Muni Diaries Muni Diaries

Kristee Ono knows her fellow 6 Haight-Parnassus riders well — even though they're technically strangers. When she decided to write about one of them for the Muni Diaries Live Haiku Battle, she had no idea he was local transit icon Kurt Schwartzmann. Kristee tells the heartwarming story of what followed, and how two beloved Muni Diaries storytellers went from strangers on the bus to cherished friends.
Photo by Emily Huston

Veteran operator Charles Haletky walks us through the highs of "pure, exquisite joy of public humiliation" and the lows of, well...the lowest you can imagine. He reminds us that, as someone who trains the next generation of operators, he needs to be cruel on occasion—not to be kind, but for the greater good.

This is the first part in a series showcasing short Muni stories we collected from attendees at the Night of Ideas at the San Francisco Public Library on March 2, 2024. In this episode we focus on everyday heroes on the bus: situations where a small gesture or act of kindness by a transit rider or operator turned a tense situation around, made someone feel seen or appreciated, or just brightened their day.

Where most people see a desolate street, Katy Birnbaum sees a celebration and the regeneration of community waiting to happen. But it didn't start out that way. Katy grew up in a car-dependent suburb where the streets isolated her and her family. In this story from our November 2023 live show, Katy shares how moving to San Francisco transformed her relationship to streets, how Muni connected her to the things most important to her, and how she decided to give back.
Katy is the founder of Into The Streets, a San Francisco-based cultural production studio dedicated to bringing people together in the streets. Katy previously led the open streets department at the nonprofit Livable City, revamping the Sunday Streets SF program and stewarding it for 7 years. For more about Katy’s work check out www.intothestreetssf.com.

Have a Muni story you'd to share? Email us your pitch at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

Photo by Emily Huston

It's not every day you're swept off your feet by a handsome stranger on the subway. But when Baruch Porras-Hernandez rides Muni, anything can happen. We were thrilled to have Baruch back on the Muni Diaries Live stage in November with the story of a fleeting romance from his past, and the unexpected turn it takes.
Baruch is a writer, performer, and standup comedian who’s done storytelling shows all over California. He’s won the Moth in LA, headlined at About Last Night, is a three-time winner of Best of Bawdy, and won first place at Oakland’s Story Showdown. You can hear more stories from Baruch on the Muni Diaries podcast in Episode 43 and Episode 70.
Have a Muni story you'd to share? Email us your pitch at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.
Photo by Emily Huston

Happy New Year, Muni Diaries fam! We've got stories from our November live show, exciting in-person podcasting events, and more already queued up for you in 2024. Here's a sneak peek of what's on deck.
A heartfelt thanks from all of us at Muni Diaries to everyone who shared your Muni stories with us in 2023, sent us your bus photos, tuned in to the podcast, attended our live shows and art market, and helped us celebrate 15 years of Muni Diaries.
Have a Muni story you'd like us to feature in 2024? Email us your pitch at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.