On tuesday I saw newly-engaged Kassie and CJ at a stoplight as I whipped around a corner. Kassie's one of the few people I ever picked up with any regularity, I saw her a lot on the train and when I drove the 2. I also remembered that I picked up Michelle a few times when I didn't really know her too well.

Yesterday, driving down France, I saw a woman in her 40's (and I wish I hadn't) who was riding a recumbant bicycle, wearing a flowing dress, and struggling to keep modest without crashing.

I was driving the 6 last night. I stopped at 24th St. and the young lady at the corner asked "Is this the bus six route?" I made her repeat it just to make sure. She was on the wrong side of the street, trying to go downtown. She knew she was going downtown. You can see the skyline from 24th. Later, a similarly chubby white teenager boarded downtown and complained to me that somebody asked her for money. She said that doesn't happen in Richfield. She said "I bet you have black people begging for free rides all day long." I was driving a 300-series bus, one of the oldest in the fleet, and the sun shade fell on me. Made me jump etc.

I doubt this will make a difference, but a bus stop is the sign and the shelter, not the bench. The benches are placed randomly by an advertising company. They have nothing to do with transit. This is an issue at 16th and southbound Hennepin. If that's your hood, though, we're going to be expanding the Downtown Zone 50¢ fare to Oak Grove on Hennepin and 16th on Nicollet, albeit during non-peak hours only. That's great news if you live in Loring Park or Lowry Hill. It's a test, so make sure you call or email the company if you want them to keep it up. While you're at it, complain about the ridiculous anti-passenger (not to mention unsafe) stroller policy.