(All photos by Peter Ehrlich. Click to enlarge.)

Take Danny Miranda. Danny is the senior F-Line operator, with nearly 30 years seniority. He has developed a fan club ever since he came to the F-Line back in 1998. Regular riders will pass up a car and wait for Danny to come along, because they know that he'll entertain them throughout their ride. Danny hasn't worked a Muni Metro run in over eight years, and has no intention of ever doing the subway again. A few years ago, he won Systemwide Operator of the Month, a coveted honor among Muni operators.

Juanita Concepcion, who has been with Muni for 23 years, could have taken a Muni Metro run when she transferred to Green Division five years ago, but she prefers being above ground so she can interact with the riders and enjoys "meeting people from all over the world." She also enjoys watching the changing scenery as she operates her PCC or Milan tram. She also wanted the challenge. "The F-Line is a challenge...you have to focus a lot and keep your guard up. These are the challenges I want." She doesn't want to go in the subway.

Robert Parks has had a lifelong interest in historic transport, and fell in love with the historic cars during the Trolley Festivals. A ten-year Muni veteran, he signed on a vintage car run this April, but had been on the F-Line in the past. To riders who opine that this is a dream job, Robert agrees enthusiastically. "Every now and then I shake myself and remind myself that I'm actually getting paid to do this!" After having worked trolley coaches for several years, he looks forward to going to work now.

I have a special fondness for Angel Carvajal, a 20-year man I personally trained on historic cars. He has become one of the smoothest and most caring vintage car operators I've seen in years. He loves the equipment and the variety the F-Line affords. Though currently assigned to the LRV extra board, his love is for the F-Line and its riders, and will work the F on his days off or on special assignments, which for him come frequently.

Marcus Terry, exiled to the buses in 2005 due to low seniority, is glad to be back home on the F-Line where he belongs. He returned on the most recent General Signup. Before he got bumped two years ago, he was a proud member of the corps of smooth-operating, people-conscious F-line pilots.

Other operators also prefer the openness of the F-Line to the closed, claustrophobic feeling of Muni Metro. They also have equipment preferences. There's P.J. Williams, who prefers the Milan cars because he can stand, and feels that the brakes are better. P.J. is a natural-born entertainer, and enjoys seeing the passengers have fun while they ride.

On the other hand, Diane Johnson prefers the PCCs by a wide margin, disdaining the noisier Milanos (though she'll operate them frequently). She greets everyone with a broad smile as they board.

Howard Leung, too, prefers being above ground and enjoys the hours he works, even though he's a seasoned Metro operator. He takes good care of his clientele: the immigrant day laborers who head for the Wharf on his first trip to try to find work; the office workers who ride his second and third trips; and the mix of residents and visitors from late morning on. He likes the PCCs, but will do a Milan car for a change of pace.

Robert Parks feels that the one-of-a-kind vintage cars (like Muni No. 130, the Blackpool 'Boat Tram', and the New Orleans 'Streetcar Named Desire') add much to the interest of the F-Line, but frets that some in management don't share this feeling.

And what can Muni do to improve the F-Line? Unanimously, the cry from the operators is to use 'light-duty' operators as loaders at heavy boarding points such as Market & Fourth, Ferry Terminal, and opposite Pier 39 in the afternoons. Robert Parks calls for dispatch and division management to fill the runs reliably. Juanita Concepcion adds that ticket vending machines should be installed at Market & 4th and the Ferry Building. And Danny Miranda is very concerned about the overall cleanliness of the cars, which, in his mind, are looking quite ratty both inside and out. He thinks that a definite cleaning schedule needs to be set up (you can help).

What they, and the many others on the F-Line, have in common is that they all care about their work, have pride in their job, and feel the F-Line is Muni's best asset.

As Danny Miranda says, "I go to bed early, can't wait to come back. I work at home and come here to rest." To me, this sums up the spirit, flavor and fun of the F-Line, which the operators provide!