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Diary: Google Invades

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Re: Diary: Google Invades

#31

Post by jstalin »

Public transit, even in the densest of American cities, is a money loser and often pollutes more than if the riders were taking cars. It's badly in need of innovation and revolution.

Fixed-route transit is a mess. That's why I can't wait until we have self-driving cars. Most public transit would die on the vine as cars, which typically are utilized perhaps 10% of the day, can increase toward 100% utilization. No more need for inefficient and inconvenient fixed routes and no more need for giant empty buses riding around during non-peak hours.

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#32

Post by andrewcooke »

talon88 wrote: post #17
ak217 wrote: post #12

This kind of journalism really bugs me. There are too many ways in which the author strains logic and reason. I think the companies of Silicon Valley are very interested in improving public transportation, but held back by an ineffective transit governance system. I think the comparison to the gold rush is ridiculous, as is the statement that "technology is just another boom" (what?). I think being a technology hub h…

I'm not sure it's really 'journalism', per se, as it is flowery language complaining about something with vague metaphors.

it's very good writing, by an award winning writer, in one of the top lit magazines.

but i don't expect people on google buses, or hn, to know that, even less recognise it.

[edit: and... the entire post has been flagged off the front page (59 points, 2 hours ago, page 2). because anything critical is clearly irrelevant, as well as poorly written, and clearly not understanding what it's really like. la la la. what a pile of shit this place is at times.]

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#33

Post by reaperhulk »

rayiner wrote: post #25
moultano wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the Caltrain connected to any other public transit system in a reasonable way, I don't think the Google busses would exist. Riding trains is much more pleasant than riding busses, but not if it adds an extra hour to your commute each way. Furthermore, if you want cheaper housing, build more of it. I don't think there's an easier way around it.

It's a tiny piece of the puzzle. To have a really usable public transit network ala Chicago or New York, you have to coordinate zoning with transit. 1) The terminal transit station should be built so as to exit right into the central business district. The Caltrain station is too far from SOMA and lacks decent public transit. Meanwhile, Chicago's three transit stations exit right at the perimeter of the Loop (within…

There's only one way to test the efficacy of these proposed solutions: SimCity.

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#34

Post by johnny99 »

Forced myself to read to the end so that I would be justified in saying what I had the impulse to howl from the third sentence: Rebecca Solnit, FUCK YOU.

It's actually quite well-written, but christ, what a pretentious, clueless, holier-than-thou, pseudo-pious pile of crap. Blamey dirges like this are why people hate liberals. It makes me hate them, and I am one. It's hard to know where to start, so I'll just dig in:

Why do you demean and dehumanize tech workers, while glorifying Latinos, homeless people, coal miners, and anyone who's lived in San Francisco since... 2006? 1996? 1976? How long do you have to live in SF to be fully human and deserving of empathy?

What do you have against German tourists and "Asian male nerds?" You are a bigot.

Why should people "drive themselves?" That's not noble-prole, it's stupid and wasteful. Fewer people should drive, period. Private or public, mass transit is mass transit. It's a Good Thing.

Why is capitalism "Janus-headed?" I think you don't understand capitalism. It has one face, with dollar-sign eyes. Which is ok. It's capitalism, not poetry. It's about capital.

Are rents being driven up, does growth create problems? Yes of course. Let's deal with those problems. Whining about them is just annoying, and paints you as a bitter person.

There's a solution, though. I say this as an erstwhile journalist, now software developer: Rebecca, you should learn Python. Then maybe you can get on the bus too.

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#36

Post by tomkarlo »

rayiner wrote: post #25
moultano wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the Caltrain connected to any other public transit system in a reasonable way, I don't think the Google busses would exist. Riding trains is much more pleasant than riding busses, but not if it adds an extra hour to your commute each way. Furthermore, if you want cheaper housing, build more of it. I don't think there's an easier way around it.

It's a tiny piece of the puzzle. To have a really usable public transit network ala Chicago or New York, you have to coordinate zoning with transit. 1) The terminal transit station should be built so as to exit right into the central business district. The Caltrain station is too far from SOMA and lacks decent public transit. Meanwhile, Chicago's three transit stations exit right at the perimeter of the Loop (within…

It's worth noting that they're in the process of extending BART to the Caltrain (which is relatively recent itself.) There's a ton of cut-and-cover work going on down 4th street to do this.

Why would you see big residential buildings in Menlo Park or Palo Alto? SF, unlike most cities, has a lot of people commuting outwards towards the suburbs from the city each day. It's SF where you need the extra housing, not SV.

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#37

Post by Anechoic »

3pt14159 wrote: post #16
hoverkraft wrote: post #3

Interesting point about public transportation -- by creating a private bus system, tech companies are actively suppressing demand for better public transport between SF and the valley.

So why do we need the public to run mass transit in the first place?

You are perfectly welcome to start your own mass transit system (rail, bus, boat, helicopter, etc). Chances are that you'll quickly find that between he high capital investment, highly variable fuel prices, environmental requirements, and demand challenges that it will be really hard to turn a profit.

Hence, not very many private entities want anything to do with the market.

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#39

Post by bradleyland »

patmcguire wrote: post #10
WestCoastJustin wrote: post #6

I was wondering what these " gleaming white, with dark-tinted windows, like limousines, and some days I think of them as the spaceships on which our alien overlords have landed to rule over us. " actually looked like: [0] http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ip2ku-c... [1] http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_003... [2] http://missionlocal.org/wp-content/themes/calpress/library/e..…

The bus in the first one almost looks stuck by how sharp the grade change is. Is this common in SF?

In some areas, yes. SF's Filbert and 22nd St make the top 10 steepest streets in the states:

http://www.fixr.com/infographics/top-10-US-steepest-streets....

If you get the opportunity... No, scratch that... Make the opportunity to visit San Francisco some time. It's a beautiful city within a short drive of some incredible parts of the West Coast of the US.

Re: Diary: Google Invades

#40

Post by ahlatimer »

rayiner wrote: post #25
moultano wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the Caltrain connected to any other public transit system in a reasonable way, I don't think the Google busses would exist. Riding trains is much more pleasant than riding busses, but not if it adds an extra hour to your commute each way. Furthermore, if you want cheaper housing, build more of it. I don't think there's an easier way around it.

It's a tiny piece of the puzzle. To have a really usable public transit network ala Chicago or New York, you have to coordinate zoning with transit. 1) The terminal transit station should be built so as to exit right into the central business district. The Caltrain station is too far from SOMA and lacks decent public transit. Meanwhile, Chicago's three transit stations exit right at the perimeter of the Loop (within…

They are in the process of building the Transbay Center [1] which would bring Caltrain closer to the heart of SOMA. Slated for completion in 2017. You can see the construction of it on google maps: http://goo.gl/maps/iMfZx

[1]: http://transbaycenter.org/

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