Another blogging SF cab driver posted a great find: a map showing where to hail a cab in the City.
This map seems quite accurate from my few months of cab driving experience. You might want to keep a link handy on your favorite web enabled mobile device.
the wireless is busted.
my browser is encrusted
with lameness and despair.
This weekend,
Haikus about MUNI, just like the title says. Organized by bus line.
My favorite from the 1 California (outside my window):
pings, sci-fi noises
1 California zooms by
not 1am yet
–bobboman
Work was slow. I didn’t get a cab until late.
Engadget reports that a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple claiming that its iPods are illegally tied to its iTunes software.
In essence, the plaintiff claims the Apple iPod/iTunes ‘ecosystem’ locks out competitors. Non-Apple music players cannot play music purchased from the Apple iTunes store. iTunes only works with Apple’s iPod players.
Boo-hoo, cry me a river. Does the Apple music ecosystem lock out competitors? It sure does! Is it illegal? No. Is it worth spending taxpayer money for our government to meddle with Apple’s ecosystem? No.
My friend Steve sent me this NY Times article by David Brooks.
In a nutshell, Mr. Brooks says we ought to ‘outsource’ things we don’t like doing or thinking about with technology.
Says Mr. Brooks, use a GPS instead of learning your local geographic area! Let iTunes tell you what music you like!
Says me, pish posh, Mr. Brooks.
You have a 7pm reservation with friends across town in the Mission. It’s 6:30 and you know MUNI won’t get you there in less than an hour, so you have to cab it. You walk to the nearest busy street and hold your hand out for what seems like forever as you walk toward your destination. 30 minutes later you’re pissed as you finally get in a cab and arrive late.
We’ve all been there. Obviously, there aren’t enough cabs during peak times. My unofficial intuition says peak times could be considered Thursday – Saturday nights from 5pm to 2am. What’s the solution?
Some have suggested we simply issue more medallions, putting more cabs on the road at all times of the day. Unfortunately, while that helps with peak times, it also makes it nearly impossible to make a living during non-peak shifts. It’s tough enough to find fares on Sunday mornings with 1,500 cabs on the road. With 2,000 it’d be nearly impossible to make any money. Difficulty in making money during these shifts = low pay for drivers = poor quality (dangerous, unreliable) service.
So, why don’t we issue “peak medallions“? This simple concept is a winner. Peak medallions work permit operation of let’s say 500 additional cabs during designated peak times.
Everyone is a winner with peak medallions. 500 additional cab drivers can make money during these lucrative shifts. Thousands of stranded City residents will now have a solution that helps them get to their destinations safely and quickly.
Of course, solutions are never simple with City government. Normal medallions are issued to individuals. But, no individual would want a peak-only medallion, its potential lease revenue is too low compared to a regular unlimited medallion. The best solution is to issue these medallions directly to proven, competent dispatch cab companies such as Yellow, Luxor or DeSoto (to name a few). Not only do they have the infrastructure to handle additional dispatch needs, they have significantly large spare fleets that can absorb additional medallions during peak periods.
Let’s stop talking about this and start implementing now.
PS. Discussion is more in line with 100 additional peak cabs, not 500. I’m not convinced 100 additional would be sufficient.
Saturday,
Sunday,
While this may be obvious to any San Francisco resident, I would like to release my extreme frustration caused by my travel from Berkeley to my apartment on Nob Hill this evening.
The trip on BART from Berkeley to the Embarcadero is about 10 miles. This trip took less time than my 1 mile trip from the Embarcadero to Sacramento and Hyde on the 1-California MUNI line.
Sacramento is a west-bound street (until Gough) and is absolutely packed with numskulls that work and park downtown then drive home through Chinatown, making an already clogged area come to a standstill. The 1-California has no choice but to sit — through 4 red/green cycles at one intersection!
Meanwhile, cars are parked on the left and right side of Sacramento (the “bus lane” is only vacant for 3 hours in the afternoon). Let’s use our heads for a second — is it more important to provide parking for a few residents, or to provide fast transit for EVERYONE ELSE? Hmm, let me think. TRANSIT! Jesus.
Mayor Newsom, institute a congestion fee immediately and charge market rates for parking on our shared streets. It’s about time.
kfarr 