MUNI – 12 Folsom/Pacific

The 12-​Folsom/​Pacific, huh? I don’t really get the need for the Pacific part of its name, but I’m a relative newcomer to this bus line, so I’ll hold my nomenclature-​related criticism for the moment.
It’s the only Muni line I know of whose route includes concentric circles (actually squares), but sadly, I haven’t experienced said circles (actually squares). All I’ve done is ride it from near El Metate to 16^th Street. For that short portion of its route, it reminded me of the Mission District portion of the 27-​Bryant, which runs parallel to the 12 and which I also could have ridden to 16^th Street.
It wasn’t the sketchfest I was expecting, but then nothing in the Mission besides the 14 actually is. And you can take that to the credit union.

+3 Stars — 12 Folsom/​Pacific was long lasting route… this route is good having a direct route from 24^th Street & Mission St to Folsom and Pacific This bus mostly use the Refurbished Neoplan Buses.
–2 Star — Was a good line until 10-​Townsend and 27-​Byrant debuted.
SFMTA planing to eliminate this 12 Route to have it replaced by 11-​Downtown Connector (Duplicate of 12-​Folsom/​Pacific except it wont serve Pacific Avenue) and useless idea

Ha ha ha… This is just getting funny. It’s now ⁶⁄₁₉ and the bus driver for bus 8368 outbound to Mission won’t open the back door. A woman tried to get off at the back door and he made her walk to the front. I don’t get it. Is it a race thing cause he’s Asian as well. Do they not understand English when someone asks to have the back door opened. If that’s the case then that’s just crazy that muni would allow a person who barely speaks English drive a bus loaded with passengers. Muni maybe you should have your drivers go through psychological assessments. If any idiot can drive a bus or train then no wonder they have so many accidents and customer service issues.
This as update to my previous review. There is an Asian woman bus driver who usually runs the 8am bus from the mission inbound to the financial district. Today (⁶⁄₁₈) it’s bus 8333. She never opens the back door. You can stand in the stairwell and yell for a few minutes and she refuses to open the back door. So then you need to squish between everyone on the bus in order to get out. Why is she so inconsiderate and rude. I think she should be sent to training again. This is another reason why muni needs an overhaul of leadership.

The sloooowist bus known to man! It’s even slower than the 24 Divis., now that is SLOW. Both inbound and outbound takes forever to get a bus, even during RUSH hour the bus only seems to run every 20 — 30 mins, especially during the evening. More than once I’ve waited 45 mins. to an hour for an out bound bus. And it tends to fill up quickly and becomes packed; both inbound and outbound. Because this bus runs so infrequently they should change it one of those longer, extended buses. You know, like the 38 Geary and those Mission st. buses.

this bus has the ‘going through chinatown’ issues mentioned. i live near chinatown, and i’m used to it. i don’t care anymore. you learn how to maneuver, when it’s worth it, when it’s not, to get a seat near the doors to make sure you can get off… never to sit in the front b/​c there are going to be at least 2 dozen people nearing 100 years of age trying to find seats, etc. i can deal with all of that. what i cannot deal with is the atrocious irregularity of the night commute times. out of nowhere, a trip gets dropped– when you have a bus which only comes once every 20 minutes, this is a BIG deal. then, you get these grumpy ass drivers (in particular this little middle-​aged latino that drives like a maniac, constantly yells at people and slams the doors on them, etc.)… it’s really a shame that people that live in chinatown and have to take this bus have to put up with such abuse and neglect of this line. that said, in the morning, other than the crowds from about 830 – 915, starting in the hills (russian and nob), and going through roughly 2^nd and mission) it’s good, and pretty reliable. just wish they’d fix their night issues.

The 12 runs through chinatown on the commute home. There’s a unique mix of elderly, stinky food, people in work attire, and people in exercise/​yoga gear. With so many varieties it’s pretty obvious that it’s standing room only until you get up the hill towards polk street.
If heading west during the commute home it’s best to go for the 30x, 41, 45, 49. They’ll get you around chinatown and are a more comfortable ride.

Routes 12 and 10 aren’t as crowded as routes 1, 8x, 30 & 45. It does get a little crowded since it goes through Pacific Ave. On this route, you’d get a much more comfortable bus ride. The seats are very clean on this route and I also like how seats are available when you get on the bus.

How is it I can walk to market, transfer underground one stop, walk 2 blocks up to work before the bus even comes right up my block? How did the led notification go from 3 minutes to 27 minutes. Liars.

Oh the #12 bus. how i love and FUCKING HATE YOU!
You stop right outside my works doorstep on the corner of Pacific and Kearny, so on the times I need you, it’s beyond immensley efficient and convenient.
But the people that ride your bus I can’t stand. And the reason for that is because you stop right outside my work’s door. So all day long I have to deal with retard pressing their face against the glass to try and look in, blocking the door all day long. Lots of smelly asian men smoke their somehow even smellier cigars right in front of our door, with no regard to our sign asking people to step some feet away. So almost every morning I have to go ask someone who doesn’t speak english to take their smoking elsewhere.
The people waiting for this bus liter on an almost hourly basis. Old men and women wipe or blow their nose with a kleenex then simply throw it on the ground. I DON’T CARE HOW OLD AND FEBBLE YOU ARE, YOU ARE COMPLETELY PHYSICALLY CAPABLE OF PUTTING THAT KLEENEX IN YOUR POCKET, AND NOT THROWING IT ON THE GROUND.
This stop at Pacific/​Kearny is also notorious for the horrible Chinatown drivers to try and parallel park and just hit the front of someone’s car. Do not park here if you can avoid it. I’ve left many a mean note and screamed at many a horrible driver of selfishly note leaving a note apologizing or even checking in on the damage.
Some people I swear to god should be put down.
(Sorry for the anger but all of the above things are see on a daily basis, multiple times a day. And that shit gets old, really fucking fast. So have some respect for yourself and your city people.)

12 Folsom, why do your TransLink readers rarely work? The ride from near my apartment to the Costco and Trader Joe’s shopping district is quiet and smooth, but the stress of digging around for quarters and $ 1 bills when I have lots and lots of e-​cash on my card is less cool. At least I’ve never gotten flack from a driver for it.
I’ve never taken the 12 inbound 2^nd or 3^rd street, so I don’t know if it gets chaotic in other parts of the city.

It’s sad that the 26-​Valencia is leaving us in 3-​weeks time and it’s upsetting to many of us. But I glad that muni did something right by extending the 12– Folsom is going to 24^th/​Mission BART station.
I rather walk from 20^th & Guerrero Sts to the BART station. Then wait on the J-​Church or the crowded 14-​Mission or 49– V.N.- Mission bus they are very unrelieable lines then ill-​faded 26-​Valencia line. I’m considing the 12-​line.

When timed right, I can get from the office to the gym in less than 20min, so I like to consider this excellent route (which is totally subjective, I know) the 12 Work/​Gym. That it’s also Trader Joe’s friendly is a bonus.

This is best bus I have been on. Not only does it stop right in front of my apartment, but it is reasonably clean, and there is almost always a seat open. I’m hoping my next job is close to the 12 — I don’t have as much patience for the 1, 30, or 45 anymore.

In plain English, I love the 12. It runs straight down Folsom St. making it easy to move from West to East in the mornings when I’m rushing to work. It’s also less crowded than the 14, and when it is crowded, the crowd feels «nicer» (synonyms: cleaner & quieter). Granted, I get off circa 3^rd St. so I don’t know this whole «Stockton» business.
My only complaint: Why do you run so infrequently?!

This is one of the only times I can have a peaceful and relaxing ride on the bus. The 30, 45, and 1 just don’t give me that experience. They get the job done, but it’s always a zoo.
I’ve taken the 12 about five times now, and it’s never been crowded. I don’t have any complaints about this bus. I take it for the purpose of getting from north beach to Folsom St area. It takes me where I need to go, doesn’t annoy me, and is reliable.
12, I like you. Keep it up!

lately i’ve been testing the patience of the #12 bus drivers with my quest to use up all my pennies for bus fare (hey, it’s still money!). to their credit, only once was i shooed away and told to «hully up! gotta go! hully!» when i was carefully dropping all my coins in the fare slot. that’s pretty good considering I ride this bus at least once a week.

Best bus route all-​around. It’s usually never crowded (after you hit Stockton, of course), and the ride is wonderful since it takes you along the Embarcadero. Plus, I haven’t run into any crazies yet *knocks on wood*. Minus one star for only coming around like once an hour during non-​peak hours.

Here’s the deal. I occasionally hop on the bus to get round about town. And it’s a pretty cool thing to do — the people watching, the ability to read in peace and know where you are going and about what time you’ll be there.
Seeing kids play with their parents, watching care-​takers coddle the little old ladies of Pac Heights, the occasional poet-​philosopher spewing out his latest head fantasies — and yes — lots of working stiffs just getting on with their day.
But the best day I ever had was not too long ago — couldn’t hail a stupid cab to save my life on the corner of 4^th and Folsom — had a big meeting that morning so I hopped on the 12 but struggled to find the last quarter in my purse to complete my fare.
Here I am, dressed in a gorgeous suit fumbling in my purse and briefcase when this lady puts her hand on my shoulder as she passes me to get off her stop — and she hands me her pass. I look up and the bus driver and her share a wink and a smile. So I sit there taking the whole moment in and exhale. Nice moment, wouldn’t you say?!
Some sort of other kind of communication at that moment made me start preaching the benefits of public transportation at work quite a bit after that!
It’s those little moments of life that happen day in and day out that I try to explain to some of my stuffy co-​workers that they won’t find in their Mercedes dealerships and Yacht Club memberships pursuing the higher tickets in the world.