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New York’s Shadow Transit

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Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#21

Post by zem »

chrisseaton wrote: post #18
sparkman55 wrote: post #17

San Francisco has a "Jitney Bus" that attempts to correct the horrendous hole in transit between the Caltrain commuter rail and downtown. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-One-Man-Traffic-Buster-... There is also a startup called Chariot that is building a private bus line to downtown SF; this one has a surprisingly different appeal than the ones in the article in NYC: the existing public Muni bus line from the Ma…

'horrendous hole'? Do you mean the 10-15 minute walk from Market Street to the Caltrain station?

not everyone finds it easy to walk that distance, or would like to do so at 11 in the night.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#22

Post by shiven »

chrisseaton wrote: post #18
sparkman55 wrote: post #17

San Francisco has a "Jitney Bus" that attempts to correct the horrendous hole in transit between the Caltrain commuter rail and downtown. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-One-Man-Traffic-Buster-... There is also a startup called Chariot that is building a private bus line to downtown SF; this one has a surprisingly different appeal than the ones in the article in NYC: the existing public Muni bus line from the Ma…

'horrendous hole'? Do you mean the 10-15 minute walk from Market Street to the Caltrain station?

Does it still take 10-15 mins when one is running a fever of 102? Or when walking on crutches? Or carrying a weekly load of groceries?

Just because you can walk does not mean everyone else should as well. There is nothing wrong with choice, public transport would be a welcome addition to almost every stretch of urban destinations, that does not curtail walking in any way, shape or form.

In short: Walk all you want, just gimme mah ride, is all.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#23

Post by eru »

JackFr wrote: post #15
eru wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For westerners the most baffling experience is paying in a dolmus: your money goes via the persons in front of you to the driver, and change gets handed back the same way in the opposite direction.

You've never bought a hot dog at a ballgame?

No. I guess that's a US custom? Interesting!

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#24

Post by slapshot »

WildUtah wrote: post #16

This is a great story. It's a look at how people really live in a modern city and the border between formal and informal commerce. One of the key research targets in modern sociology and economics and political science is the emergence of institutions like dollar vans. It's very difficult to get a public system to cover every route and part of the city that needs transit, but most city authorities are reluctant to li…

> I understand that in Los Angeles, where the busses are awful...

This seems to be a common refrain, but it's also outdated. Both the bus and subway networks in LA are massively larger than in San Francisco (which, by the way, has the world's slowest bus fleet at 8.1 mph [1]). LA County is massively larger than San Francisco (including the equivalents of the entire Peninsula, Oakland, and Marin) and has sections of very dense bus service (any of the numbered streets plus Wilshire going west from downtown) and sections of very sparse bus service (Malibu). And it's all 25% cheaper than Muni too (with fewer strikes and many fewer naked people).

There are 13 subway stops under construction in LA and the LAX airport connector finally got approved with an actual train stop directly at LAX.

I'm not saying there aren't holes in the LA transport network, but it's better than many visitors realize.

[1] http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-04-14/news/the-muni-death-spira...

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#25

Post by sparkman55 »

chrisseaton wrote: post #18
sparkman55 wrote: post #17

San Francisco has a "Jitney Bus" that attempts to correct the horrendous hole in transit between the Caltrain commuter rail and downtown. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-One-Man-Traffic-Buster-... There is also a startup called Chariot that is building a private bus line to downtown SF; this one has a surprisingly different appeal than the ones in the article in NYC: the existing public Muni bus line from the Ma…

'horrendous hole'? Do you mean the 10-15 minute walk from Market Street to the Caltrain station?

Yep, that's the gap. It's about a mile from the commuter rail to downtown, and the public transit options between are quite slow. It's no wonder that private transportation startups abound in San Francisco.

I guess I'm spoiled by the well-interconnected transit systems in many international cities; step off the (high-speed) intercity rail and downstairs into the core of a robust subway system, or walk to the bus terminal next door.

San Francisco once had such an intermodal transit hub in the Transbay Terminal; the city is seeking $2.5 Billion to rebuild it.

Until then, we'll have to rely on private transportation like the 'dollar cabs' described in the article, or San Francisco's very own Lyft and Uber.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#26

Post by moultano »

chrisseaton wrote: post #18
sparkman55 wrote: post #17

San Francisco has a "Jitney Bus" that attempts to correct the horrendous hole in transit between the Caltrain commuter rail and downtown. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-One-Man-Traffic-Buster-... There is also a startup called Chariot that is building a private bus line to downtown SF; this one has a surprisingly different appeal than the ones in the article in NYC: the existing public Muni bus line from the Ma…

'horrendous hole'? Do you mean the 10-15 minute walk from Market Street to the Caltrain station?

Google lists it as a 20 minute walk, which is consistent with the last time I did it. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+Francisco+Caltrain+Stati...

I'd say adding 20 minutes each way to your commute is a pretty big deal.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#27

Post by [deleted] »

moultano wrote: post #26
chrisseaton wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'horrendous hole'? Do you mean the 10-15 minute walk from Market Street to the Caltrain station?

Google lists it as a 20 minute walk, which is consistent with the last time I did it. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+Francisco+Caltrain+Stati... I'd say adding 20 minutes each way to your commute is a pretty big deal.

[deleted]

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#28

Post by _delirium »

sparkman55 wrote: post #25
chrisseaton wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'horrendous hole'? Do you mean the 10-15 minute walk from Market Street to the Caltrain station?

Yep, that's the gap. It's about a mile from the commuter rail to downtown, and the public transit options between are quite slow. It's no wonder that private transportation startups abound in San Francisco. I guess I'm spoiled by the well-interconnected transit systems in many international cities; step off the (high-speed) intercity rail and downstairs into the core of a robust subway system, or walk to the bus term…

Have you considered the other popular transit option in international cities, riding a bike? In Copenhagen you do not cover 2km distances by Lyft, Uber, or a bus, because 2km is such a trivial distance you just bike it yourself in a few minutes. And yes, even if you have two kids and groceries with you— because cargo bikes are common and easy (http://daneshea.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/IMG_10731.jpg).

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#29

Post by avn2109 »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #19
jrockway wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's racism, I think that's business. Taking someone from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal is pure profit, because it's fast and you're guaranteed a fare once you get to Grand Central. Taking someone from low-density area A to low-density area B is less profitable, so you don't see many cabs in these low-density areas. I see this in action all the time, because I tend to bike late at night when…

since they have to if flagged down Do they abide by this rule 100%? How is it monitored or enforced?

>> "since they have to if flagged down"

hahahahah. They don't; not even close.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#30

Post by moultano »

_delirium wrote: post #28
sparkman55 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, that's the gap. It's about a mile from the commuter rail to downtown, and the public transit options between are quite slow. It's no wonder that private transportation startups abound in San Francisco. I guess I'm spoiled by the well-interconnected transit systems in many international cities; step off the (high-speed) intercity rail and downstairs into the core of a robust subway system, or walk to the bus term…

Have you considered the other popular transit option in international cities, riding a bike? In Copenhagen you do not cover 2km distances by Lyft, Uber, or a bus, because 2km is such a trivial distance you just bike it yourself in a few minutes. And yes, even if you have two kids and groceries with you— because cargo bikes are common and easy ( http://daneshea.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/IMG_10731.jpg ).

Typically you don't have to do that just to transfer from one train system to another.
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