3 ms·

I took the bus to work from marin to san Francisco. I did so even though driving is faster because (a) in the morning, i could do work the moment i got on the b

I took the bus to work from marin to san Francisco. I did so even though driving is faster because (a) in the morning, i could do work the moment i got on the bus (free WiFi) instead of shouting at the driver in front of me, (b) because i started work earlier, I could leave earlier and (c) in the evening i could browse the internet and watch Netflix on my way home. The extra 15 minutes i spent because I took the bus instead of drive was spent in luxury essentially.

inferiorhuman 7y ago
Marin to San Francisco is an interesting example because Marin Transit has next to no idea what the fuck they're doing. My experience over a few decades is that getting to/from Marin-SF on public transit typically takes 2-3 hours depending on how far away from downtown SF and 3rd/Hetherton you're going. If the delta between driving and taking the bus is only 15 minutes you either get stuck in awful traffic or live very close to a 30/70/101 bus stop. Grievances: The 101 is a great idea, a limited stop bus from SF to Santa Rosa that can basically camp out in the carpool lane. Except that in their infinite wisdom, Marin Transit doesn't actually time transfers in San Rafael. Unless you live within walking distance of a 101 stop you're often just wasting your time. Real-time predictions sound great, except that Marin Transit is pairing with the Transit app. For a while was providing completely fabricated predictions. Sorry, you're only going to leave me stranded in the middle of the night once before I dump your app. NextBus has its share of problems too, but the difference is that Muni runs such frequent service you're more concerned with predictions and headways than with schedules. Marin Transit runs such sparse service that you absolutely need to adhere to a schedule. A zone based fare system sounds reasonable to most people. Unfortunately Marin Transit is not set up to refund overcharges when you can't tag off as you exit the vehicle (e.g. when their own equipment doesn't work). Zone based fares also complicate cash payments wildly slowing down the boarding process. Unfortunately Marin Transit refuses to let people alight from or board with RFID payment via the rear doors slowing down the whole process even more. The Golden Gate Bridge District (one of the folks Marin Transit contracts out to) leased another ferry knowing that the engine wasn't compliant with California emissions requirements. In their due diligence they never realized that it is physically impossible to retrofit a compliant engine into that heap. It's still not in revenue service. Historically there have been very few feeder routes because people tend to like to keep the poors out (Tiburon is notoriously bad). So to get from Marin to San Francisco you're often walking all the way out to the highway, sometimes along roads with no sidewalks (I'm looking at you Sleepy Hollow). SMART also suffers because of this. Getting to a SMART station can easily be a 30 minute walk along a route with no bus service. That said, things don't actually have to be this way. But Marin likes its privilege[1]. 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/Marin/comments/coz8ro/smart_train_says_it_faces_multimilliondollar/ewnbcw3/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Marin/comments/coz8ro/smart_train_s...
- tathougies 7y ago
  Golden gate transit and marin transit are different authorities. I like golden gate transit. The buses are the best public ones I've ever been in. Ive lived in marin and South bay and marin is way more connected to SF. Bus service runs much more consistently from and to more parts of the city than anything from South bay (if i recall correctly, some routes are 24/7) I took the 24 and yes i lived near a bus stop because thats what you should do when you have money (like everyone in marin) and are choosing where to live. Marin is by far the most livable and accessible place in all the bay area. You can get to all parts (including the coast and natural areas) via regular bus service and some walking which puts it lightyears ahead of South bay.
  - inferiorhuman 7y ago
    Golden gate transit and marin transit are different authorities. Marin Transit contracts out to Golden Gate Transit (the bridge district), Marin Airporter, Whistlestop, and MV Transit. For many years they simply used the bridge district but that was too expensive so they've farmed many routes out to cheaper (read: non-union) companies using smaller equipment. Bus service runs much more consistently from and to more parts of the city than anything from South bay (if i recall correctly, some routes are 24/7) Here's a map of late night public transit service. Note that Marin is conspicuously devoid of any routes. While it will take an extraordinarily long time you can get from San Francisco to San Jose late at night on public transit. Public transit in Marin shuts down between 9pm and midnight. https://511.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/RTC/allnighter-v10.pdf https://511.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/RTC/allnighter-v10.... I took the 24 and yes i lived near a bus stop because thats what you should do when you have money (like everyone in marin) and are choosing where to live. Most people don't and can't do this. Transit oriented development is regularly protested to a degree that SF NIMBYs would be green with envy if they saw how things worked in Marin. Marin is by far the most livable and accessible place in all the bay area. Based on? You can get to all parts (including the coast and natural areas) via regular bus service and some walking which puts it lightyears ahead of South bay. Yeah, that's definitely not true.
    - 7y ago

inferiorhuman 7y ago

Marin to San Francisco is an interesting example because Marin Transit has next to no idea what the fuck they're doing. My experience over a few decades is that getting to/from Marin-SF on public transit typically takes 2-3 hours depending on how far away from downtown SF and 3rd/Hetherton you're going. If the delta between driving and taking the bus is only 15 minutes you either get stuck in awful traffic or live very close to a 30/70/101 bus stop. Grievances: The 101 is a great idea, a limited stop bus from SF to Santa Rosa that can basically camp out in the carpool lane. Except that in their infinite wisdom, Marin Transit doesn't actually time transfers in San Rafael. Unless you live within walking distance of a 101 stop you're often just wasting your time. Real-time predictions sound great, except that Marin Transit is pairing with the Transit app. For a while was providing completely fabricated predictions. Sorry, you're only going to leave me stranded in the middle of the night once before I dump your app. NextBus has its share of problems too, but the difference is that Muni runs such frequent service you're more concerned with predictions and headways than with schedules. Marin Transit runs such sparse service that you absolutely need to adhere to a schedule. A zone based fare system sounds reasonable to most people. Unfortunately Marin Transit is not set up to refund overcharges when you can't tag off as you exit the vehicle (e.g. when their own equipment doesn't work). Zone based fares also complicate cash payments wildly slowing down the boarding process. Unfortunately Marin Transit refuses to let people alight from or board with RFID payment via the rear doors slowing down the whole process even more. The Golden Gate Bridge District (one of the folks Marin Transit contracts out to) leased another ferry knowing that the engine wasn't compliant with California emissions requirements. In their due diligence they never realized that it is physically impossible to retrofit a compliant engine into that heap. It's still not in revenue service. Historically there have been very few feeder routes because people tend to like to keep the poors out (Tiburon is notoriously bad). So to get from Marin to San Francisco you're often walking all the way out to the highway, sometimes along roads with no sidewalks (I'm looking at you Sleepy Hollow). SMART also suffers because of this. Getting to a SMART station can easily be a 30 minute walk along a route with no bus service. That said, things don't actually have to be this way. But Marin likes its privilege[1]. 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/Marin/comments/coz8ro/smart_train_says_it_faces_multimilliondollar/ewnbcw3/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Marin/comments/coz8ro/smart_train_s...

tathougies 7y ago
Golden gate transit and marin transit are different authorities. I like golden gate transit. The buses are the best public ones I've ever been in. Ive lived in marin and South bay and marin is way more connected to SF. Bus service runs much more consistently from and to more parts of the city than anything from South bay (if i recall correctly, some routes are 24/7) I took the 24 and yes i lived near a bus stop because thats what you should do when you have money (like everyone in marin) and are choosing where to live. Marin is by far the most livable and accessible place in all the bay area. You can get to all parts (including the coast and natural areas) via regular bus service and some walking which puts it lightyears ahead of South bay.
- inferiorhuman 7y ago
  Golden gate transit and marin transit are different authorities. Marin Transit contracts out to Golden Gate Transit (the bridge district), Marin Airporter, Whistlestop, and MV Transit. For many years they simply used the bridge district but that was too expensive so they've farmed many routes out to cheaper (read: non-union) companies using smaller equipment. Bus service runs much more consistently from and to more parts of the city than anything from South bay (if i recall correctly, some routes are 24/7) Here's a map of late night public transit service. Note that Marin is conspicuously devoid of any routes. While it will take an extraordinarily long time you can get from San Francisco to San Jose late at night on public transit. Public transit in Marin shuts down between 9pm and midnight. https://511.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/RTC/allnighter-v10.pdf https://511.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/RTC/allnighter-v10.... I took the 24 and yes i lived near a bus stop because thats what you should do when you have money (like everyone in marin) and are choosing where to live. Most people don't and can't do this. Transit oriented development is regularly protested to a degree that SF NIMBYs would be green with envy if they saw how things worked in Marin. Marin is by far the most livable and accessible place in all the bay area. Based on? You can get to all parts (including the coast and natural areas) via regular bus service and some walking which puts it lightyears ahead of South bay. Yeah, that's definitely not true.
  - 7y ago