New Years Eve

Halloween is only three days away as I write this chapter, and it’s a Saturday and already I have seen costumes last night, and even earlier in the week. But the holiday season vibe is picking up and everyone is in the change of gears of the season. The air is crisp and clear. The trees and grasses are making themselves known in the warm still afternoon air by the scent they let out as we walk by. But I don’t know about you, but when I recall working on All Hallows Eve, and driving through the Castro on the 24 or the 33, my brain jumps ahead to the next disaster, New Year’s Eve. For some reason, especially on New Year’s Eve, there is the prevalent thought to let it all go. But now, not having had a drink in 17 years, and not really missing it at all, I begin to see a false promise about New Year’s Eve. What the heck is the deal for a calendar click, and why does it call for a drink?

But of course, to celebrate the New Year. Oh, yeah. But you might find that transit operators have a different idea about it if working on New Year’s Eve! Perhaps this title should read, “You Get What You Pay For.” If Muni is free from 8 p.m. on, what do we know from experience about things that are free? Such as the futon frames we see scattered on our sidewalks, or the Christmas trees on the corner on January 7th? Worthless. Those riding home at 9 p.m., great deal. But as 10:30 p.m. approaches, and folks are headed out to party, the buses become not unlike the 8x in Chinatown, packed. And so on to the most memorable story I have about New Year’s Eve, or should I say, New Year’s morning, at about 2am.

There on the island on Duboce, just outside of the tunnel, stood over 100 people taking every square inch of the island. And this is a two-car island. With overflow intending passengers waiting on the curbside sidewalk. But trains leaving downtown and the Ferry Plaza fireworks were exiting the tunnel and going out of service to return to the barn at Balboa Park. The cars were full and dumping off more people to wait to go out to the avenues and the Sunset. Muni’s free service ended at midnight that year, I think it was 2009, and only the regular motor coach N Judah service remained. One standard diesel bus every half hour. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that one standard forty foot motor coach every half hour, does not cover those coming from two car light rail vehicles every ten minutes.

I was pulling-in on the 22 line and gasped at the huge crowd waiting at Duboce and Church. Once again relieved that I was a crosstown line. And to my horror of horrors, I looked left at Market and saw a young lady driving an outbound N Judah motor coach on Market, ready to make the turn to Church and then left to Duboce. Oh my God. If ever there was a ninth level of hell this was it. She had a relatively empty bus, as those downtown were taking the underground to head away. If I could relive this moment, I would have run to her coach at the light before she turned to Church and warned her about what lay ahead on Duboce. Take the Haight Street route and don’t look to the left! Put on your neutral face and pray you can make it through the stop sign! I never knew what happened, but suffice it to say it was not pretty. This operator, who ever she is, should win some kind of hero’s medal of honor for having to make her next stop. I read in the paper the next Monday about complaints about owl service, but nothing, nothing, in writing the day after, could do justice for the battle cry that must have gone up when she made the turn to the island. All I can say is girl, you deserve a vacation to Hawaii or some other fantastic place. Whew! It was really cold that night, and I wonder how her next trip went. Peace be with you!