two for tuesday: buses and pedestrians

unfortunately this morning on my way to work i witnessed a bus hit a pedestrian and her little dog (i guess s/he's a pedestrian too). made me think of what kind of city we live in, what kind of factors we need to negotiate in our daily lives just to get to work, to school, to wherever.

the person looked like she'd be ok when i left. another bike commuter behind me commented, "that was hard to watch." indeed it was.

then this morning i got my weekly newsletter from the bike coalition talking about their taxi driver education program:

You probably know that the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition teaches free bicycle education classes. But did you know that last year we launched a program to teach all new taxi drivers how to share the streets with people on bike? We know that educating frequent drivers about safely sharing the streets with bikes is crucial to making your ride around our great city much safer. Last week, we celebrated our one year anniversary of the taxi training!

In 2012, our instructors have led two courses per month, and taught over 1,000 taxi drivers how to pass bike riders safely, how to avoid dooring, and how to safely turn when people on bikes are on the road! By working to educate these frequent drivers, along with our dozens of classes for bike commuters, we’re making our streets safer for everyone. Hopefully this great program is already making a difference in your ride. Please remember that the only way we can educate the thousands of people -- both behind the wheel and on two-wheels -- is with the support of people like you.

i believe they have muni driver's education as well, but i will need to confirm it. either way, makes me think of everyone's safety and how we judge importance of running lights, or getting ahead of the light to cross the street.

please stay safe everyone. and what's the hurry? you'll get to where you are going in due time. and muni, take some advice from your own campaign. and is driver education enough? what, dear readers, do you think we can do?

Time To Get Fixing!

I have a long standing relationship with San Francisco Municipal Railways, Muni.  I have been a rider of Muni buses my whole life.  Everyone in San Francisco likes to complain about our bus system, but the fact is Muni makes it possible to get anywhere in SF without a car.  Now that the buses have bicycle racks on them, getting around on public transportation is easier than ever.  However, there are issues.

Two years ago I had to call the Muni complaint line several times a week because bus drivers along my route refused to change lanes to pass anyone on a bicycle .  Several times I was pushed into parked cars because Muni drivers would not give me room when they passed.  Many times they tailed me too closely and honked for me to get out of their way (on a two lane road) or cut me off after passing unsafely at bus stops.  After about the 12th complaint I noticed that this was no longer a problem and that someone had decided to do some training.  Not one driver on that line has since been a problem in the last two years.  When a second bus line was added to our street I had to start the complaints again because no one had taught the new bus line drivers that being aggressive with 70 ton buses against human beings on bicycles was unprofessional.  That has changed and I now find all of the Muni drivers to be very courteous and considerate.  I never have any problems with them anymore (thanks Muni!!)

So here is my new battle.  Can you see the problem(s)?

This is an outbound 43 Masonic and this is the sorry excuse for a bus stop that you can find at Judson and Gennessee.  During school hours, (school meaning CCSF, the largest learning institution in the United States, and Riordan High School) every single 43 driver stops here, blocking all lanes of traffic and forcing dozens of bus passengers at a time to exit into an active bike lane.  As you can see. there are usually cars involved, too.  There are times I have been stuck here, swarmed by people for as long as 3 minutes at a time.  It is a very, very busy drop off.  Absolutely no attempt has been made to make this a safe stop for anyone and there is always tension as a result.  Other than a strip of paint, there is no formal bus stop here.

This happens at the even busier 43 stop on the inbound route on Phelan Blvd. at the college's main entrance.  At that stop I am frequently passed by 43 drivers who cross a double yellow line into moving traffic to allow enough room to make a sharp right turn cutting off the lane of car traffic, and the bike lane without actually stopping near the bus shelter.  This forces me to make emergency stops to prevent being hit by the tail of the bus while I am simultaneously swarmed by passengers walking out into the street and bike lane to meet the bus (many times the back end of the bus is still partially blocking the traffic in the opposite direction!)

I have called to complain about this, but I have seen no change.  So now I am calling Muni out publicly.  Muni drivers are professional drivers with special licenses and they know better. Muni needs to do something about this.  Now!  The area around CCSF is extremely busy and is a primary bicycle corridor.  Drivers need to drive like professionals who care about the people around them and Muni and the City need to ensure that every bus stop in this corridor is planned for the safety of all.  Get on it, people!


Addendum- and here is the same stop back in April, at the tale end of about 40 people getting off the bus.

"pick up a bike...

and let's ride..."

two bikey people on muni. and we still have bike pride. i was on muni the other day....long story.... and i saw this younger bikey dude getting off the bus.

me likes. also hard to read cause it was black on black, but i think you get the point. i hope he got on his bike right after getting off of the bus and went to where ever he was going.

ride on my friend!!

meanwhile, am enjoying this san francisco "heat wave!" i biked in a t-shirt yesterday morning, which was a good sign for later in the evening as i parked bikes at the SFBC'S golden wheel awards. more on that soon. yours truly and adrienne are in a video that is still being edited. let's see if we make it past the cutting room floor! :)

Found, for years.

Saw this ad next to the bus stop while I was chatting with a fine friend of mine. I typically don't pay much attention to ads, but before I picked up my bike to continue my ride home, the sign and the frenchie were such a nice juxtaposition.
What kind of everythings have you found? I certainly haven't found an MTV on the bike lane, however I see plenty of modern-day-Puck guys around town. The rest of the little logos, I have no idea what they are, but I'm sure I won't find them on the bike lane.
Find you inner self daily, ride your bike!! :D

bikes on buses...?

in december a couple of local san francisco blogs told a story of a young man getting aboard a MUNI bus after having put his bike on the front of the bus. he sat in the front by the driver, and then suddenly jumped off the bus. his bike had been stolen from the rack.

i personally get very paranoid about either of my bikes on MUNI. i don't like to do it, and definitely go out of my way to not put my bike on the bus. however, sometimes you just need to.

baby as bus ornament by busbozo

i talked to a few SF people and asked them how they felt. one of them was someone you know, meligrosa. she claimed a certain bus line was worse than others and generally agreed with my paranoia while on the bus.

muni bike by meligrosa

i also talked to a friend of the blog, *honeychild*, and she also expressed a paranoia, along with a potential solution:

HC: oh man

yeah i've never put mine on muni but i put it on the ac transbay bus

i've locked it to the rail before but the bus driver doesnt like that

because it takes too long

he honked at me

haha

me: haha

yeah, it sucks

HC: so now i put my u-lock on the front tire and down tube before the bus gets here

me: i was more paranoid about my road bike

i only did it cause the tire got flat

HC: it's not going to stop that but it's something

and yet another friend conveyed his thoughts on the matter: i'm ambivalent. i always wonder what's stopping someone from just taking it.

so what about you dear readers: if you are a multi-modal commuter, do you feel paranoid about leaving your bike on the bus rack every day? what would make you feel comfortable taking your bike on the bus?