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Private bus systems

2012-10-04 19:38:06.958669+00 by Dan Lyke 2 comments

The Silicon Valley shuttles revealed:

If you love inner-city living so much that you're willing to commute almost two hours a day, then I expect you're someone who's happy with the basic proposition of city life. That means that you're used to being in close proximity to strangers, so I'd guess you'd be a willing passenger on a public transit system if that transit system were useful.

So the real story here is not the upscale demands of "elites" but the story of "underfunded Caltrain" and and more generally the way that infrequent, slow and poorly connected transit systems are forcing these big employers to run so much expensive service of their own.

Via JWZ.

[ related topics: Interactive Drama Work, productivity and environment Public Transportation ]

comments in descending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: made: 2012-10-08 17:02:49.405602+00 by: Dan Lyke

When I first moved to the Bay Area, I ended up using Muni for a lot of getting around the city. Then I learned that, in fact, it really wasn't that hard to find parking outside of downtown (and even for downtown, if you do a "get in early and stay there all day", it's not that bad).

The more I think about this, the more I think it's totally reasonable that private companies are realizing that running real transit is worth their time and subsidy...

#Comment Re: made: 2012-10-05 09:46:16.355882+00 by: DaveP

It wasn't easy, or especially pleasant, but Apple's Infinite Loop campus was a place you could walk or bike to. Heck, there is (or was) a school right next to it.

And theoretically, VTA had stops within easy walking distance (though in a year of living there, I never even managed to figure out what the bus-fare was. I would either just walk or hop in the car).

The only real win for bay-area transit that comes to mind (as an outsider) is the fact that BART runs to SFO. Beyond that, I'm aware that there's theoretically mass transit running around there, but...