examiNation SF: What do you have to do to feel safe on Muni?

I think one of the main problems is the lack of police presence on the Muni. In contrast, I felt very safe in New York taking buses and subways, since they have a huge and vigilant police presence.

I try not to ride a MUNI bus at night anywhere in the City at night. I will not go in to a Muni metro station at night. Try not to get on a bus when schools let out during the school year.

MUNI drivers have an incredibly tough job. Many seem fed up and surly, but if you don't like what goes on in your bus commute, just imagine dealing with that all day, everyday. It makes my day when a driver waits the door for me or someone else, or has a friendly hello, or makes an effort to fit everyone on. And I think everyone is better behaved on those buses where the driver is more engaged. I don't want fake, management-dictated friendly stuff, like they try at grocery stores. But maybe MUNI drivers have some suggestions on how we could make their jobs easier and more pleasant.

Safety on MUNI is a necessity for improvement of the public transit system and is inexplicably left unaddressed in the "Fix Muni" Proposition A. Ridiculous!

MUNI is a predators paradise. It is extremely degrading to ride MUNI because of the fiascoes atmosphere attitude instigated toward the passengers by MUNI. This attitude has open the doors for crime to thrive.

It's the typical "It's none of my business" attitude that we have in USA. The only time anything is their business is when it's about Global Warming or plastic bags.

Carry pepper spray, a switchblade, and have trained myself in martial arts - and I will hurt anyone who tries any of the stuff they pull on everybody else on me. Think Getz!

I keep my cell phone handy. If I do see something that is not appropriate on the bus, like graffitti, I usually step to the drivers quietly and tell them. The driver will usually yell something or go to the back of the bus. One time a drunk came onto the bus and started harrassing people, I called the police on my cell. They stopped the bus and took the man off the bus. I try to read the paper and sit towards the front of the bus. I just hate the attitudes of the bus drivers, like you are doing them a favor for riding their bus. I don't depend on them to protect me. They don't take any pride in the bus they drive or the want to even help the people that ride muni. I am a native San Franciscan. I've always taken the bus and I only see it going down hill. Once in a while a policeman will get on the 38 bus and stay on for about two blocks. Lot of good that does. The buses need more police monitoring of some type of security to help keep citizens safe. Muni get on the ball!

MUNI is a predators paradise. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel for them. Riding MUNI is so demoralizing people have a sense they're just like cattle, accepting and tolerating abuses handed down by MUNI and predators.

I have to keep a 306-degree awareness of my surroundings, always. Best practice to stay safe on Muni: walk and avoid the violence-heavy transit lines that Muni's authorities seem to ignore, rather than protect and police, like they need to do.

In true "blame the victim" liberal CA form - most of the comments seem to be to hide & avoid the bus. Why not actually STAND up to the thugs? If most folks carried concealed weapons, I GUARANTEE that there would be LESS crime, because the punks wouldn't know who was carrying and who wasn't. Thugs look for weak prey. If you make yourself strong, then you are not prey. The folks on the bus should've banded together, tackled the thug, got the knife off of him, then proceeded to shove it up his ARSE!! But the problem with that is, here in sue-happy CA, the thug would have sued & more than likely have won!! What a whacked out society we live in.

Is it ture Serena Williams uses growth Hormans to achive her status as would class tennis player.

First off, we've got so many looney tunes, off their meds, walking around, virtually no venue in the city is safe from the truly, frighteningly mentally ill. The problem on Muni is one of the dirvers' personal safety. If they get involved, just like the unfortunate "Good Samaratin" in your article, they're just as likely to get stabbed or shot! So, naturally, they pur their heads in the sand, hukerner down over the steering wheel and try to ignore eberything that goes on! Lets face it -- our Muni drivers are the worst collection of unhappy, customer-unfriendly "hate the world" poor souls on the planet. Why should they get involved if a passenger is being stabbed t o death? Most of them probably think it's a good thing!

I drive a car to avoid street crime. At night or in bad weather it's safer to drive than walking or riding a bicycle (and obeying all traffic laws), because I don't have to walk from the bus stop or deal with carrying in my bicycle--I drive into my garage.

I ride a bike to avoid street crime. At night it's safer than walking, driving, or Muni, because I don't have to walk from the bus stop or a parking space to my door--I ride right up to my door

MUNI should be free and they should have a conductor on each bus as well as a driver, so the drivers don't have to be cops and can focus on driving.

If somebody is acting scary, I sit near the driver, or get up and move, or get off the bus. Sometimes I speak up if someone is acting out. It's good if all the passengers speak up together. Once several people on a MUNI train scolded a roudy group of 12-year-olds when we were stuck underground, and the kids stopped being so rude. It's especially great when people give up their seats and do other things to help old people. If there were more of that, people wouldn't feel like they could get away with picking on weak or old people. On that 14 Mission bus yesterday, the whole bus should have yelled at that guy before he slapped the elderly woman.

MUNI and safeness, in a word, incongruent.

Muni is trainwreck. Compared to public transit in other cities, and considering the cost of riding it and the amount of funding that goes into it, it is an appallingly poor service. Just like despite the $80k+ salaries being spent on drivers still not making it possible to make them punctual, I don't believe City Hall can make Muni safer. Growing up in San Francisco, I took Muni for years. In that time, I have been robbed twice of a walkman, hit in the face and had my nose broken with a cast, had numerous bums harass me, been been in an accident, and saw various psychopaths threaten everyone on the bus. This all took place before I was 16 years old, and in the Richmond District, so imagine what must take place in worse neighborhoods. As long as San Francisco keeps policies in place to invite criminals to this city and keeps the lowest arrest and conviction rates in the nation, nothing is going to change. Instead, privatize Muni to get rid of the inane bureaucracies.

I would take cabs too if it weren’t so cost prohibitive. In my experiences, I’ve found that a simple cab ride can rise in cost due to traffic delays. I hate sitting in traffic watching the fare meter climb. Thus, we are left to the mercy of MUNI. I consider myself lucky that I have to concern myself only with MUNI’s light-rail system and not with any busses. Although I don’t know how lucky I am considering it took me an hour to get from the Van Ness metro station to Sunset Blvd. last night.

My experience with Muni involves being pushed, shoved and pickpocketed. Yet it is impossible to park a car in San Francisco, so I am stuck on public transport most of the time. If I could afford it, I would stick with cabs.