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> There are places where you can't get by on public transit. E.g. most of the Silicon Valley. I am in Silicon Valley and I have been doing fine on public trans

> There are places where you can't get by on public transit. E.g. most of the Silicon Valley. I am in Silicon Valley and I have been doing fine on public transit for several years now even if I ignore the very occasional rental [taxi, uber &c, car rental]. What "most of Silicon Valley" are you meaning? Is there an element of "what I want where I want when I want at a moments notice" in your statement? Something else I'm not understanding that necessitates me owning a personnel vehicle?

smsm42 8y ago
> I am in Silicon Valley Within a short distance of San Francisco, I presume? Do you have a family? Kids? > What "most of Silicon Valley" are you meaning? Anything not within short distance of BART station, basically. All of San Jose, Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto (excluding maybe Stanford campus), Santa Clara, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, etc. > Is there an element of "what I want where I want when I want at a moments notice" in your statement? If by "moment's notice" you mean getting somewhere within 30 mins vs. getting there in three hours, if you're lucky and no mass transit failure happens - then yes, "moment's notice". > Something else I'm not understanding that necessitates me owning a personnel vehicle? Yes. It's literally not possible to do simplest things - like buying groceries, getting to doctor's appointment, going to work, eating out (and I don't mean Michelene starred restaurants, I mean local sushi joint within 2.5 miles of your house), etc. - using public transit in most of SV unless you are prepared to spend literally hours on commute, and you're good at walking distances. If you're lucky to live in SF, some parts of Berkeley/Oakland, etc. - possible. If you live in San Jose and have a family - nope.
- drdeadringer 8y ago
  I am in Campbell, 1.5 blocks from a VTA hub. If I didn't want to take transit, I'd have to actively avoid it. Three hours specifically on transit ... there is something "going wrong" such as being very far away and/or lack of planning. I assume you remember that some form of car-rental exists [the Uber-Lyft, Enterprise, Taxi, &c]; if your lifestyle really does need such things on a regular basis, then yes you "need" to own a personal vehicle. Otherwise, clearly no you do not. And for the simple things... the average person literally cannot walk or transit for a restaurant or grocery [food deserts aside]? What have I been doing for these exact activities? And again you talk about spending hours upon hours to get somewhere not far away; do you read schedules or is your schedule that tight and urgent? Again, ripping on San Jose//Campbell transit. You'll see me on VTA lite rail and buses being on time where I need to be. Will I be seeing you on a sidewalk confused in wonder?
  - smsm42 8y ago
    > 1.5 blocks from a VTA hub Here you go. Most of SV isn't. > I assume you remember that some form of car-rental exists [the Uber-Lyft, Enterprise, Taxi, &c] Relying on taxi for mundane day-to-day movements maybe ok for people way richer than me, but for me it would be several thousand dollars per month - way more than I could afford. And way more than I spend on a car, including the purchase price. > the average person literally cannot walk or transit for a restaurant or grocery [food deserts aside]? Yes. There is maybe 2 or 3 restaurants within walking distance of me, and by walking I don't mean 1.5 blocks, I mean at 15 minutes. And by "restaurants" I mean anything including McDonalds. If you, like me, don't want to eat in McDonalds, closest decent restaurants are about half an hour walking. Sometimes we do walk there, but it's not for every weather and every mood. And if you want something like going to a brewery to get couple glasses of beer, that'd be an hour hike. Or a short drive. And as for groceries, one grocery store in 15 mins walk. Good luck walking there. Under rain. Or scorching sun. With groceries. Nope, no thanks. > You'll see me on VTA lite rail If you live next to it and everything you need also is next to it, you're in luck. Look at the map and see how much of the SJ territory it covers - and how much it does not. Vast majority of people live in "does not" territory. > Will I be seeing you on a sidewalk confused in wonder? Nope, you'd be seeing me driving past you, getting where I need to get an hour earlier than you :)

smsm42 8y ago

> I am in Silicon Valley Within a short distance of San Francisco, I presume? Do you have a family? Kids? > What "most of Silicon Valley" are you meaning? Anything not within short distance of BART station, basically. All of San Jose, Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto (excluding maybe Stanford campus), Santa Clara, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, etc. > Is there an element of "what I want where I want when I want at a moments notice" in your statement? If by "moment's notice" you mean getting somewhere within 30 mins vs. getting there in three hours, if you're lucky and no mass transit failure happens - then yes, "moment's notice". > Something else I'm not understanding that necessitates me owning a personnel vehicle? Yes. It's literally not possible to do simplest things - like buying groceries, getting to doctor's appointment, going to work, eating out (and I don't mean Michelene starred restaurants, I mean local sushi joint within 2.5 miles of your house), etc. - using public transit in most of SV unless you are prepared to spend literally hours on commute, and you're good at walking distances. If you're lucky to live in SF, some parts of Berkeley/Oakland, etc. - possible. If you live in San Jose and have a family - nope.

drdeadringer 8y ago
I am in Campbell, 1.5 blocks from a VTA hub. If I didn't want to take transit, I'd have to actively avoid it. Three hours specifically on transit ... there is something "going wrong" such as being very far away and/or lack of planning. I assume you remember that some form of car-rental exists [the Uber-Lyft, Enterprise, Taxi, &c]; if your lifestyle really does need such things on a regular basis, then yes you "need" to own a personal vehicle. Otherwise, clearly no you do not. And for the simple things... the average person literally cannot walk or transit for a restaurant or grocery [food deserts aside]? What have I been doing for these exact activities? And again you talk about spending hours upon hours to get somewhere not far away; do you read schedules or is your schedule that tight and urgent? Again, ripping on San Jose//Campbell transit. You'll see me on VTA lite rail and buses being on time where I need to be. Will I be seeing you on a sidewalk confused in wonder?
- smsm42 8y ago
  > 1.5 blocks from a VTA hub Here you go. Most of SV isn't. > I assume you remember that some form of car-rental exists [the Uber-Lyft, Enterprise, Taxi, &c] Relying on taxi for mundane day-to-day movements maybe ok for people way richer than me, but for me it would be several thousand dollars per month - way more than I could afford. And way more than I spend on a car, including the purchase price. > the average person literally cannot walk or transit for a restaurant or grocery [food deserts aside]? Yes. There is maybe 2 or 3 restaurants within walking distance of me, and by walking I don't mean 1.5 blocks, I mean at 15 minutes. And by "restaurants" I mean anything including McDonalds. If you, like me, don't want to eat in McDonalds, closest decent restaurants are about half an hour walking. Sometimes we do walk there, but it's not for every weather and every mood. And if you want something like going to a brewery to get couple glasses of beer, that'd be an hour hike. Or a short drive. And as for groceries, one grocery store in 15 mins walk. Good luck walking there. Under rain. Or scorching sun. With groceries. Nope, no thanks. > You'll see me on VTA lite rail If you live next to it and everything you need also is next to it, you're in luck. Look at the map and see how much of the SJ territory it covers - and how much it does not. Vast majority of people live in "does not" territory. > Will I be seeing you on a sidewalk confused in wonder? Nope, you'd be seeing me driving past you, getting where I need to get an hour earlier than you :)