The 41 - The Sardine Line

I generally don't mind having to go out of my way for this line because the time difference between it and the other lines isn't that great and after my first try, on which the bus wasn't very crowded and everyone was quiet, I thought it might be a mainstay. Now I'm not so sure.

As usual, I'm able to find a seat at my stop, but this morning, there seemed to be more people than usual. Was it the rain? How could it be? It rained last week and those rides were nowhere near like this one. Funny, it arrived on time but instead of the 30/40 minutes it should have taken me to get to work, it took me an HOUR! What's worse, I wasn't even paying attention to the time since I boarded the bus that was a little earlier than I needed, I thought I would be fine. Had I known how late we were, I would have called my boss!

What slowed us down was our driver. She had good intentions of getting everyone at each stop on board, but the method was lacking. Only 5 stops away from where I got on, she stopped for 5 minutes and said she would not continue unless we found a way to get everyone on board and behind the yellow line at the front of the bus. I could see some space in the back for people to fill in, but there wasn't a lot of it. Yet she made people pile in. She definitely did NOT move until everyone at each stop was on her bus. She was so worried about the yellow line, but I can't imagine that packing a bus to that extent is safe at all. 

I, being vertically challenged myself, sympathized with a short woman who was fighting to stay near a pole because she wouldn't be able to reach the overhead pole to hang on. I don't think anyone considered that. I also felt for the people standing. I hate standing on the bus, but to be packed in like sardines is tragedy. Who is responsible if someone gets hurt from the pressure? To top off the driver's insanity in packing too many people in, she drove the standard Muni method... gas-lurch-to-a-quick-stop-gas-lurch-gas-lurch. When the overhead recording says "Please Hold On", you better grab the nearest pole or sturdy passenger you can!

Anyway, I rushed to my transfer, got to work, and looked at my clock. 20 minutes late! It had taken me an HOUR to go the same distance in the same weather as I had been in all last week. I blame this driver. Next time, I will be looking for name tags!