MUNI – 30 Stockton

I like Muni but HATE #30. So many riders are short pushy and rude. How many people can fit on a bus? A zillion if you are riding through Chinatown! It is so bad that hubby and I have a word that we use when walking the city and encountering people unwilling to share the sidewalk, «thirty». And be sure you notice the destination or you will be walking from Van Ness to Fillmore. And by the time you hit Fillmore, Marina Middle School has let out and you can learn some new curse words when you catch #22!

Muni is among the worst local transit agencies I’ve had the misfortune to experience. I’ve had so many episodes of trains, trolleys and buses not showing up, poor or incorrect information being given from «customer service», overcrowding and unhelpful drivers that I can’t count them — and I don’t even live here? They seem to have a 50% hit rate – Russian roulette, but with worse odds. Last time, I bought a roundtrip light rail ticket, and the return train never showed up. Ended up walking 3 miles and keeping my date waiting for nearly an hour.
Thought someone should ding them here. Muni, consider yourself dinged.

Worst route ever to get from the marina district to the FiDi. I’d rather walk, that’s how bad it is.

— Crowded
— Rarely on time, Frequent Delays
— Don’t bother looking at the schedule, because drivers have never seen it
— Stops at every single block. The ‘stop requested’ sound is gonna make you go insane
— Too many live animals. I got roosters coming up to me smelling my feet every day.
— Cleanliness? Psh … please. That doesn’t even exist
+ Nice Drivers

Well, I have to say, 30 SSSSSTTTTOOOCKKKKTTTOOONN SSSS********CCKKKKSSSS!!! It’s crowded 100% of the time, and has annoying «Stop Requested» sounds that makes when a passenger pulls the cord (especially when there is NO «Stop Requested» light on this bus). This bus line is rigged. Do not ride this route. Instead I think you may want to take a cable car, F, or 47 instead of the most rigged 30 if you want to go from somewhere near my house.

I am new to San Francisco and am appalled by this horrible line. I thought a city like this could do better.
Between frequent stops, the infuriating transfer at Ghirardelli, the unexpected delays (go, go, go — then stop for 5 minutes), Chinatown, the list goes on — it is an exercise for certain. Also why as of this writing are you taking the wheelchair seats out of service?
Suggestion: Make the wheelchair seating available, make each stop on time, run more buses at chinatown or better yet have a concierge and a bus port there for more orderly boarding, and do switch buses at the end of the line instead of mid-​channel.
My last observation is the step-​down to open the exit in the middle of the bus. The sign clearly says not to step in that area. Unless you are in the know with this concept it confuses all of the tourists and infrequent users.
Complete fail. I am close to giving up on this one and using my bike.

This bus notoriously sucks! I have ridden it since the first time I visited SF and most of the time I got off the bus mad and raged. I hate it with a growing fervor especially because it gets so crowded like the SBS buses that pass through West Singapore. The bus drivers on this route are so rude that even I started acting like them. There was a time they won’t let me on board with my BART ID card. No one I knew rode this bus to the end. Why would they have this route if Laborers who speak really loud ride it.

I used to ride this line as a kid and a teenager years ago. My wife and I were in town for an SF weekend and we rode it from Chestnut and Union to Downtown getting off at Geary. What a memory ride for me and a different experience for my wife.
When we come to SF, we try to leave our car parked and ride Muni, cable cars or street cars to experience The City. This was fun.
On the same day, we rode the #4 Sutter St. Bus and the #47 Van Ness Ave. bus.

Pluses
Always there when you need it — often times two or three of them.
If it’s not there, then a 45 or an 8X is, anyway
Goes right where you need to go without a lot of meandering
Great connections — can get anywhere in the bay area with just one transfer
Electric, so low noise and smooth running
Runs all night
Always can get a bike on
Minimum of drunks and bums
Fast — although the SB detours for construction now
Minuses
It get’s full of spoiled, whining yuppies right before and after work
I’ll miss it greatly if they kill it when the subway is finished.

Slow. Lots of stops. Hot. Crowded. Occasionally chaotic drivers. But, it’s the only route that gets me back to the oasis of Marina after work in the city (thank you MUNI for stopping the 30x WAY too early in the evening). Let’s just say that when the bus turns onto Chestnut, I am a happy camper.

I can’t complain about muni when it’s $ 2 versus a cab ride that would cost me at least $ 10. Anyways, I do understand why people say this bus can get a little pushy and crowded as it does go through Chinatown. But I’ve never had an issue with it and remember, you’re on public transpo! What do you expect?! If you’re headed to the marina, the bus will empty a bit once you reach north beach. So you’ll get to sit down and relax a bit. At least that’s what happened on my ride. Muni may not be the best public transport system in the world, but to me it’s A-​OK.

What a sorry bus line. 30 minute wait. Where am I? The mountains of Montana?! I blame you god, for having that drunk driver demolish my parked vehicle and not take me with! Oh wait here comes the bus. I’m hopping on the back and I ain’t paying either! Screw you Muni!
Hopeless.

muni 30 line
a semi-​sweet ride full of
third-​finger moments

I’m not a fan of the 30 Stockton, especially if you have to endure the trip through Chinatown to downtown… the traffic on Stockton is horrendous and the amount of people piling in with bags pack in so tight, you would feel a bit suffocated.
Nonetheless, it’s a way to get to/​from Union Square and other destinations.

I do have to admit that route 30 is crowded just like the 45 and 8X. A lot of the passengers taking route generally get off the bus once it approaches Stockton between Jackson and Pacific. It is one of three ways to get between Chinatown and Caltrain Station, buses on this route are very frequent — PROPS.
— Buses come often (+2)
— Takes me straight to Caltrain (+2)

Need Fare Inspectors and Police to Arrest ALL Fare Cheats!
Need the Muni Bus Drives to stop/​prevent Fare Cheats from Boarding. Let the Drivers Kick Off ALL gang members and anyone who violates the law (loud music, guns, food on board).
No Boarding through the back door!
Clean up the Graffiti!
Take some Pride in your work and your work buses.

I’m going to share my experience … one I have tried to forget but cannot…
I was there … it did indeed happen…
back in the 80’s …
Riding the 30 Stockton Bus !!!
A lady tried to get on the bus with a Chicken…
A LIVE CHICKEN!!!
the driver asked her not to get on the bus …
she refused .
he said …-
we are not moving… with a live chicken…
she yelled at him he yelled back…
«no live chicken on the bus …»
. then
in a heart beat she swung the chicken by the neck
flayed it around until it was dead .
you can imagine the screaming… feathers flew
the passengers screamed
. the Chinese lady screamed «dead chicken»…“dead chicken“
the bus driver called the police.
needless to say. the bus did not move …
from that spot.

One star for being frequent and always on time.
However the rest of the time it’s absolutely unbearable. I take it EVERY SINGLE DAY to school, and it’s always always crammed except for the early morning. Once you hit Chinatown you see like 3000 people get on in the back for FREE, even if the usual high-​as-​a-​kite bus driver is screaming for everyone to get off because the bus is too full. Most of the time you’re crammed in like a sardine and barely able to fight through the sea of people to get off at your stop, and now a bunch of old ladies want to get on the back and don’t care/​see how it’s already full, even though there’s another 30 bus coming in 1 minute? RUDE.
I will say one thing though – you’re never bored on this bus. Today I was slapped about by a crackhead ranting about how Titanic should never have won an Oscar.

I can’t believe the racist /​classist whining of many of the reviews here.
1) It’s PUBLIC transportation. That means the public rides it.
2) Not everyone in Chinatown is Chinese. There are plenty of Asian immigrants living and shopping in Chinatown that are not from China
3) What is wrong with bringing groceries on public transportation?
4) People without housing generally do not take cabs or limos. If they need to travel a long distance, the bus is usually the best option. Do not ride a public bus and be surprised that you are sharing it with someone who does not sleep in an apartment or condo.
3 stars, because it is just a bus line and it does what it is supposed to do – move people from one place to another. All kinds of people.

The rant of Muni goes on.
Whenever I’m on the 30, I find myself praying for forgiveness. Being on this busline brings out my dark side, and soon evil thoughts overtake my mind.
– Please forgive me for wanting to break someone’s arm in half –
It’s not the guy’s fault that he needed 4 feet of space on a crowded bus. So what if he spread his arms apart and was hanging off the handstraps instead of using the top handle bar. And so what if he was swinging all over and almost elbowed my face, he doesn’t deserve punishment to bestow upon him.
– Please forgive me for wanting to shove old ladies aside –
The elderly deserves respect even when they take away my inch of standing room with their 8 grocery bags. I shouldn’t resort to violence if their grandkid’s backpack is constantly jabbing my back. And I should definitely keep my cool when their whole body is pressing against me and uses me as a wall, handlebar, seat… etc.