4 ms·

My main issue with bay area public transportation is the public. I've had a person threaten to stab me because I was white. He got away. I've had someone smoke

by ggreer 6y ago

My main issue with bay area public transportation is the public. I've had a person threaten to stab me because I was white. He got away. I've had someone smoke meth and then scream in my face, wanting to fight me because I was being racist. He got away. I've had someone pull out a taser and start playing with it. He was arrested, fortunately. One of my acquaintances has been robbed at gunpoint. Not sure if they ever caught the guy. In addition to the risk of violence, there are also the annoyances. Smelly homeless people. People smoking. People blasting music. (The buskers are the worst.) In a car I have none of those issues. I don't even have to listen to someone loudly talking on their phone. It's quiet. It's clean. It leaves when I'm ready. It's far less stressful. Nowadays there are only a couple of commuter bus lines that I'll take. Though with the lockdowns and the curfews, it's been months since I've used them.

mrep 6y ago
And if you are female, you also get to deal with perverts trying to grope you [0]. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/f92kp7/public_transit_perverts_or_why_id_rather_pay_400/ https://old.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/f92kp7/pub...
Zanni 6y ago
More specifically, the problem is that public transportation is public and therefore can't or won't enforce the standards for ridership that any sane private company would--the violent, the antisocial, the mentally ill, the people who believe personal hygiene is optional. When my girlfriend of a few years ago was forced to take the bus to work regularly, she was harassed on a daily basis. Public availability doesn't have to mean no accountability, but somehow it devolves to that. And as long as that holds, folks who have the means will pay to avoid it.
- josefx 6y ago
  > the problem is that public transportation is public and therefore can't or won't enforce the standards for ridership that any sane private company would It is weird that most of the world seems to manage that just fine. At least in Germany they also have no issue with calling the police on misbehaving passengers.
- dboreham 6y ago
  There's something wrong about this. I grew up in Scotland where we had plenty of smelly, drunk, drugged and violent people, but they'd be dragged off the train by the police.
  - ggreer 6y ago
    Police have been ordered by the city government to avoid enforcing certain laws. It basically means that homeless people can get away with theft and any nuisance. Also criminals are quickly released re-offend. Here are some examples. This guy has been arrested, charged, and released on his own recognizance five separate times. None of the cases have been closed yet: https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/1239550104165466112 https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/123955010416546611... This guy was arrested, charged, and released without bail several times before he hacked someone up with a machete: https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/1224090120506134529 https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/122409012050613452... This guy has been breaking into cars for over a year. He was caught multiple times and released on his own recognizance: https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/1213914986998747136 https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/121391498699874713... Most of the bay area is like this and criminals know it. It's hard to describe just how bad property crime is here. Everyone I know has given up reporting when their bike is stolen or when their car has its windows smashed. They know the police won't do anything.
    - Zanni 6y ago
      Or this guy, in Seattle, charged three times for violent assaults and released because he was deemed not competent to stand trial before attempting to throw a woman off a 40-foot overpass into rush hour traffic: https://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Charge-Man-attempted-to-throw-woman-off-I-5-13701108.php https://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Charge-Man-att...

by ggreer 6y ago

mrep 6y ago

And if you are female, you also get to deal with perverts trying to grope you [0]. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/f92kp7/public_transit_perverts_or_why_id_rather_pay_400/ https://old.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/f92kp7/pub...

Zanni 6y ago

More specifically, the problem is that public transportation is public and therefore can't or won't enforce the standards for ridership that any sane private company would--the violent, the antisocial, the mentally ill, the people who believe personal hygiene is optional. When my girlfriend of a few years ago was forced to take the bus to work regularly, she was harassed on a daily basis. Public availability doesn't have to mean no accountability, but somehow it devolves to that. And as long as that holds, folks who have the means will pay to avoid it.

josefx 6y ago
> the problem is that public transportation is public and therefore can't or won't enforce the standards for ridership that any sane private company would It is weird that most of the world seems to manage that just fine. At least in Germany they also have no issue with calling the police on misbehaving passengers.
dboreham 6y ago
There's something wrong about this. I grew up in Scotland where we had plenty of smelly, drunk, drugged and violent people, but they'd be dragged off the train by the police.
- ggreer 6y ago
  Police have been ordered by the city government to avoid enforcing certain laws. It basically means that homeless people can get away with theft and any nuisance. Also criminals are quickly released re-offend. Here are some examples. This guy has been arrested, charged, and released on his own recognizance five separate times. None of the cases have been closed yet: https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/1239550104165466112 https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/123955010416546611... This guy was arrested, charged, and released without bail several times before he hacked someone up with a machete: https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/1224090120506134529 https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/122409012050613452... This guy has been breaking into cars for over a year. He was caught multiple times and released on his own recognizance: https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/1213914986998747136 https://twitter.com/SFPDTenderloin/status/121391498699874713... Most of the bay area is like this and criminals know it. It's hard to describe just how bad property crime is here. Everyone I know has given up reporting when their bike is stolen or when their car has its windows smashed. They know the police won't do anything.
  - Zanni 6y ago
    Or this guy, in Seattle, charged three times for violent assaults and released because he was deemed not competent to stand trial before attempting to throw a woman off a 40-foot overpass into rush hour traffic: https://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Charge-Man-attempted-to-throw-woman-off-I-5-13701108.php https://www.seattlepi.com/local/crime/article/Charge-Man-att...