On The #1

You knew it was coming....the bus post. Riding the bus in San Francisco is a pretty ridiculous experience. Even though I am lucky that I happen to have an express to downtown bus right outside my door, by the time it actually gets to my door, it looks like this:

The Positives:

1. It takes 15 minutes to get downtown from my house in the morning a huge improvement over my former commute on BART which took 45 minutes.
2. It's an express, so you don't have to deal with all the stops along the way.

The Negatives:

1. Please refer to above picture. Enough said.
2. Having to listen to the awkward conversation between a woman and man who are obviously on the morning side of a one night stand.
3. Having to listen to the guy next to me call his parents and the conversation begins, "Hey Dad.....its me........Brian........your son?......". Maybe you shouldn't be calling your father who you obviously haven't talked to in a while from a crowded City bus, just a thought.

A Guide to San Francisco Buses (as I currently know it):

#1BX - Express to downtown bus, "The Home Turf". Full of working yuppies and singletons giving the "Muni-Face", crowded as all get out, at least one overheard moronic conversation per day. Just a quick aside, "Muni-Face" is defined as, eyes on the floor, no smiling, no talking. It is easier to give good "Face" while checking your Facebook on your PDA.

#1 (non-express) - This bus route goes directly through Chinatown, which everyone has told me was not a good thing. I didn't understand why until yesterday riding home. I was pretty comfortable, had a seat (which is a total perk), was good to go, UNTIL, the bus stopped in Chinatown and about 40 people got on. This is why my friend refers to the #1 as "The Orient Express"

#22 - I like to call this one the "Hampton Jitney". It's full of Marina types decked out in Lulu Lemon active wear off to shop on Union and Chestnut Streets.

#24 - My friend Jen lives right off of this line, so I call it "The Jen Express". I like this bus line because it brings you cross-town on Divisidero to The Haight, which is one of my favorite shopping haunts.

#38L - "The 38 Sleazy", runs up and down Geary. This is the bus line that has been made famous for Muni fights between women as seen on YouTube. I try to stay away from this one. In fact, I try to stay away from Geary altogether, unless I'm going to the Fillmore or The Boom Boom Room!