Taken with Transportation
Welcome to Taken with Transportation, the official podcast of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).
Each episode will take you along for the ride as we profile the people and policies that make accessible, equitable transportation in San Francisco possible. These stories will cover everything from the city’s streets to the inner workings of the SFMTA and offer insight and perspectives you won’t get anywhere else. We’re passionate about the work we do and want to share that passion and commitment with you.
About the Host: Melissa Culross comes to the SFMTA from the radio industry where she spent three decades hosting broadcasts and creating content for a variety of stations, including KCBS, Star 101.3 and Alice@97.3 in the Bay Area. Melissa has been drawn to storytelling her whole life and has been a regular San Francisco public transit rider since moving to the city in the 1990s.
Taken with Transportation
Keeping Warm at SweaterFest (Bonus Episode)
It’s the holiday season, and in this bonus episode, we’re going back to our SweaterFest celebration. In early December we threw a party for Muni fans and the community at large in honor of our “Icons of San Francisco” holiday sweater. We sipped hot chocolate, enjoyed music and comedy, wrote haikus about Muni, and embraced the joy of San Francisco and its transportation system. So, grab some nog and join us for a dose of good cheer!
MELISSA CULROSS, HOST: It’s the holiday season, and we’re celebrating at Sweater Fest.
BOBBY, SF RESIDENT AND TRANSIT FAN: I’m just a fan of public transit, in general. And, uh, I really like the Muni sweater this year.
MELISSA: Welcome to TAKEN WITH TRANSPORTATION, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s official podcast. I’m your host, Melissa Culross, and we are at the plaza atop the Chinatown Rose Pak Central Subway Station on a December afternoon…having a party that we’re calling Sweater Fest. SFMTA Marketing Manager Jeanne Brophy.
JEANNE BROPHY, SFMTA MARKETING MANAGER: This is an opportunity for us today to bring together the fans of Muni. For the first time, we were able to pull together an “ugly” holiday sweater, which I’m told is not too ugly. And we just thought it would be a good chance to kind of bring together some holiday spirit and community together here at Chinatown Rose Pak Station.
MELISSA: How important is that? I mean, in the two years that I…almost two years I’ve worked for the agency, much more so than just being a San Francisco resident, I am learning how much people love Muni. How important is it to, sort of, being community together?
JEANNE: I think it’s really important to put faces to kind of the brand, if you will. You know, I focus a lot on the brand for the agency, and what is that experience we want people to feel about who we are. And part of that is the people behind Muni. And bringing people together to meet each other and just to celebrate the city and Muni and transportation in the city. Why not?
CAROLERS SINGING: It’s the most wonderful time of them all…
MELISSA: The sweater Brophy is talking about is our Icons of San Francisco holiday sweater. It was designed by staff and celebrates the city’s charm AND transportation by featuring our world-famous cable cars, Coit Tower and the Transamerica Pyramid…all with some holiday flair. We introduced the sweater during a very successful summer pre- sale, and now it’s the perfect time and this is the perfect place to don this festive apparel. Bobby, who recently moved to San Francisco from the Peninsula, is wearing his.
BOBBY: I’d say I considered five or six different sweaters and still have a couple in the cart. But the Muni sweater with all the local icons, especially the cable car, that really sold it for me.
MELISSA: Shelley may not be wearing an Icons of San Francisco sweater, but it has caught her eye.
SHELLEY, SF RESIDENT AND TRANSIT FAN: I would be *that* holiday sweater person. More so due to my love of public transit, rather than my celebration of the holidays.
MELISSA: Several SFMTA staffers, or the people behind Muni, if you will, have volunteered to help out here at Sweater Fest…including Public Relations Assistant Cat Rechsteiner
CAT RECHSTEINER, SFMTA PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSISTANT: I am at the check-in table. So, I’ll be seeing anyone who RSVP-ed, and we are also taking walk-ins. So, happy to meet everyone who is coming to the event.
MELISSA: Acting Customer Communications Management Assistant Vanessa Rubio explains why she has taken time out of her regular workday to be here.
VANESSA RUBIO, SFMTA ACTING CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT: I really like the holidays, and it’s a really nice bonding experience, overall. Meeting people and then seeing your colleagues that you don’t see very often.
MELISSA: And keeping this entire affair running is SFMTA Special Events Officer Danbee Song.
DANBEE SONG, SFMTA SPECIAL EVENTS OFFICER: It’s really lovely how everybody’s involved. And everyone’s just down to the earth and just saying, like, “Let’s go. Let’s, let’s make this magic together.” I mean, most of the time, I was just having fun putting things together. And I see a lot of people getting so excited. And that was giving me a lot of fuzzy feelings.
CAROLERS SINGING: ‘Tis the season to be…
EVENT EMCEE: Welcome, welcome to our first Sweater Fest with Muni! First, let us give a warm thank you, a warm greeting to the Mistletoe Carolers for kicking off our event. This first Sweater Fest…hopefully, the first of many…is a celebration of community spirit…
MELISSA: We’ve got hot chocolate, donuts and the chance to win prizes in a haiku contest judged by comedian Kristee Ono.
KRISTEE ONO, COMEDIAN AND HAIKU BATTLE CHAMPION: I’ve been a haiku battle performer on several different shows, one of them being Muni Diaries. And, like, I was a champion once, and so… It’s really fun to have the kind of structure to write about Muni. I feel like the structure kind of lends to a little bit more creativity to try and fit that five-seven-five or just, like, 17 syllables altogether. It’s just a fun structured way of, like, being creative.
MELISSA: Ono also is doing a little stand up this afternoon.
KRISTEE: I am a big fan of Muni. And so, it’s fun to be part of events like this. I, I feel like stand up is best contained in, like, dim nightclubs after dark. And so, like, comedy in the daytime outdoors is always such a interesting experience. It can really go any way, and it is really beautiful today. And, like, the views overlooking Chinatown, it is just so cool. This place is so cool
MELISSA: And as we have mentioned before, there are lots of Muni fans in San Francisco and here at Sweater Fest…and they’re happy to talk about their love of public transportation.
ENTHUSIASTIC TRANSIT RIDER: I like that it gives you the freedom to kind of go wherever you want and know that you could always, you know, get where you wanna go. Whether that’s home or someplace that you wanna go without having to worry about, you know, parking or dealing with a car. And also, it’s kinda satisfying to be able to find cool paths to the city. You know, trying different types of transit and combining the light rail with the BART or the buses and the cable cars and everything. It’s, it’s fun.
SECOND ENTHUSIASTIC TRANSIT RIDER: I don’t particularly like driving. And I, I’ve been diagnosed with epilepsy later in life. So, if I didn’t live in a place with public transit, I wouldn’t be able to get around. And here, I could just get on the bus, which is great. Because a lot of people don’t get to do that in this country.
MELISSA: Overall, the atmosphere is one of joy. The joy of the holiday season. The joy of being able to ride Muni all over San Francisco. The joy of living in one of the most beautiful and inspiring cities in the world.
CAROLERS SINGING: Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
MELISSA: Thank you for joining us on Taken with Transportation. We’re a production of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and you can find the latest episodes at SFMTA.com-slash-Podcast, as well as Apple, Spotify, our YouTube channel or wherever you listen. I’m Melissa Culross. Be well, travel well and enjoy the season.