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New York’s Shadow Transit

newyorker.com

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Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#91

Post by gk1 »

davidf18 wrote: post #84

NYC has been making great efforts to improve bus service. They are adding more buses to routes, but they also have a system where you purchase ticket receipts from machines off the busses and can enter through both front and back doors. If you're caught without a receipt, you get a substantial fine.

> "... a system where you purchase ticket receipts from machines off the busses and can enter through both front and back doors."

For anyone curious, the point is that this greatly reduces the time spent at each stop. On regular buses, passengers must enter through one door and, one by one, make their payment (with either a Metrocard or cash).

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#92

Post by aaronreiss »

[deleted] wrote: post #86
netcan wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Israel has always had 'Sherut' taxi vans. These usually follow regular bus routes and actually pot the bus route's number. The biggest use case is Saturdays, when public busses don't run, but it's not unknown for a 'sherut' van to arrive in some terminal trying to put together a route for any potential travelers sitting around or even to go along a long haul bus route 5 minutes ahead of the official bus and pick up p…

[deleted]

Whoops, thanks Bran! You beat me to the punch! I'll be free to roam all over the country for about 6 days.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#93

Post by [deleted] »

[deleted] wrote: post #86
netcan wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Israel has always had 'Sherut' taxi vans. These usually follow regular bus routes and actually pot the bus route's number. The biggest use case is Saturdays, when public busses don't run, but it's not unknown for a 'sherut' van to arrive in some terminal trying to put together a route for any potential travelers sitting around or even to go along a long haul bus route 5 minutes ahead of the official bus and pick up p…

[deleted]

[deleted]

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#94

Post by [deleted] »

[deleted] wrote: post #86
netcan wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Israel has always had 'Sherut' taxi vans. These usually follow regular bus routes and actually pot the bus route's number. The biggest use case is Saturdays, when public busses don't run, but it's not unknown for a 'sherut' van to arrive in some terminal trying to put together a route for any potential travelers sitting around or even to go along a long haul bus route 5 minutes ahead of the official bus and pick up p…

[deleted]

[deleted]

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#95

Post by netcan »

aaronreiss wrote: post #89
netcan wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Israel has always had 'Sherut' taxi vans. These usually follow regular bus routes and actually pot the bus route's number. The biggest use case is Saturdays, when public busses don't run, but it's not unknown for a 'sherut' van to arrive in some terminal trying to put together a route for any potential travelers sitting around or even to go along a long haul bus route 5 minutes ahead of the official bus and pick up p…

Hi there! I'm Aaron Reiss, the author of this map and article for the New Yorker. First, thank you so much for reading and discussing it! Second, I'm actually going to be in Israel next week and would love to ride some sherut... If you (or anyone) would be willing I school me a bit in where to catch them and where they go, I would love to hear from you. My email is reiss.aaron at gmail dot com. To any one else who re…

It's been a very long time since I last used them so others may have better advice than me.

Option 1: Go to high traffic bus stations along major North-South roads (roads #20,#4,#2 are good choices) or the Jerusalem-TV highway on Friday evening or Saturday before sestet.

Option 2: Go to central stations (eg 'New Tel Aviv Bus Station') area and ask around.

Option 3: Find backpackers/teenagers with bags (it's summer break) & at regional central stations.

Option 4: WB or eat jerusalem settlements (it's a bad week for these). I think many of the smaller settlements have semi-private or informal bus networks on some different informal system.

Option 5: is transport to and around Arab towns int the Sharon/triangle region. There are spots in Raanana, Kfar Saba, Netanya and the rest of the big towns in the area that serve as Terminals for Sherut Taxis to nearby arab towns. These will usually have a station master type of guy. He will most likely be smoking a nargilla.

Watch for Taxi vans with route numbers. These are the Sherut taxis

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#96

Post by lmm »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #65
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…

This doesn't exist in London. The London underground, overground and bus routes are extensive, and the black taxis and minicabs fill in the gap for a moderate fee. You will however find something much like this well established in large cities in Sub-Saharan Africa under the name "Matatu" or "Minibus taxi" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_taxi#South_Africa

I recall a documentary on coaches a bit like this in England. There're something like 20 private coach companies running between London and Luton, and in practice they're segregated by race (I mean, anyone can get on any of them, but they don't).

(But yeah, within London the public transport is good enough to push out this kind of thing)

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#97

Post by epaladin »

elcaminoreal wrote: post #85
dredmorbius wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's quite the hike. Covered in varying weather conditions. Not nearly as bad as either the heat of the deep south or the cold of the northeast, but rain or just the fog and humidity plus walk make for a damp experience. Worse is trying to rush the distance catching one of the hourly-only off-peak trains. Or having to carry anything other than a light bag the distance.

Wow - do Americans really consider a 20 minute stroll to be going for a hike? That's incredible.

Luckily not everyone. I've never used public transport in my suburban sprawl city in upstate NY, but luckily the roads are of moderate size, so I can do crazy (for America) things like walk/bike/run the nine miles to work, or even walk to the airport (seven miles, did it last week, only needed to bring a backpack so it wasn't too bad). I'd move to Portland for the bike-friendliness, but there's no biotech scene there yet (anyone want to help start one?).

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#98

Post by dredmorbius »

elcaminoreal wrote: post #85
dredmorbius wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's quite the hike. Covered in varying weather conditions. Not nearly as bad as either the heat of the deep south or the cold of the northeast, but rain or just the fog and humidity plus walk make for a damp experience. Worse is trying to rush the distance catching one of the hourly-only off-peak trains. Or having to carry anything other than a light bag the distance.

Wow - do Americans really consider a 20 minute stroll to be going for a hike? That's incredible.

It really depends on the circumstances.

If you're 1) rushed (have places to be / people to see / work to do), 2) the weather's poor, 3) you're female (the area's improved but it's still not the best side of town), 4) you're risking a 60+ minute wait if you miss the train, etc., it's not particularly pleasant.

Walking a similar distance along a different or safer route, where I've got the time to wander, or where transit service is such that I've only a few minutes wait (or as is more likely the case on much of Muni in SF: you've simply no idea and the wait may be anywhere from 10 seconds to hours), the situation's not so bad.

But miss your CalTrain connection and you're 30-60 miles from home in a part of town with not much to offer. Though that too is getting somewhat better with the ballpark and revitalization going on.

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#99

Post by [deleted] »

kijin wrote: post #64
WildUtah wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does get a bit suffocating, Doesn't Seoul have a huge belt of mountains to go skiing and hiking in just a couple miles outside the outer subway stations? Maybe even closer around places like Seouldae? That's a pretty good option for open space. I agree that US suburbia is stifling in its own way and hostile to transit and dollar vans. Still, LA, SF, Chicago, and NYC have plenty of places they could work. Those…

> Those density figures are misleading ... The populated parts of Tokyo and Seoul are of similar density (as is Mexico City) I'm not disputing that. The difference is that the "populated parts" of Seoul comprise the entire habitable area of the city, which is what makes public transit so affordable even for those who live in the outskirts. There is no low-density "sprawl" in or around Seoul. It's all high-rise apartm…

[deleted]

Re: New York’s Shadow Transit

#100

Post by rwhitman »

One could argue the hipster-friendly beach buses that go from Brooklyn and LES to the Rockaways in summertime are yuppie shadow transit

There are also a large number of better sanctioned private bus lines that go from Port Authority to various points in a 100 mile radius. I take one to get to my parents in PA on a regular basis, where there is jack squat for public transit

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