Shitstorm

Fists and feces fly as Muni raises fares

By Jim Straub

At about 8 a.m. Sept. 1, half a dozen grumpy bus riders waited impatiently at a Third Street bus stop for the 15 Muni bus to arrive – and to pay an extra quarter to ride it. The fare hike, to $1.50, is one facet of Muni's plan to plug a $57 million budget shortfall.

But most of the bus riders congregating under this particular bus shelter weren't too annoyed about shelling out an extra 25¢. What really bugged them was the looming prospect of service cuts destined to result in fewer buses and longer waits on lines like the 15.

As Timothy Harper put it, "The fare raise isn't a lot, and would be OK if they didn't take all these buses off our route." Harper, who works in food service at City College of San Francisco, added with a touch of panic, "I've been waiting twenty minutes already, and I need to clock in at work soon."

While Harper shrugged off the fare hike, a dedicated crew of radicals hoped to short-circuit the austerity measures by convincing the masses not to give Muni their money by going on a "fare strike."

"The costs shouldn't be borne by working-class riders alone," said Aaron Johnson, one of the organizers of the fare strike. "If some decide not to pay, we hope to cost Muni enough money that they have to reevaluate their plans."

Though Johnson and pals hoped for widespread civil disobedience, what materialized was a modicum of chaos at a handful of bus stops in the Mission District, where fists, and, in at least one case, feces, flew.

At the junction of 16th and Mission Streets, picket-sign-equipped protesters – including a contingent of day laborers – mingled with folks waiting for the bus. Attempting to control the scene were half a dozen young people – they looked to be in their late teens or early 20s – in yellow vests emblazoned with the words "Muni security." While refusing to identify themselves to the Bay Guardian, some told us they were in a probation program that puts them to work for Muni for minimum wage. "This is a twelve-hour shift for us," muttered one, who also noted he did not feel properly trained (or paid enough) to police such crazy circumstances.

At the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, spokesperson Maggie Lynch gave us a different explanation. She said that "the kids who were working security" were part of "a kind of welfare-to-work program we participate in. Usually they're security and assistance at bus stops teenagers take to school, since kids are more likely to listen to other kids."

Press-ganged into security detail at 16th and Mission on a chaotic and contentious day, these security kids displayed a marked propensity for escalating conflict.

When the 14 bus pulled up a little after 11 a.m., a horde of passengers rushed its entrance while Muni security announced testily, "You must pay the new fare or have a real transfer to ride. It may not be right for it to go up, but if you don't pay the full fare, we will take you off!" while a few in the crowd shouted "You lie!" and "No pagamos!" Despite warnings, some elderly passengers could be seen stepping onto the bus and handing the driver an icy stare instead of any fare or transfer.

Meanwhile, across the street a crowd of people was attempting to sneak through the back doors of another bus, only to be blocked by a female Muni security guard. When one strike sympathizer attempted to push his way past her, a scuffle erupted, which quickly became a fistfight between the striker and guard. With the two punching each other in a tangled crowd, the fight became a melee that was broken up only when the striker attempted to flee. As he walked briskly up Mission Street, what looked like a gang of Muni goons followed, taunting him for hitting a woman and trying to hold him back until police could arrive.

If a whiff of pandemonium was in the air, onlookers at the scene began to notice another strange stench. The fleeing striker managed to shake his pursuers temporarily by hysterically pulling his pants off to reveal a lower body covered in shit. Apparently he had crapped his pants in fear when the fight had started, and now, as security workers gagged and onlookers' eyes widened in disbelief, he began wielding his brown ass as a weapon to ward off apprehension. "Oh my god, he did not just do that!" one person shouted as the fleeing striker began shitting all over a nearby wall, on the sidewalk, and even on a few extremely displeased security workers. Whether it was insanity, panic, or creative civil disobedience, the guy's tactics worked – security was too stunned or disgusted to grab him, and he made his getaway. He was, however, arrested a block away by a very unhappy police officer wearing some very large sanitary gloves.

Elsewhere in the city, most bus lines rolled on.

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