When I moved to Montreal, I rode STCUM (now known as the STM) buses and the Metro to get to and from school and other places. Riding the Montreal transit system was simultaneously the bane of my existence (consistently late buses, pannes de Metro, suffering from hyperthermia in the bowels of the underground regardless of whether is was 30°C above or 30°C below freezing) and a captivating delight: the newfound freedom of being able to go practically anywhere, almost anytime; the opportunities to people-watch in a place that was a gazillion (literally) times more diverse than the small town life I had left behind; taking in the unique architectural and retro design features of each station while subconsciously appreciating the reassuringly constant hum, rush, and tri-tone sounds associated with the Metro system; deciphering layers of multicoloured graffiti and tags forming a tattered patchwork across the interior of the bus. I fostered a complicated love-hate relationship with the 105 and the Metro and now feel nostalgic riding it when I go home to visit.

The transit system in San Francisco takes some getting used to. First of all, there are two separate systems - BART and Muni. BART is the underground commuter train, which has the most unintuitive ticketing system I've ever used. Although BART is in someways reminiscent of the Metro (probably because both systems were designed and constructed in the same era), BART differs in that the floors of the trains are carpeted (and, as one might expect, carpet and transit are not a match made in heaven), the seats are upholstered, the announcements are actually comprehensible from the platform, and the trains venture outdoors. The Muni, including street cars, light rail, and buses, is an interesting fusion of very old (the street cars are actual antiques with lots of character) and the new (the light rails cars were all replaced about ten years ago). The transfer system consists of flimsy newsprint-esque strips of paper torn by the driver to indicate the expiry time. Most drivers seem to be generous when tearing, making it possible to ride the Muni to multiple destinations in an afternoon on a single fare. The combination of Google Maps and unlimited iPhone data has made riding transit in SF quite effortless. In addition to walking, Muni has offered a really good way to explore the city and get a feel for its neighbourhoods and communities through its comprehensive coverage of the city, as shown in this visuallization:

Interestingly, the buses apparently turn off their GPS tracking at the end of the day when they return to the depots (including a large depot in our neighbourhood), as explained by the folks who put together the video:

there’s a point at which all the buses seem to start floating away, leaving the grid of the city and clustering in strange locations. We thought this was a bug at first, but really it’s an outcome of the data. At the end of the day, the buses seem to turn off the GPS as they return home.  We simply interpolate their positions as they float back to (what we think are) their depots. And when they day starts anew, they quickly being zooming about, retracing the grid of the city as the morning commute begins.