JM> My husband pointed out another Really Obvious Reason -- BART used to
JM> have a cheaper minimum fare than MUNI (85 cents for BART vs a dollar
JM> for MUNI).  There are people who would cheerfully take the longer
JM> trip down the escalator to BART and wait longer for a train just to
JM> save fifteen cents.
Aha.  I think that could be it, since it was a 2 stop ride down Market
from Montgomery to Civic Center.  When we were there for a convention,
the BART minimum fare had recently gone up.  I remember it being cheaper
to use MUNI, even for short runs, before we bought passes that made it
even cheaper.  The book is just old enough that that could have been
different, then.
JM> On the other hand, I suspect that the real reason is just that the
JM> author was more familiar with BART than Muni Metro, and put in the
JM> BART ride because that's what she knew.  
Or the publishers figured the rest of the country had a better chance of
having heard of BART, even though there was an explanation of what the
BART is in that same passage. 
Oh well, that was 2 books ago. ;) I've read a Sara Shankman since then
and started a vintage Barbara Michaels last night. I'm having doubts
about its suitability for bedtime reading, already. ;)
... Confection is good for the soul.
 * Q-Blue 1.0 *    Helen Fleischer is helen@mbbs.com in Fairland, MD
--- GEcho/2-PCB/2
---------------