The city's most used (and most loved/hated) light rail line will be taking weekends off starting at the end of this month. As the Examiner explains this morning, Muni will stop running weekend trains on February 24th and every weekend after that for a month and a half while they perform some upgrades around Carl Street and that messy intersection of Church and Duboce. more ›

Mayor Ed Lee today announced the arrival of a "letter of non-prejudice" (whatever that is) from the Department of Transportation which he says is a "strong sign" that the $1 billion+ in federal grant money is on its way for San Francisco's Central Subway. So, yes, by the time today's toddlers are tweens, they may be able to get from CalTrain to Chinatown in just a couple stops. more ›

At around 6 a.m. today, a car drove into the Duboce Portal tunnel. Said automobile is now stuck inside the tunnel, effectively shutting down all underground Muni metro lines. SF Muni shuttle buses are in place between West Portal and Embarcadero until further notice. more ›

Having someone make off with your telephone while playing Angry Birds on the commute home is still a major problem around town, apparently. So today's handy reminder to keep your phone stashed safely in your pocket, especially while seated next to exit doors, comes directly from the SFPD's Mission Station who pulled the following footage of a snatch-and-grab job off of a J-Church train: more ›

Before you take off for the holidays, remember that come New Year's Eve, you can ride Muni for free. For free? For free. Muni travel, including cable cars, is free of charge from 8 p.m. New Year's Eve until 6 a.m. New Year's Day. And who in their sane mind would want to ride Muni on New Year's Eve? Not us. Because we don't like harrowing train and/or bus rides. But many of you will have to rely on San Francisco's semi-reliable public transportation, so... have at it. more ›

In the Tenderloin last night, a 50-year-old man was stabbed and critically injured after loaning his phone to a fellow rider on the 19-Polk. The knifecrime occurred near Turk and Hyde Streets around 9:30 p.m. when the suspect, a 20-something woman, asked to borrow the older man's phone and refused to give it back, Bay City News reports. When the victim snatched back the phone, the suspect promptly stabbed him in the chest and bolted down Turk Street. more ›

Around 5 a.m. this morning, a Muni Metro light rail vehicle struck a pedestrian walking on the tracks in an underground tunnel between the Embarcadero and Montgomery Street stations. more ›

Jerry James Stone, Treehugger writer and occasional SFist scribe, sent out the following urgent Twitter message this afternoon while riding the L Taraval. It seems that he's stuck on the train due to malfunctioning doors. In fact, he's on the train as we speak. more ›

Because your wallet isn't already fat enough, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority is currently cooking up another universal payment card to give locals yet another way to feed parking meters or pay for cab fare. Since the Clipper card you probably already have isn't set up for cabs and parking, the new card is an MTA side project for now, although the Chronicle reports that the new card's services could get rolled in to the existing Clipper system. more ›

An unidentified pedestrian "wearing a security guard uniform" on Sunday afternoon was struck and killed by a Muni bus at Mission at Fifth streets. According to reports, the man "crossed in front of the 14-L bus as it pulled out of the bus zone, a Muni spokesman said, and two sets of tires rolled over his legs. His lunch bag was found next to him." He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. more ›

Infamous for their lack of vehicular finesse (and numbers), taxicabs will now be allowed to legally use bike lanes to pick up and drop off passengers. more ›

Muni Diaries alerted us to this little audio piece featuring John Waters talking about his love of Muni, which was recorded during Waters' visit to the Jewish Community Center last spring. He considers Muni akin to going on an amusement park ride, which is certainly a refreshing way to put it. more ›

Taking a look at one possible metric for gauging Ed Reiskin's performance since he took over Nat Ford's gig as Muni chief back in July, the Examiner reveals today that the always-frustrating switchbacks on the N-Judah and L-Taraval lines have dropped from 440 early turnarounds in June to about 260 in September. So the number of incidents where riders were left stranded at Church and Duboce is down by about 40% (which is nice), but according to some end-of-the line residents they're still getting stuck out behind the Market Street Safeway for longer than they'd like. more ›

Speaking of vigilante justice (we kid!), two hooligans brutally robbed a man on Wednesday during the rush hour commute on the M-Ocean View. While sitting at his seat and using his iPad, a common occurrence on public transportation during these perfectly moderns days, he was pepper-sprayed and robbed. more ›

The California Public Utilities Commission has ordered Muni to install video cameras in the cabs of Muni metro trains to surveil operators and discourage cell phone use while operating trains. We all know that many of the drivers just like to kick it in there, up in the front of the trains, while the trains are on auto-pilot in tunnels and being controlled by computer. But now they must stop playing Angry Birds and remain ever vigilant while on the job, or else face possible disciplinary action. more ›

Gee, this is rich: Leland Yee, arguably the goofiest candidate running for San Francisco mayor, wants to make Muni free for all public school kids. Yee's Clintonesque-titled new plan, “It Takes a Community," wants to "provide affordable housing for teachers, time off for parents to participate, free Muni for low-income students, community services through school programs, and more college savings accounts," reports the Daily Kos. more ›

The family of Emily Dunn, the 23-year-old who was struck and killed by a Muni bus driving an improvised route in the Castro last August, will sue San Francisco. The Examiner reports: "Michael Kelly, a lawyer representing the Dunns, said the family will submit a claim regarding the accident later this week." more ›

Despite the fact that every ne'er-do-well and elderly lady with a pink plastic shopping bag already does this, back-door boarding on Muni busses is still illegal, and that one Muni driver in twenty who is not sleepwalking through their shift will still yell at you if you do this. But now, in an effort to improve on-time performance, the SFMTA board is considering making all-door boarding the new policy on buses, and putting more fare inspectors out there to make sure all those old ladies have Clipper cards. more ›

This goes out to all of you who get clammy-palmed as soon as you see your favorite F-car rolling up to your stop. Oh Milano, you come on smooth with that designy orange and classic woodtone, but you're so heavy on the rails. No matter; we love you with all our hearts and Clippercards. Blackpool, you're a topless show-off and you know it. more ›

SFist came upon an odd scene at Duboce and Church this evening, in which one N Judah was stopped facing downtown with passengers stuck on it, another train was facing Ocean Beach on the same track, and a couple of other trains and a shuttle were sitting willy-nilly. "Another day, another commute," we said to ourselves. more ›

For some bored downtown workerbees, flattening coins on the F-Market track is a shiny way to pass the time. Take, for example, Matthew Knudsen, who pressed these beauties just the other day. SFist asked Knudsen to tell us how he did it. "I work at an ad agency across from the F, and walk over the tracks everyday and decided to put some coins on the line and see if they'd squash, like on railroad tracks," he explained. "After a few cars knocking them off, I got a train to nail two of them... They sort of jump off when the train hits them, and flattens them right out." more ›

A gas leak at Howard and Beale streets has prompted a street closure in the area. Which is to say, avoid the area of Beale between Mission and Howard for now. Muni is also being rerouted. Update: PG&E reports, "The flow of gas was capped at 1 pm. The scene is safe. Beale Street to Howard is currently closed to traffic." more ›

Authorities released the name of the 23-year-old woman struck and killed by a Muni bus on Friday afternoon. San Franciscan Emily Dunn was at the end of the crosswalk at the intersection of 18th and Hartford streets at around at 2:30 p.m. "when a bus that was making a left turn struck her." more ›

A woman was struck and killed by a Muni shuttle in Castro District this afternoon. According to reports "Police say the woman was at the corner of 18th and Hartford when she was hit by the 33 shuttle bus. They are currently at the scene of the accident." Expect transit delays. more ›

A Muni bus traveling down Howard hit a passing car -- no word yet on who's to blame -- but the accident, which has since been cleared, resulted in massive delays for folks heading from Market to SOMA. Please be advised. more ›

At around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Brookdale Avenue and Santos Street, near the Cow Palace, two young folks, ages 15 and 19, were robbed on a Muni bus. According to BCN (via SF Appeal), "The two teens...were on the bus when the suspect approached and took an iPod from the 15-year-old," which is when the suspect, described as being a man in his 20s, exited the bus. The two women followed the suspect, with the eldest trying to call the police, until "the suspect grabbed her phone and then ran away." more ›

While BART gets torn to shreds as of late, let's redirect the unbridled hate where it belongs: on Muni. And because we almost feel bad about ribbing Dennis Herrera about his Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence coincidence earlier this week, we shall offer him and his perturbed crew a proper shout-out. Without commentary, here are his points to fix Muni. (Side note: Calm down. This is hardly an endorsement. If any other candidate blasts us with an email boasting bullet points on how they too plan on fixing Muni one elected, we'll gladly post them as well. Right-quick. It's fascinating stuff, you see.) more ›