily, it was going my way.
posted by Rachel at 6:50 PM
4 Comments:
the inner sunset farmer's market is great. it's not just a market, it really makes Sunday morning so fun for the entire neighborhood. plus it calms traffic on 9th. I live right by it and it's fun.
Greg, I completely agree! The vendors are so nice and knowledgeable, and it's a great place to spend the morning. I got some amazing apples and blueberries yesterday, yum! And if you haven't tried the empanadas from El Porteno, you should!
I think this post pretty much perfectly summarizes the public transit experience on a daily basis. It has all of those little things that are muni - the smells, the interesting riders, the hope, the let down, the wait, the misscommunication and confusion...
I wish I got to the farmer's market here more often but the hours they operate are usually too inconvenient for me due to work :-\
Thanks, Dani!
Sad you keep missing the Farmer's Market... Maybe you'll be able to make the one they're starting in the Richmond next spring (hopefully!). I also like the one at Civic Center, and I think that one goes later in the day than the Sunset one...
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