Yes, we really spent thousands of dollars fighting the City of San Francisco and Muni to protect your right to public documents. They didn’t want us to see surveillance videos from their buses. It all started more than a year ago when we tried to figure out a way to quantify the problems plaguing the system. So, we asked for all the passenger complaint forms for the twenty-five drivers who’ve received the most complaints. The city and Muni fought us in court over that. Then, we realized they had a cache of surveillance videos from their busses for those twenty-five drivers. They resisted, so we went back to court and won.
Tonight’s story is just the first of many to come. It features a woman and her four children, boarding a Muni bus with Anthony Jones at the wheel. The bus pulls away with its back door open – two of the children fall out, but the driver refuses to stop. You can watch the scene play out here uncut. A warning: there is some cursing, as you might expect.
We’ll have more from Muni’s Video Vault tomorrow at six and throughout February. If you happen to have had a serious complaint against a Muni driver in the past three years, we’d like to hear from you. Who knows? You might be on video.
One other note. In tonight’s story, you heard from Muni chief Nat Ford. Yes, we really have been trying to get him to comment for a year. His spokespeople would always offer some other bureaucrat, but never Ford. So, we decided to send one of our I-Team producers to meet Ford at a Muni board meeting this week. Believe me, I would have loved to have gone myself, but …
I’m recovering from ankle surgery.
To all the complainers out there:On Behalf of the Appreciators: Muni is one of the best transit systems out there..if not the best. No other transit system that I know of, has all of the different modes of equipment that muni has...Muni has 35,40 and 60 foot buses, they have 40 and 60ft trolleys, cable cars, light rail vehicles, f-line trains and vintage cars. They operate on a hectic schedule in an inner city and still manage to perform quite well in getting patrons to their destinations in a safe manner most of the time. Of course you're going to have some bad drivers out there. That goes to say on any job you will have that. But keep in mind that without muni..the city would shut down. When bart goes down..muni is there..when other transit or ferries go down..muni provides supplemental service. Count your blessings for the good things that muni does offer and stop looking at all of the bad. Most muni drivers ignore the rules like no eating or drinking on the buses..Right? Yeah they do. The next time you enter onto a bus with your 5 dollar latte or chai tea from Starbucks and the driver doesnt tell you to discard it, think about that. Passengers with half fast passes in their wallets because they split it with their spouse, or the youth pass made into an adult pass by manipulating the y into an A. The expired time on a transfer covered by your fingers, bart to muni transfers that are good for boarding near a bart station, not getting on the bus in Bayview way out from Bart,handing your sister or brother your pass or transfer at crowded stops out the window so they can get on basically for free with the same pass, the transfers issued for fare paying passengers that exceed for the most part pass 90min. which is all you are supposed to get based on the time you got on the bus, copied fast passes that you can see straight through, not making you get off after you no longer fit behind the yellow standee line which drivers are prohibited from moving the buses once you are not behind it,that the driver reopens their doors for runners during the morning commute after he or she has loaded all intending passengers in the bus zone and have shut the doors to accomodate your running late for work and the rule book states that they do not have to reopen their doors once a stop has been serviced....I could go on with this but I think you d get the point. Muni overall is a very good system with some kinks that need to be worked out. My hat goes off to Ford..for he has a tough job ahead of him to please a whining city who is unappreciative of what they have. Some cities dont even have public transportation and most cities that do...do not accomodate different neighborhoods like muni does with special Expresses and Limiteds to get people to work and home in the evenings or to school with special buses parked at the front door of the schools to get your kids home ...Look at the overall picture, not just the bad , for muni's good far outweighs their bad.. Peace to you all and remember that we teach our children to find the good in something or to look at a glass as half full not half empty.
Posted by: gg | February 05, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Once again we have shameless city employees running amok and city officials do nothing but let the Muni union dictate how they run OUR transit system. Muni is long overdue for an overhaul, dump the Muni administrators and put someone in charge who will not back down from union pressure and discipline these miscreants that call themselves city employees. City supervisors should spend more time running the city and less time pursuing their socialist agendas. Bust the Muni union, take back control of this rogue department and rebuild it from the bottom up.
Posted by: Kenji Snow | February 06, 2008 at 01:21 AM
Talk about being conflicted:
I was riding home on the 29 from Balboa to Irving last week, and along the way, out of the blue, the driver stopped the bus and yelled to a couple of demure women talking on cellphones, sitting near the front:
"If y'all b****es don't shut up and quit making this an unpleasant environment for everybody, I'm going to kick you off this bus."
Both women were visibly stunned. One of them said something back to the driver - he responded angrily "Yeah I just called you b****es [rant continues etc.]"
I hate listening to people chatter incessantly on cellphones as much as the next guy (or more), but I was only a few seats away and I hadn't even noticed them. In any event, watching a driver go postal on a couple of women traveling alone on a bus, that was a weird experience. Not exactly a shining customer service moment. It makes you wonder, maybe he needs to go home and kick his dog for a while.
Posted by: Joseph | February 08, 2008 at 04:43 PM
I'VE BEEN DRIVING FOR MUNI FOR LITTLE OVER A YEAR NOW. I FEEL THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC WILL NEVER BE HAPPY WITH MUNI. I LOVE MY JOB AND TRY TO RESPECT THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE TO RIDE PUBLIC TRANSIT. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL PAY TO RIDE. BUT THERE ARE MANY WHO WANT A FREE RIDE. MUNI GOES OUT AND BUYS NEW BUSES. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE NEW BUSES NOW, YOU SEE GRAFFITI AND OTHER DAMAGE DONE TO THESE NEW BUSES. MUNI IS ALL ABOUT SAFETY BEFORE BEING ON TIME. THERE IS GOOD AND BAD ON ANY JOB. NOT JUST MUNI. SO TO THE RIDING PUBLIC OF SAN FRANCISCO IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO RIDE MUNI , GOOD LUCK FINDING ANY TRANSIT SYSTEM IN THE BAY AREA THE GIVES YOU MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK THAN MUNI
Posted by: MOE | February 10, 2008 at 10:51 PM
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE DAN NOYES DRIVE A MUNI BUS THROUGH THE BAYVIEW HUNTERS POINT AT 1:00 IN THE MORNING WITH A BUNCH OF ROWDY YOUNG KIDS ON BAORD. SO BEFORE YOU JUDGE MUNI. SIT IN THE DRIVERS SEAT FOR 1 EIGHT HOUR SHIFT . YOU MIGHT SEE A SIDE OF YOU COME OUT THAT YOU DID'NT KNOW WAS THERE
Posted by: MOE | February 10, 2008 at 11:08 PM
To all those people who complain about MUNI, try operating some of their lines for one round trip or two, then put your thoughts on this page.
Posted by: Curtis Zedd Jr. | February 12, 2008 at 12:20 AM
THE DRIVER THAT HIT THAT SUV DID WHAT MOST MUNI DRIVERS DO. . THEIR TRYING TO MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN STREETS THAT HAVE DOUBLE PARKED CARS. CARS PARKED IN THE BUS ZONES. I WILL SAY THAT HE SHOULD OF SOUNDED HIS HORN TO LET THE SUV KNOW HE WAS ABOUT TO PASS ON HER LEFT. IN ORDER FOR MUNI TO GET BETTER THE WHOLE SYSTEM MUST BE ON THE SAME PAGE. THAT INCLUDES MUNI, THE POLICE BECAUSE THEY LIKE TO PARK IN THE BUS ZONES WHILE AT STARBUCKS AND DPT. I DO BELIEVE THAT WHATEVER PROBLEMS PEOPLE HAVE WITH MUNI THAT THEY TAKE IT OUT ON THE FIRST MUNI EMPLOYEE THEY SEE. THE DRIVER. AFTER YEARS OF DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC I THINK SOME DRIVERS CAN NOT FEEL WHAT PEOPLE GO THROUGH RIDING PUBLIC TRANSIT. SOME PEOPLE RIDE BY CHOICE , SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO RIDE IT. I UNDERSTAND THAT MOST PEOPLE DO NOT CARE IF YOUR A FEW MINUTES LATE AS LONG AS THAT BUS SHOWS UP AND YOU GET THEM WHERE THEY HAVE TO GO. SOME WILL SAY THANKS. SOME WILL NOT. SOMETIMES ONE THANK YOU CAN WASH AWAY ALL THE BAD THAT SOME PASSENGERS BRING YOUR WAY . I SPEAK FOR THE DRIVERS THAT DO CARE ABOUT THEIR JOBS AND THE PEOPLE THAT RIDE THEIR BUSES.
Posted by: MOE | February 12, 2008 at 11:34 PM
Muni is in a perfect bubble. How did the union get to this point? The system needs to be deunionized and have the employees be treated like employees in any other organization. I know it's a hard concept to imagine, but if you do not perform your duties, are rude, and don't show up for work without calling in to your supervisor, YOU GET FIRED!!! Why is this such a hard concept to implement? Until the city cracks down on the way Muni is operated, there will be a continuation of the most unreliable service of a major transit system in the country combined with some of the most rude employees of any mass transit system in the world.
Posted by: John | February 26, 2008 at 09:51 PM
hy dan. these three muni operated shoud not be operated a bus at all.
Posted by: LisaMungin | March 01, 2008 at 05:32 PM
I was just a victim of a negligent Muni driver. This morning around 9:00 while attempting to board the 43, driver Ronna Brown, ID#1468 closed the front doors on me for what seemed like forever. It was enough time for me to yell and see her look at me and shack her head. When she did open the doors, she started yelling at me as if it was my fault. Eventually, the police, a muni supervisor and the paramedics came. While I and two other passengers waited to make statements (the other two wanted to be my witnesses) Ronna began to verbally confront them about making a statement against her. I have been riding this line for 2 and half years now and she is infamous for being rude and even dangerous at times. Everyone please beware. I would hate for this happen to anyone else or worse.
Posted by: Rhiannon | March 20, 2008 at 03:36 PM
I'm not the least bit surprised that Muni fought against releasing what should be public records to ABC News. After making a complaint against a rude Proof of Purchase Inspector, I was informed by Muni's Sgt. Kennedy that as a previous POP inspector himself, he knew and was friends with the Inspector I was filing the grievance about and judged this person to be polite from his personal relationship with them. Big surprise-- He "dismissed" my grievance without any consequences. I was completely shocked. So much for my hoping to get closure for myself and improved service for future riders who come in contact with this Inspector. How did we San Franciscans reach such a sorry state that there is no accountability whatsoever of Muni Personnel or Adminstrators. Muni complaints need to be judged and dealt with by an agency or panel outside of Muni that is insulated from the pressures of the Muni Union. Though I support public transportation, Muni has lost my respect and support completely.
Posted by: Muni Mourner | July 23, 2008 at 08:24 PM
A some people (obviously muni drivers too), try to justify the muni drivers behavior is due to defective equipment, passengers trying to get a freebee, it's a hard job....blah blah blah. The bottom line is they are public servants and are held at a higher standard. They are expected to be able to properly deal with these situatins. I am sure the drivers have been provided the knowledge and training to deal with the public. I am also sure they have been taught to exercise some tolerance to the multitude of cultures in this city. If they refuse to perform within their job description and training they should be fired. If they have the "do it my way or else" attitude they should be fired. If they cannot tolerate a little old chinese lady for being too slow, they should be fired. Some MUNI drivers have anger and hate burdening them. They should be fired.
Posted by: nightfly | February 11, 2009 at 08:58 PM
Anyone know where I could get a list of the 25 worst MUNI drivers?
Posted by: nightfly | February 11, 2009 at 09:06 PM
Nat Ford was my neighbor on the Presidio of San Francisco. I never once saw him board a bus (not that I was watching him every day). He owned a purty black Ford Expedition though!
I've ridden MUNI over 1000 times and lodged five complaints and one compliment; believe me I had many more trips to complain about. The drivers are mostly rude, surly, aggressive and unsafe. I swear they hire felons! If these were private coach drivers, they'd be fired immediately for their outbursts.
I was called by a MUNI supervisor once to discuss one drivers' behavior. After confirming my written complaint that passengers deserve courtesy, respect, and safe transit, the union rep yelled at me, "What, do you think you own us?"
After that exchange, my email address was blacklisted from their complaint line. When I used another email address, it went straight through. So they apparently block people who complain more than a few times, regardless of whether the complaints are valid.
I recently reported a driver who verbally threatened a passenger multiple times. I'm waiting to see if anything happens to him.
I have no doubt this is a highly stressful job, but that is absolutely no excuse for impolite and unsafe behavior. They need to hire well-adjusted people and give them stress management training. Lord knows we don't want cops or soldiers losing their cools holding firearms. Why would we tolerate a driver losing his cool with a 20 ton bus, 50 passengers, cars and pedestrians all around him?
Posted by: POWinCA | March 30, 2009 at 02:01 PM