I used to wonder, years ago when I lived in SF, why does a supposedly green city have such lousy public transportation? If this is successful, expect MUNI to use legal means to get rid of it.
Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
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Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#12I can't shake the feeling that the existence of leap and that it seems compelling are symptoms of deeply flawed urban planning.
I can't shake the feeling that it's an answer to the problem "I like the idea of commuting in a shared vehicle, but the bus is dirty and sometimes homeless people ride it."
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#13A privatized intracity bus service? Somewhat interesting. But how can this compete with heavily subsidized, existing public bus service - without hitting all the same pitfalls that it does? (Like buses getting steadily less "express" as time goes on)?
It competes by doing things like not complying with existing regulation, laws, or unions. It's an "app" and thus except from all regulation. So they don't pay a driver $70,000/yr and give him or her a pension. They can pick stops based on profitability, not access. They carry the bare minimum of liability insurance because if anything happens they can just close up shop. They don't have to comply with the Americans w…
If the regulated, unionized public transportation service actually answered to the residents, services such as Leap could not exist. They'd be unnecessary and unused.
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#14A privatized intracity bus service? Somewhat interesting. But how can this compete with heavily subsidized, existing public bus service - without hitting all the same pitfalls that it does? (Like buses getting steadily less "express" as time goes on)?
Well for one: privatized bus services generate more revenue as ridership increases as opposed to subsidized buses which have to stretch the same amount of resources further.
I don't think that's the case. A public bus that's more full generates more revenue. They just also have subsidies that enable them to run services at a loss.
I suppose on a per-rider basis this generates more revenue - because it costs a lot more.
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#15Should probably mention it's SF-only at the start.
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#16A privatized intracity bus service? Somewhat interesting. But how can this compete with heavily subsidized, existing public bus service - without hitting all the same pitfalls that it does? (Like buses getting steadily less "express" as time goes on)?
Guys.
It costs 3x as much, and it's a hassle to get on without a smartphone. That's how it competes.
It's a bus that tries to price out the poorer people (and doesn't serve their neighborhoods. And is most convenient with a smartphone). Their bet is that you won't miss the $4 per ride surcharge if you can avoid dealing with poor people.
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#17Anyone know Leap's arragement with their drivers? Their TOS makes it seem like the Uber for buses.
From Terms of service - "LEAP DOES NOT PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, AND LEAP IS NOT A TRANSPORTATION CARRIER. IT IS UP TO THE DRIVER OR VEHICLE OPERATOR TO OFFER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES WHICH MAY BE ARRANGED THROUGH USE OF THE SERVICES"
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#18I used to wonder, years ago when I lived in SF, why does a supposedly green city have such lousy public transportation? If this is successful, expect MUNI to use legal means to get rid of it.
Privately run, regularly scheduled bus services open to the public, called "jitneys," are already illegal in San Francisco.[1] Leap and similar services seem to be ignoring this law. They were banned in the 1970s as Muni's service degraded, to shield it from competition.
[1] http://missionlocal.org/2014/06/up-until-the-1970s-muni-had-...
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#19oakland to sf would be huge. compete with the increasingly overcrowded BART, especially on the pitt/bay point line, and the unreliable transbay buses. there's already a huge "casual carpool" culture you could eat into.
Re: Leap: Your daily commute redesigned
#20Things like this exist in New York, although they're significantly more... informal. Two dollars, cash.
http://projects.newyorker.com/story/nyc-dollar-vans/
Leap can be faster because they cut a lot of things that the SFMTA buses provides. A big delay on the public buses is letting people with wheelchairs on and off, if they are using the same design as the video it looks like they don't support that. They can also cream skim the most popular routes - SMFTA is sort of obliged to offer at least some route going near most places, regardless of whether that gets them anywhere quickly.