4 ms·

> What is "infamous" about a bus? They're considered a symbol of the class divide. Not a cause, but just a visible display of the income inequality present in

by seoaeu 5y ago

> What is "infamous" about a bus? They're considered a symbol of the class divide. Not a cause, but just a visible display of the income inequality present in the city. Poor people don't get a "workaround" for the the Bay Area's awful/nonexistent transportation system, they have to either rely on private cars or take public transit anyways.

rcpt 5y ago
Which is kind of nuts considering that most people on those busses can't afford the South Bay houses they're commuting past. Otherwise there'd be no bus. disclaimer: the windows were shot out when I was riding the Google bus a couple years back
- seoaeu 5y ago
  Eh, 20% of households in the Bay Area earn under $36k/year. Obviously shooting out bus windows isn't the right approach, but I think you may be underestimating just how much of a divide there is between even average tech workers and lower class people living in the region.
  - rcpt 5y ago
    The division between long time Californian landowning families and 20-something immigrant engineers somehow never comes up. Someone's whose been making 250k before taxes isn't poor by any stretch. But they're nowhere near affording a house in Mountain View, hence the busses.
    - ghaff 5y ago
      >But they're nowhere near affording a house in Mountain View, hence the busses. The buses are because they want to live in the city rather than essentially suburban Mountain View. It's not like SF is cheap housing.
      - rcpt 5y ago
        The busses go to places besides SF
      - jeffbee 5y ago
        SF housing is about 20% cheaper than Mountain View housing according to recent sales.
    - seoaeu 5y ago
      I'm sorry but but a single person making nearly an order of magnitude more than a low income household in the same metro is more than just not poor. There is worlds of difference between not getting to live in the neighborhood you want compared to being severely rent burdened, having a horrible commute, and having to deal with a subpar living living situation in whatever handful neighborhoods have apartments remotely in your price range. Also, a quick glance at zillow listings looks to me like someone making $250k/year could easily afford to rent an apartment in Mountain View and would have a good shot at buying a cheaper condo there too. Sure buying a single family home might be out of reach, but it is hard to feel too much sympathy about that

by seoaeu 5y ago

rcpt 5y ago

Which is kind of nuts considering that most people on those busses can't afford the South Bay houses they're commuting past. Otherwise there'd be no bus. disclaimer: the windows were shot out when I was riding the Google bus a couple years back

seoaeu 5y ago
Eh, 20% of households in the Bay Area earn under $36k/year. Obviously shooting out bus windows isn't the right approach, but I think you may be underestimating just how much of a divide there is between even average tech workers and lower class people living in the region.
- rcpt 5y ago
  The division between long time Californian landowning families and 20-something immigrant engineers somehow never comes up. Someone's whose been making 250k before taxes isn't poor by any stretch. But they're nowhere near affording a house in Mountain View, hence the busses.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    >But they're nowhere near affording a house in Mountain View, hence the busses. The buses are because they want to live in the city rather than essentially suburban Mountain View. It's not like SF is cheap housing.
    - rcpt 5y ago
      The busses go to places besides SF
    - jeffbee 5y ago
      SF housing is about 20% cheaper than Mountain View housing according to recent sales.
  - seoaeu 5y ago
    I'm sorry but but a single person making nearly an order of magnitude more than a low income household in the same metro is more than just not poor. There is worlds of difference between not getting to live in the neighborhood you want compared to being severely rent burdened, having a horrible commute, and having to deal with a subpar living living situation in whatever handful neighborhoods have apartments remotely in your price range. Also, a quick glance at zillow listings looks to me like someone making $250k/year could easily afford to rent an apartment in Mountain View and would have a good shot at buying a cheaper condo there too. Sure buying a single family home might be out of reach, but it is hard to feel too much sympathy about that