Senior Couple Booted from Muni for Lack of ID

Looking old isn't enough. Riding a Muni bus on a senior discount requires ID -- otherwise, you'll be asked to walk.

A pair of 66-year-old San Franciscans were unceremoniously dumped from a 49-Van Ness bus this week at a transit fare inspector's order, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Bill and Mary Lou Keyworth ride Muni "three to four times a week" using their Clipper cards, on which they have loaded senior-discounted FastPasses, according to the newspaper. But since Mary Lou didn't have an ID handy to prove that she is 65 or over, she had to go, the newspaper reported.

The transit fare inspector in fact went one step further: she took Mary Lou's Clipper card and informed her that she would call police.

The incident ended oddly: the fare inspector eventually returned the clipper card to the Keyworths without issuing a citation or an explanation. That is, after 35 minutes of waiting.

"She was completely out of line," Bill Keyworth told the newspaper. "If we need to bring our drivers license when we use our Clipper card, just tell us. Don’t kick us off the bus and threaten to arrest us."

All riders are expected to carry proof of age as well as their Clipper cards, according to a Muni spokesman.