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I find commuting from the 24th and Mission to downtown via the BART very pleasant these days. Before COVID I would fight my way and barely squeeze in. Now I get

by calr 3y ago

I find commuting from the 24th and Mission to downtown via the BART very pleasant these days. Before COVID I would fight my way and barely squeeze in. Now I get a seat just about every time. I get off at Montgomery, so I am able to skip over the sketchier stops on Market (Civic center and Powell to some extent). There are still plenty of great cafes, coffeeshops, and bars open within walking distance of my office. Overall no complaints; I enjoy going into the office much more than before COVID.

Aaronstotle 3y ago
I'm in the same boat, I commute from East Bay and BART now has plenty of space in the morning and evening. Not empty, but not as full as it used to be, I also enjoy commuting because its the perfect place to read.
htrp 3y ago
You will continue to enjoy your commute until everyone else is back in the office. Once that happens, you will hate it just as much.
- atleastoptimal 3y ago
  I'd wager at this point in the history of the West, the full "return to the office" back to pre-pandemic levels will never happen. We will look back at 2019 as the point at which we hit "peak toil", before the WFH movements and AI automation changed the structure of productivity forever.
atleastoptimal 3y ago
That's the tragic thing about public services. They're much better when providing the same service at a volume far below profitability.
- sine_reality 3y ago
  i mean isnt this true for pretty much everything from a user's perspective?
SeanAnderson 3y ago
Unfortunately BART isn't financially viable with the current numbers, right? https://www.bart.gov/about/financials/crisis https://www.bart.gov/about/financials/crisis
- shuckles 3y ago
  Transportation infrastructure isn’t meant to be financially viable. Interstates aren’t profit centers.
  - ipnon 3y ago
    Many subway systems are profitable, like the Tokyo JR East. If there is a will there is a way. Americans simply prefer sprawl and cars when it comes down to it.
    - shuckles 3y ago
      > Many subway systems are profitable, like the Tokyo JR East. My comment was about America, but point taken. Road infrastructure in Japan has heavy use tolls. > Americans simply prefer sprawl and cars when it comes down to it. Americans aren't a monolith, and transit increases land values so it's unlikely Americans prefer sprawl, all else equal.
    - Tiktaalik 3y ago
      It's impossible to know if Americans genuinely prefer sprawl because the alternative of building more compact communities is banned by regulation all over.
    - sofixa 3y ago
      > Many subway systems are profitable The vast majority are not, the systems in a bunch of Asian cities (mostly in Japan, HK, Taiwan, Singapore) are the exception due to a few reasons, most notably because they use distance-based fares and land around stations often belongs to the operator bringing in massive commercial revenues. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio

by calr 3y ago

Aaronstotle 3y ago

I'm in the same boat, I commute from East Bay and BART now has plenty of space in the morning and evening. Not empty, but not as full as it used to be, I also enjoy commuting because its the perfect place to read.

htrp 3y ago

You will continue to enjoy your commute until everyone else is back in the office. Once that happens, you will hate it just as much.

atleastoptimal 3y ago
I'd wager at this point in the history of the West, the full "return to the office" back to pre-pandemic levels will never happen. We will look back at 2019 as the point at which we hit "peak toil", before the WFH movements and AI automation changed the structure of productivity forever.

atleastoptimal 3y ago

That's the tragic thing about public services. They're much better when providing the same service at a volume far below profitability.

sine_reality 3y ago
i mean isnt this true for pretty much everything from a user's perspective?

SeanAnderson 3y ago

Unfortunately BART isn't financially viable with the current numbers, right? https://www.bart.gov/about/financials/crisis https://www.bart.gov/about/financials/crisis

shuckles 3y ago
Transportation infrastructure isn’t meant to be financially viable. Interstates aren’t profit centers.
- ipnon 3y ago
  Many subway systems are profitable, like the Tokyo JR East. If there is a will there is a way. Americans simply prefer sprawl and cars when it comes down to it.
  - shuckles 3y ago
    > Many subway systems are profitable, like the Tokyo JR East. My comment was about America, but point taken. Road infrastructure in Japan has heavy use tolls. > Americans simply prefer sprawl and cars when it comes down to it. Americans aren't a monolith, and transit increases land values so it's unlikely Americans prefer sprawl, all else equal.
  - Tiktaalik 3y ago
    It's impossible to know if Americans genuinely prefer sprawl because the alternative of building more compact communities is banned by regulation all over.
  - sofixa 3y ago
    > Many subway systems are profitable The vast majority are not, the systems in a bunch of Asian cities (mostly in Japan, HK, Taiwan, Singapore) are the exception due to a few reasons, most notably because they use distance-based fares and land around stations often belongs to the operator bringing in massive commercial revenues. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio