Homeless Man Gets Fined For Eating Pizza At A Bus Stop

I know that laws can get really crazy sometimes, especially when it comes to local laws. But fining a guy for eating pizza at a bus stop? Seriously?

That’s what happened in San Francisco about a month ago, according to NBC Bay Area. Apparently, a homeless man had just purchased a pizza for his friend’s birthday, and on the way to drop it off, decided to chow down on a slice or two while waiting at a bus stop.

He then received a ticket carrying a $250 fine for “eating or drinking in or on a system facility or vehicle in areas where those activities are prohibited by that system.”

The San Francisco Muni bus system doesn’t allow you to eat or drink on its buses or in bus stations, but that rule is rarely enforced. Furthermore, a Muni spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle that he wasn’t sure whether eating at a bus stop was illegal to begin with.

The good thing is that the homeless man can get the ticket thrown out if he can prove he is homeless and in search of services.

Still, this shouldn’t even have been an issue in the first place. I mean, I get that you don’t want to make the buses dirty with food, but going as far as to enforce that on a public sidewalk where a bus stop exists? That doesn’t seem right to me at all.

The homeless man’s court hearing is scheduled to take place some time later today. Hopefully the judge does the right thing and throws out this pointless citation.