New Buses, Old Buses

Many people including me complain how old and worn down the buses are, and they need to be replaced. There are four different types of buses that are being used by Muni today, including the new hybrid-diesel bus. The four different types of buses are still being used, and are at different parts of San Francisco. There are advantages and disadvantages to each bus, but I will not go into too much details.

The new hybrid-diesel that was integrated into the bus fleet when I was in high school is very environmentally friendly. I was very excited when I actually saw one of the new buses, which was in 2007. They give out less pollution into the air, therefore not increasing the rate of global warming. In my opinion, the hybrid buses are more stuffy and dark than the regular buses. 

Also, when hybrids go up a steep hill, I feel that there is not enough power, whereas the regular buses that have been used for more than ten years had less of a problem going up the hill. This is partially because the hybrids use less fuel, and in return, less horsepower. But since I support for having less pollution, I will support the new hybrids!

Hybrid Buses

There are also electric buses that have been used for a long time. These buses don’t pollute the environment at all, but I always hope they would get rid of them. These electric buses are slow, noisy, and the interior of the bus is dirty all the time, because it lacks maintenance. 

I get angry especially when the electric wire connected to the wires on top disconnect. We waste a couple of minutes sitting on the bus and wait for the bus driver to hop off, pull on the wires so that it connects back on the voltage, and hop back on the bus. In the meantime, all the cars behind it stay waiting as well, causing traffic congestion. I usually avoid riding these electric buses as much as possible, but I had to because I would not get to my workshop without riding the 22 Fillmore line.

Trolley Buses

As for the regular muni buses, they run 100% on fuel so I have no complaints, except that I see black fumes coming out of exhaust pipes every time. Fortunately, Muni will soon replace all the regular buses with new hybrid buses, which costs Muni $36.9 million (SF Gate). Muni tries to improve their service by buying new buses and switch the old ones away. 

Regular Muni Buses

These new buses, as stated in the article, will look very similar to those hybrid buses that are being used today, except without stairs. I can’t wait to ride in these new buses! Would you like to ride in these new buses? Write a comment and share your thoughts!

My Ups and Downs With Muni

Muni.

The first thing a lot of people see every morning once they walk outside of their house. Huge amounts of students and frantic mothers push onto the bus. I’m pretty sure that most people that live in San Francisco have ridden Muni once or twice or even hundreds of times.

As for me, I’ve ridden Muni for more than ten years. Muni is my main transportation around San Francisco, and it is quite convenient.

Muni Logo

There are a total of 82 routes that run across San Francisco, day and night.  A lot of my memories are about Muni. Some examples might be witnessing vandalize the seats and windows, seeing fights happen in the bus,  seeing people get robbed on the bus, and so on.

While some memories are bad, some memories are good. I’ve seen an old man sitting in the front seats, but when he saw a pregnant woman walk onto the bus, he stood up to let her sit. These events really make me smile just because people are being nice to each other.

Muni carries about 200 million passengers like you and me every year, and without it, I don’t know how to get to school and back home. I remember that a bus driver once let me on the bus even though I forgot to bring my bus fare. She was really nice and said that it was okay, and just go on. Back then, there were no Muni fare inspectors, so I would not have to worry about getting a ticket if I didn’t pay.

However, even though I ride Muni all the time, I don’t know a lot about Muni’s history. I feel that in order for me to talk about the improvements Muni needs, I should first know more about Muni, and how the system works. There are definitely a lot of places where Muni can improve. The fare prices have increased dramatically, the bus needs to be cleaner, security needs to be better, and graffiti needs to be cleaned, etc.

Many people complain about how Muni is bad, how things need to improve, but they don’t really know that Muni doesn't have much revenue. The City cut the budget for Muni, and Muni is definitely struggling to survive. Because of this, Muni started training fare inspectors to catch fare evaders and issue a ticket to those that didn’t pay the fare. By doing so, Muni hopes to create more revenue and close the deficit gap.

Muni has transformed a lot over the years, and Muni tries its best to cope with our daily needs. There are so many people going to and from work and school every day, and it’s hard to meet everyone’s needs. In writing this blog, I hope to be able to increase the reader’s knowledge of muni by starting off with the history, the problems that needs to be fixed, and what path Muni will take in the future.