MUNI Royale

Improving the Bus-Riding Experience

In the United States, public transit has a bad rap. It’s uncomfortable, it’s undependable, it’s only for people who can’t afford a car. But what if public transit was a luxurious experience? In collaboration with Moe Murphy, I custom-fabricated this color-coordinated sofa to fit over a double bus seat on San Francisco’s MUNI bus system. I recruited a few co-conspirators and rode buses at different times of day, staging the seat and testing out different approaches with the public.

On some routes, we engaged people in conversation, invited them to sit, and provided snacks and snapshots. On others, we pretended we did not notice the sofa, and observed peoples’ reactions. At one point we had to intervene before the driver called the bomb squad.