One of San Francisco’s well-known Muni operators is bringing awareness to Transit Driver Appreciation Day, which takes place next Tuesday, March 18, by asking passengers to show some love for Muni operators.
Mc “Mack” Allen, who has worked for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) as a Muni operator since 2021 and is known for his detailed social media posts about the fight scene in the movie Shang-Chi on the 1-Caifornia, began his project and website as a way to promote and encourage people to ride Muni on Transit Driver Appreciation Day and for passengers to send in commendations for Muni operators.
His call is for Muni passengers to send in 500 operator commendations on Tuesday and for the public to ride Muni on Tuesday to increase ridership.
Muni operators are the face of the SFMTA as passengers see them each day. They are not just driving a bus through our busy city streets, but they play an important role in answering questions and helping visitors find their way to their destinations.
Allen said the commendations, which he said are “rare” to receive, are cherished by operators and can brighten an operator’s week when they receive one from passengers. Operators receive them through mail at their division, including a copy of what the passenger said in the commendation.
“I will say that pretty much every operator I know has kept every commendation they earned, Allen said. They are valued artifacts, and for me, when I get one, it makes my whole week.”
Allen shared one of his commendations with The Voice, where he said a passenger called 311 on speaker phone to make the commendation while still on the bus so Allen and the rest of the passengers could hear it.
“What I loved about it was that it actually brought all of the passengers in the bus into this one commendation call because everybody was listening,” Allen said.
Another goal is to increase Muni ridership by 10 percent on Transit Driver Appreciation Day.
“If I have a message to the public for Transit Operator Appreciation Day, it is to show your appreciation by using public transit on that day,” Allen said.
He said that he has come to appreciate more and more how hard being an operator is after working as one for a few years now. “It is actually a remarkably difficult job,” Allen said.
Allen said the job of a Muni operator is having to make 1,000 decisions daily while driving, including when to move ahead and when to make an emergency stop that could put standing passengers on the ground.
“You have maybe a second to make that decision correctly,” he said.
The Board of Supervisors plans to recognize Transit Drive Appreciation Day with a resolution, Allen said, that will be introduced by Supervisor Billal Mahomood.
Artist and frequent Muni rider Kurt Schwartzmann shared several of his experiences with Muni operators. Schwatzmann said he met a Muni operator named Terry on the 6-Haight/Parnassus a couple of years ago, adding that he was touched when the operator had learned the names of the passengers.
“I was truly taken aback when he said, ‘Good Morning, Kurt,’” Schartzmann said. Wow, how cool this bus driver knows everyone’s name on his bus … that takes a special person.”
How to send commendations to a Muni operator
There are two ways to send a commendation to a Muni operator: calling 311 or submitting feedback on an online form. When calling 311, ask to praise a Muni operator. On the feedback form, select “praise” in the drop-down menu when asked “Type of Feedback.”
Passengers will need to have several pieces of information to ensure the commendation goes to the operator, including the four-digit vehicle number (found inside and outside of the vehicle), the Muni route and direction, operator ID number (found on right sleeve of uniforms), date, and time. Passengers will be asked to provide a reason for the praise.
Allen said having at least three or four of the required information pieces should be sufficient for commendations to find their way to the correct operators.