»In which we suspect a junky nurse rides the bus

Who is riding MUNI these days? Junkies.

Pointed warning: Riding on Muni means more than just getting a seat these days -- it means watching what you may be sitting on as well.

Just ask Tanya Houseman of San Francisco's Richmond District, who had a disturbing finale to her morning bus ride to work at the Convention & Visitors Bureau the other day.

According to Houseman, "before our final stop at Bush and Montgomery, the bus driver got out of his seat and said, 'Listen up, people. When you get on this bus going home tonight, be sure you check your seats. People have been putting syringe needles in the seats, and several people got hurt yesterday.'

"It was nice to know," Houseman said. "But I would have appreciated it a lot more if I'd been told before taking my seat. We're not talking about sitting on gum."

Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch said that she hadn't heard of the incident and that apparently neither had anyone else at bus headquarters.

"I'm not saying the driver didn't make the announcement,'' Lynch said. "But if anyone had been stuck with a syringe needle, you could bet that ambulances and everyone else would have been called out."