Introduction

Hello Readers!

Today I start my journey of recording the mishaps of the local light-rail vehicles in San Francisco. While, we all know those 4 household letters, I chose not to disclose the agency for my own protection. I will here on out refer to it as LAME (Late Always, Many Excuses). I have been a rider of LAME since I was about 5 years old. My grandfather and I lived in the Sunset and we would take the #28 bus down 19th Avenue, all the way to the GGBridge and walk across, walk back, and catch the #28 home. I remember I was free at the time, but once I got a little older, my fare was only 35cents!

I started High School (SHCP) 13 years ago. I remember the good old days, when the older smelly vehicles with Asian women pulling down their childrens pants to let them pee in the back where the 1 seat would face out, would pull up every 2-3 minutes taking you to where you needed to be. I had friends who lived on specific lines, lines that you never had to wait for, lines that would come so frequently. The LAME was totally reliable, definitely not lame at the time! I purchased my first real LAME pass and it was only $8. I remember my mom having me pay for it, so it was a big deal to lose $8 when you wanted the money for after school candy or soda.

Those days came and went. As I went on to college (USF). I had the privilege of having a LAME pass on my Student ID card (as part of our tuition fee). I had stopped riding the light-rail vehicles based on my location and rode the #5, #43, #38, #1 everywhere. Those were my stomping grounds. NOPA, Panhandle, and the Richmond. During college, I transitioned into a full-time job. The 1BX was my best friend. A quick ride to downtown. My stop was right outside my door, the driver was always waiting for me at the same time each day. I was spoiled.

Long gone are the days of being spoiled. The SF budget and economy has gone to shit. LAME passes are up to $60-$70 dollars. LAME drivers want more money, less work, and service cuts have been a roller coaster for the past few years. This would be the reason for my blog. I pay $60 ($120 if you count my husband's pass). I wait 25 minutes for trains, I get stuck in the tunnel for about 20 minutes each way home. On a good day the door to door timing of my house to work is 30 minutes. That is mostly doubled several times a week. I hope you enjoy and laugh in my frustrations. I will also use this platform to discuss those LAME riders who amuse and disgust me.

The title of this blog was an idea from my younger sister. She brought up the point that since I am mostly stalled, I am not IN-TRANSIT, rather I am stuck most of the time.

So begins My Life Out of Transit... I hope you enjoy!