MUNI – 1BX California Express

Like most San Franciscans, I have a love/​hate relationship with MUNI, and this is best exemplified by the 1BX line.
Inbound: I get on at California and Fillmore, which is the last stop before the FiDi, and find that 7 am — 7:30 am is the optimal time to hop on. If, however, you get on after Divisadero and after 8 am, hope that the person next to you smells nice since you will practically be hugging them for the rest of the ride (on the bright side though, it only takes about 10 minutes from Fillmore and California to Bush and Sansome). But that’s IF you get on to begin with. More often than not, the driver will not stop at Cal/​Fillmore, OR, will open front doors only, allowing a few lucky people to cram in. Next Muini is pretty accurate though early in the morning: if the bus in front of you is packed like a sardine tin, and the next bus is «arriving» in 4 minutes, just wait. It will likely not be crowded.
Outbound: «Patience is a virtue.» Repeat as necessary. Arrival is unpredictable and NextMuni is useless. The bus gets super crowded. I’d rather take this line to Pac Heights than the 1, 2 or the 3 though since I won’t have to play the «how many stops can we blow through without stopping» game.

Seriously — tell me there’s a better MUNI line to take from Pac Heights to the Financial District first thing in the morning, and I’ll slap that lie straight out of your mouth! It’s not possible!
Folks, it simply doesn’t get better than the 1BX if you can take advantage of this glorious route that starts in Laurel Heights and extends to the Embarcadero every weekday. Perhaps I’m one of the lucky ones, because when I’m picked up at the Fillmore/​California stop, this bus line literally doesn’t have another stop until it comes to rest about ¼ mile away from the front door of my office. It’s as though the public transportation brass devised a way to get me from Point-​A to Point-​B in the fastest, most efficient way possible, and to those at the helm of this operation, I salute you. Blizzow!

Although I can’t ignore the benefits of hopping on less than a block from my apartment and hopping off a mere 10 minutes later just 2 blocks from my office, this bus is mind-​bogglingly aggravating for 2 reasons:
1) As the last stop before FiDi, I am lucky to even make it onto a bus, let alone score myself a seat. I’ve arrived late to work many a morning because the bus has just refused to collect people at California and Fillmore. WTF.
2) The last bus leaves FAR TOO EARLY in the afternoon. I’ve made the last BX maybe 2 times in the past year. Does everybody in this town get off at 5? A little later please…
Although it does save me a good 25 minutes to hop on the bus, on a nice day, I’d rather walk.

Colin nailed it with the «white folks express» — in fact, I’ve stolen that term and made it my own. The bus is quiet, but tolerant of coffee and a pretty quick ride. It still gets way too crowded and I’d really love to give someone at muni a piece of my mind regarding the decision to run the return service from 4:00−6. This thing should run to 6:45. Please?

Today I took an earlier version of the «white folks express» around 4:45pm, and got a seat easily. It pretty much blasts down Pine. The riders are still kind of silent and creepy, and the other annoying thing is that it really should let people off at Fillmore & Pine. Instead it waits through two cycles of the light at Fillmo & Cali just to turn left onto Cali before letting everyone off. In my experience nearly ¹⁄₃ of the passengers get off at the first stop, and I have a feeling a lot of them would like to get off at Fillmore & Pine. One time the driver let us off there but I don’t think they’re supposed to.
Also, overall it seems slightly less crowded now that they gave some of the BX stops to the AX.

I have a love/​hate relationship with the 1BX.
Morning ride is great, I can leave my apt by 8:10 and still be at the office in time. Nothing beats that! The
times are pretty accurate, and the busses generally come often enough that it doesn’t really matter what time you get to the stop.
4 *‘s
Evening ride-​wow the difference between my morning and evening commutes are as different as, well, night and day (har har). First off, I board at the Montgomery/​Pine stop. There is no sign to indicate where to wait for the bus and although regulars know the deal, there are always confused people who don’t know where to line up. Secondly, the bus is NEVER on schedule, the
times are not accurate at all, and sometimes the bus fails to show up. Today, I looked up the arrival time and it said 5 minutes. Okay, no prob. 10 mins later, still no bus, and when I looked on
, I saw the dreaded words that every SF commuter hates to see: ‘no current prediction’. Huh? Did the bus magically disappear or something? Also, why does the express bus stop at 6pm? Doesn’t the city know that all the people who formerly worked market hours are unemployed now? I ALWAYS see angry people at this stop due to the above reasons.
0 *‘s
Average=2 *s
P. S. You’re not cool on this bus unless you have an iphone/​blackberry and wear northface.

I am no longer taking this bus and have now moved closer to the financial district so that I can walk to or from work. On occasion, I do take the 2, 3, 4 bus and now that I’ve experienced these busses I have a few more comments for the great 1BX.
Since riding the 2, 3, 4 I’ve noticed passengers on this bus are more likely to think they have rights to 2 whole seats and therefore sit with their legs wide open as if giving birth or placing their stuff on the seats. Passengers on the 2,3,4 are also quick to leave your side to grab open seats that become available. Pefectly normal behavior of course, but on the 1bx, I notice that many passengers are reluctant to grab open seats for fear I guess of offending their seat neighbor. Isn’t that cool!

I’ve ridden this bus both ways for the past two years … my last trip ever is this Friday and I compiled a list of things I will miss, and NOT miss
MISS
— cute girls galore
— timely and fast
— always getting a seat both ways (I got on at 4^th ave and off on Davis)
— Quality time with my ipod and ESPN magazine
WONT MISS
— Pink Bags (old Asian ladies with pink bags of produce) THEY JAM ON THE BUS AND THEN GET OFF ONE STOP LATER… wtf?
— Awkward quietness = No mingling for me
— Inconsistent wait times
— This one man with really thick gray hair … he bugs me and I dont know why
— This gay couple I see every morning … I have nothing against gays, but dont rub it in my face by kissing /​groping each other at 7:45 in the morning. I dont see hetero;s doing that — why are you?
— The steam! Everyone who rides this bus in the winter … you know what I’m talking about
— The annoying BUS LADY’s voice that announces the stops after you already pass them Bush and Saaaandsome
— Being hungover on the bus (awful … thats usually once or twice a week)
— Smart Phones … I admit I listen to my iPod in the moring — but leave the work at the office mother fucker
— Phone chatters … purposely talking loud so you can hear their conversation even though I dont know you /​give 2 shits
— The smell = gross

usually this bus doesnt stop for me because the driver is a not nice person. but i think theres a new driver now and the first time i was so excited he stopped that i was walking up the steps and i tripped. hahah i always seem to fall and embarrass myself in public.
but yup. gets me to the 28. and i always get a seat.

WOW… what a difference taking this bus is compared to taking the underground trains! I used to take the K/​T line and that shit was so unreliable that I can’t even describe it. The 1BX is usually 90% on time every day. It’s pretty crowded though, but if I can get from point A to point B within 25 minutes, that’s cool with me. Only downside is that people on this bus think they are the shit (but aren’t) and for some reason, people don’t like the windows open even though it smells like ass up in there. Plus, some people are rude! PLEASE don’t try to act like you didn’t know your bag straight hit my leg.

Inbound: you wait at Fillmore & California for an express. Of course, that’s the time you see all the #1 locals going to either Howard & Main or Drumm & Clay, operating on the skip stop schedule.
When an express arrives, it’s packed to the gills and the driver doesn’t open the door. When one finally stops, it’s still packed to the gills, but the driver is apathetic enough to stop and open the doors. We pack on like sardines. Thankfully, it’s a short ride.
Arrive at work feeling stressed out and harried from close proximity with others prior to being caffeinated.

i love this bus! granted, i get on at 4^th, so i don’t have the crowd problem or the bus passing me by problem. so i can see how that might be irritating for those residing further down the line. but for me, the 1bx is great! it arrives every morning, promptly at the regularly scheduled pick-​up time of 7:55. i’m reminded of how much i love the 1bx whenever i have to take the 31bx (which i usually have to do about once a week depending on when i move my car into a non-​2-​hour-​parking zone). the 31bx never arrives when it’s supposed to and is a constant source of workplace tardiness. every time i find myself waiting and waiting and waiting for the 31, i am reminded of just how grateful i am for the 1bx. in conclusion, this bus rules.

Enjoy standing up during your commute? Enjoy watching the bus fly by your stop in the morning? Then this is the bus for you. With long waits, crowds and great drivers, this is the PREMIERE commuter bus in the city.