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Category Archives: econ
The future of local transportation startups: Is Uber doomed to follow in Napster’s footsteps?
A few weeks ago fellow entrepreneur and friend John Wolpert sent me a link to his thought provoking blog post, Is Uber the Napster of Transportation? His article is definitely worth reading in its own right, but I wanted to … Continue reading
The sky is not falling
I am writing to share some reactions to Claire Cain Miller’s piece in the New York Times, “Silicon Valley Booms but Worries About a New Bust.” I met Claire at the Founder Showcase event she mentions in her article and … Continue reading
Posted in econ, internets, media, tech, work
Tagged boom, bust, farr, fundraising, gross margin, kfarr, kieran, new york, new york times, nyt, nytimes, quote, saas, silicon valley
4 Comments
SFMTA Taxi Medallion Sales Pilot Program
(PDF Link) I’m returning from my blogging hiatus at an amazingly unique time in the history of San Francisco taxi regulation. In the past I’ve written extensively about the San Francisco medallion system and other regulations, including: What would be … Continue reading
When should public transportation systems be private?
A recent episode of Russ Roberts’ EconTalk podcast featured a wonderful intersection of interests: economics, public policy and public transit. One of Russ’ academia friends, economist Michael Munger, speaks at length on the program about the public transportation system quality … Continue reading
Cab driving: earnings update
Time for an earnings update. My earnings floor — the lowest take-home pay I can expect — is increasing from the record lows of the winter. In other words, it’s rare this time of year to see a shift that … Continue reading
Posted in econ, taxi, work
Tagged average, ca, cab, cabbie, california, cents, chart, cluster, dollars, driver, driving, earnings, euro, gas, gas prices, graph, historical, how, how much does a cab driver earn, inflation, many, mean, median, mode, money, much, pay, prices, san francisco, sf, shift, summer, take-home, taxi, taxicab, tourist
3 Comments
Robots are better at space exploration than humans.
As many close friends can attest, I dream of the future human colonization of planets in our solar system and beyond. Ah, how I stew in the romance of this idea. After doing some math prompted by lively debate on … Continue reading
Posted in econ, tech
Tagged automation, colonization, colony, costs, exploration, explore, explorer, fly, investment, jet, jpl, land, lander, mars, nasa, outer, output, phoenix, planet, propulsion, red, return, robots, rover, space, surveyor, usa
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Thank a DPT traffic control officer today.
DPT officers get a bad rap. Everyone seems to despise them, yet they are a crucial element necessary to help all of us to effectively share our City streets. Here are a few of the ways they make our lives … Continue reading
Posted in econ, politics, transit
Tagged authority, california, charge, cleaning, curbed, department, double, double-park, dpt, fee, fine, generate, income, mta, municipal, municipality, officer, park, parking, parking ticket, revenue, san francisco, sf, sfmta, street, street cleaning, ticket, traffic, transit, transportation, wheels
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You’re richer than you think.
While sitting in the queue to pay the toll for the Bay Bridge Monday, I heard two great counterintuitive pieces on KQED. The first was a thoughtful comparison between our quality of life now compared to the distant past. It … Continue reading
Posted in econ, happiness
Tagged american, bank, card, costs, credit, credit card, debt, econ, economics, expenses, home, income, increase, input, interest, leader, life, living, loan, media, national, npr, of, outlay, output, pay, personal, personal debt, public, quality, radio, rate, ruler, salary, savings
2 Comments
Cab earnings update: seasonal rise in demand for taxis offsets increased fuel and gate costs.
San Francisco cab drivers face two recent cost pressures: a recent gate fee increase combined with the recent climb in gas prices. Fortunately, these cost pressures come at a time when aggregate demand for taxis in the City is increasing. … Continue reading
Posted in econ, politics, taxi, transit
Tagged aggregate, cab, city, cost, demand, earnings, econ, employment, fee, forecast, fuel, gas, gate, gate fee, home, hourly, increase, infrastructure, labor, macro, micro, oil, pay, rise, san francisco, seasonal, sf, shift, take, take-home, taxi, taxicab, tips, transit, transportation, wage, winter, worker
1 Comment
Driving a slow weekend in the City
It was another slow weekend in San Francisco. During my shifts I witnessed a non-trivial collision. A Toyota pickup truck was traveling behind me south on South Van Ness. As we approached the 16th Street intersection he passed me on … Continue reading
Posted in econ, politics, taxi, work
Tagged aid, attempts, ca, cab, california, car, caravan, career, Chrysler, city, cost, counseling, culture, dodge, downtown, durango, english, espanol, gallon, gas, gas mileage, help, homeless, intrepid, language, left, mexican, mexico, mileage, miles, mpg, oil, per, poverty, price, program, rent, right, san francisco, sf, spanish, speaking, subsidy, taxi, taxicab
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kfarr 