MUNI – 38R Geary Rapid

Well, well, well. It looks like all of the car sharing, shuttle van, and high-​tech private shuttle
services have forced MUNI’s hand and caused them to take a giant leap forward in their transit offerings, after year upon year of stagnating and insisting that SFMTA didn’t have any money to support improvements. Especially notable is the increased frequency of the eastbound 38 or 38L during morning rush, and the westbound 38L during evening rush hours. Much improved, much appreciated. MUNI’s still got a ways to go before it’s on a New York/Boston/Chicago/Philadelphia/D.C. service level.
One huge and perplexing peeve: what’s with the new buses and their über-​narrow aisles? Sure, the new vehicles are sparkly and shiny, but the standing room has been reduced by a large percentage. FEWER people fit into these buses. Bear in mind that the Geary Street corridor is the most-​traveled transit route on the west coast. In light of that fact, do these narrow-​aisle buses make sense?

One of the most reliable bus lines in San Francisco. The buses come so frequently, I don’t even have to check the schedule. I also appreciate that the buses are long and I rarely have to stand. I have the choice of sitting in the solo seats, which isn’t bad.

Ahh the dirty eight, traveling back and forth across the city every 3 minutes and unfortunately stopping right outside my house. You keep the noise pollution at a all high time at all hours of the night. I stopped riding your line after many bad experiences, I have decided to start walking home from downtown. So far, it’s been amazing. I’m losing weight and enjoying the outdoors every time I decide not to take the 38.

The 38R is still four stars all the way around. I don’t know that I actually expected anything substantive to change along with the name and number-​letter designation, but then I hadn’t ridden the 38 or the 38L/​38R regularly in a while either.
People seem to board more quickly than they used to, even from the front door. Getting from Geary & Divis to O’Farrell & Powell is a breeze. If you ever need to get downtown fast, it’s worth it to wait up to an extra seven minutes for an R.

In a past life, I had some nerd molecules in my DNA. There was this video game where I raised funny birds to mount & ride all across the globe. Almost, because only certain colors or breeds of the bird could access certain terrains. The best fastest anywhere-​est one was called the Gold Chocobo. Well this is the Gold Chocobus.

Whoever is driving bus #6211 at 10:40 this morning is a stupid bitch for literally looking me right in the eye and shutting the door on me as I was trying to get on. Thanks again muni for hiring a bunch of overpaid, disgruntled degenerates instead of hiring people who actually have respect for people trying to get to work.

You got to be quick when you are in a need to take this bus. Took a star off for low availability. Other than that it is fast and not as noisy as the regular lines. Most of the time Muni does try its best to not get any passengers or people who are getting off work angry and this bus is a fine example of it. TBH I had no idea how I ended up on this bus in the first place after work. I probably took it to see its good quality.

Working in union square, all the bus lines I take get super packed! This past Mon, I had to get to van ness and pacific after work, so I decided to take the 38l to van ness and then take another bus up to pacific. Being a double bus, the 38l holds more people than a regular bus so to me it doesn’t feel like it gets as crowded as other normal bus lines. Plus a lot of people get on and off along Geary so there’s always a rotation of people. For $ 2 I can put up with that!

Odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
I hate and I love. Why do I do it, perchance you might ask?
I don’t know, but I feel it happening to me and I’m burning up.
–Catullus, Carmina LXXXV
I do it because sometimes this can be the fastest ride in the city, potentially covering 5 miles in 30 minutes (which for Muni is damn near light speed). I do it because it can shave 10 – 15 minutes off of the Local. I do it because the drivers fly down Geary Boulevard, bouncing along the avenues, brakes hissing as the bus quickly stops, engine roaring as it jumps back into traffic. It is a mad beast, and it is carrying you home…
It is a bus you can love.
It is a bus you can hate.
During rush hour, people pile on. The bus struggles to crest the wicked peaks of this hilly city, stops take a minute or more. Locals will pass you, their comparatively comfortable commuters seemingly laughing at your misfortune. People will bump into you. You will smell something indescribably foul: body odor mixed with urine combined with someone who clearly had garlic for lunch (aah…the smell of Muni!). You will burn up, through frustration, and because on a bus that can carry over 120 people, on a bus corridor that carries the most people in the city (53,000 per day) nobody thought to open a goddamned window. It is a bus, which, like unrequited love, can remind you that life is pain.
Odi et amo.

2 stars for today’s «sick out». Can’t give it zero since I ride it all the time, but today was a particularly bad showing.

The 38L is great if you are going outbound. I got all the way down to the Sutro Baths in about 20 minutes. Plus, there is always another 38L was waiting for me when I return from a short hike at Lands End trail.

Its always so packed. Inbound or outbound. Its articulated buses but its still full. It may be somebody by the back door talking to them selves and laughing like they just heard a good joke. Frequency isn’t a problem at all.

Better than taking the 38 from the Montgomery BART to the VA Medical Center near Ocean Beach. Bus drivers are really nice and let you transfer even if your ticket was for an hour earlier. Not too bad a drive, either; it was very fast.

Very crowded bus line — we NEED more Fare/​ticket Inspectors (Police)!!
So many people (they know who they are) board the line WITHOUT Paying! Or even pretending to pay, then have the nerve to take a seat on a full bus. Or even more crazy — claim she can’t stand so asks people to give up a seat for her (A freeloader).
More Police. We saw the Muni inspectors board a 38 and arrest/​fine 5 people! All got huge tickets! Love it. The second time these thieves get caught — the fine should Double!
The Automatic announcements on the bus should say — IT’s ILLEGAL to not pay for a ride! (not the stupid — it’s time «‘to pay your fare share». Such a stupid Muni marketing campaign.
It’s ILLEGAL not to pay. All these Freeloaders hurt ALL of us. And cause all of regular payers to pay more!
More MUNI Police and arrest these people and keep them overnight in Jail! That’ll stop these thieves.

I loathe SF public transit, more specifically anything MUNI. But when I’m forced to bite the bullet, I find myself more often than not on the 38L Geary bus. Whether I’m hanging out downtown, relaxing in the Richmond, or frolicking in the Tenderloin /​City Center, this bus is the one to take. Plus, it’s way faster than the regular 38 Geary.
When traffic is flowing, its only feels like minutes before this bus hits the downtown area from its starting point. Not all buses are created equal. I can name far too many buses that have their share of frequent shady characters, shoddy bus routes, and infrequent times. Thankfully for the 38L, these things aren’t ever really an issue.
There is one issue. Because everyone loves the 38L, it tends to be one of the more crowded buses. Getting a seat is near impossible during rush hour and many of the stops are stacked with eager commuters. Listen to the automated Spanish and Cantonese prompts while holding onto the rail straps for dear life. Ignore the delinquent teens and give your seat up to the elderly Chinese woman. She probably rides the bus way more than you do.

For passengers who want to get between Downtown and Richmond District faster, the 38L is here for you. It is much better than the 38 local since it makes fewer stops providing the quickest service possible. It is easier to get a seat on this route which is always a good thing. Overall, very good experience with this bus route. Why? The 38L makes limited stops providing efficient service between Downtown and Richmond District.

Gets me downtown faster than any other bus in richmond.
BUT DAMN, how crowded can a bus really get!!! If you’re taking this bus from downtown out to richmond, you KNOW it stays crowded until like. 25^th ave.
One time a homeless man who smelled like poop sat next to me and I got so scared that I ran through everyone on the bus all the way to the front. Ugh. –_​_​–

Dear Dirty Eight —
You have your problems. You can be late. You can be hot. You can be smelly. And you can be packed full of people. But, you do get me where I’m going especially compared to the regular 38. And for that you get 3 well deserved stars. Keep on passing up those stops that we don’t really need to stop at and get me home as soon as you can. Just try and keep the creepiness to a minimum.
Thank you — An Everyday Rider

My first car! Not. Well maybe, I’d wanted to be a bus driver when I was younger. The Limited gets me to downtown in a reasonable amount of time from the outer richmond and luckily I live by the terminal. What sucks that the line still does not run on Sundays. What’s up with that?! Minus one.
I do commend MUNI for extending service into the evening. I HATE having to step on a regular 38 and knowing that it’s going to take an hour to get home. What a waste of time. I liked the older buses though. The ones that run right now squeak like crazy and the upkeep is just terrible. Exposed toxic lights, MISSING lights, GRAFFITI, useless cameras, stinky rear seats, stuck windows, and the list goes on. Gone are the «friendly» reminders from the automated announcements. It’s basically all the same 2 or so reminders to hold on, reserved seats, and yeah…

I’m so torn. On the one hand, it gets Boy and I to work fast, which is terribly important for those mornings when we’re at each other’s throats but work in the same building and are thus forced to commute the 15 minutes downtown together. On the other hand, I feel like I am contracting strange illnesses, being targeted for assault, and getting touched inappropriately the whole way to work (believe me– these are not the sort of people you want to be felt up by). With it’s strange mishmash of agro pre-​cofee fidi drones, folks who have just gotten the boot from the local shelters, and psych patients from the VA (god bless them), this is one bizarre bunch. And smelly, too. It’s like mobile group therapy except no one’s been taking their meds and thus has nothing useful to offer.
Seriously, the ride back home (inbound) in the evening is fine if you catch the tenement on wheels as far down Market as I do but the morning ride (unless you get on before 8 a.m.) is a claustrophobic nightmare. And smelly, too. At least it gets me where I’m going fast.