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0 pointsrm_-rf_slash10y ago0 comments

Busses are the least-worst alternative to walking. People are noisy, they smell, they crowd you when you're holding groceries, they make a trip with friends or God forbid a date unpleasant, they're late when you're early and early when you're late, and chances are you'll still have to walk a few blocks to get where you want to go.

Obviously not every case, but I've taken a fair amount of Bay Area busses in my time and there was always at least one of the above complaints.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

ChrisLTD10y ago· 2 in thread

Agreed that it's not as pleasant as having a car to yourself (I ride the NYC buses and subways everyday), but I think we could solve a lot of the people issues with proper policing rather than outright isolation.

rm_-rf_slashOP10y ago

Chances are if you make more "quality of life" laws you'll either have some schmuck causing trouble when enforcement is nowhere to be found, or they'll be used as excuses for cops to pad their stats by arresting first and asking questions later, with most of the punishment hitting minorities, as tends to happen in the U.S.

The problem is cultural. Another poster here mentioned Japan, where busses are pleasant. After all, that is a place where "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down." If we really want public life on par with Japan or Europe, change has to start with each and every one of us. No government program or well-funded startup could ever do it alone.

nulltype10y ago

I have ridden SF public transit of all kinds. MUNI buses are the worst, and it's not because of things that could be solved with policing. The worst part is the super high variance in door-to-door times, even if you try to plan your life around bus schedules it's bad.

If you have to take multiple forms of public transit to get where you are going, good luck. A 40 minute drive can easily be 2.5 hours on public transit if everything goes perfectly.

Also the average speed of SF MUNI buses is 8 mph, probably among the lowest in the nation. If I'm going any distance less than a 30 minute walk, it's probably going to be a better idea to walk than take the bus.

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