Savage Ride

The fare is just 75 cents, but the ride could be worth your life. The public- transit buses that wind through southeast San Francisco have come to be known as the "Savage Lines." In the tough, low-income areas of Bayview/ Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley and Potrero Hill, coaches have been battered with rocks, bottles, lead pipes and gunfire. Passengers and drivers have been beaten and robbed by gangs of teenagers. Since December more than 70 bus attacks have been reported.

Crack is the cause, police say. Certain intersections have turned into "drive-thru" cocaine marts, the scene of violent competition. Crack dealers, some as young as 13, are making up to $2,000 a day. Between sales, they smoke "fry daddies" (crack-laced cigarettes), drink "swamp juice" (gin and fruit punch) and then lash out at the buses. "It's a circus atmosphere out on those street corners," says Police Sergeant Roger Liljedahl. "They're getting high on this incredible stimulant and feeding off each other."

The police provide squad-car escorts, but they cannot follow every bus. Besides, they often become targets themselves. Bottles are routinely hurled at patrol cars, and a shopping cart, an automobile transmission and even a refrigerator have been heaved out of high-rise windows, narrowly missing the cruisers. The Guardian Angels have taken to patrolling the buses, but drivers complain that the red-bereted figures make them a more attractive target. On the Guardians' first bus patrol two weeks ago, Founder Curtis Sliwa and his squad hit the deck along with terrified passengers when a lead pipe smashed through a window and the bus was showered with rocks.

The police have responded to complaints with more patrols. San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos toured the area in an unmarked car and last week announced the addition of 18 extra state narcotics agents to battle the drug traffickers. Residents say cracking down on the crack trade is the only way to halt the violence. The police are not hopeful. "Short of jailing large numbers of people, all we can do is just go out there and stem it as much as we can," says Liljedahl. The transit company has a different answer: when attacks become too frequent, buses are temporarily rerouted. So far, no passengers object.