Posts Tagged ‘bus’

Bus Rapid Transit: Our San Francisco County Transit Authority Studies Big-Ass, 80-Foot “Bi-Articulated” Buses

Friday, May 24th, 2013

Here’s your San Francisco County Transit Authoritah in a nutshell:

“Created in 1989, the Authority is responsible for long-range transportation planning for the city, and it analyzes, designs and funds improvements for San Francisco’s roadway and public transportation networks.”

Well, the SFCTA is on the move in 2013, doing stuff like making new webpages, and, among other things, looking at Bus Rapid Transit for the 415.

So that means studying, like er mah Gah, monstrous buses like these rigs straight outta Mexico City: 

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Now, would BRT be a good thing for those poor souls living out in the West Bay taking the wretched #38 Geary home every night? IDK. I’ll look into it.

Transit Porn: The Newest Govmint Website is “MyStreetSF.Com” – SFCTA Shows Where It’s Spending All Your Money

Monday, May 20th, 2013

That’s what they’re calling it, MyStreetSF.Com, but all that URL does now is point you to http://www.sfcta.org/mystreetsf-map, which is also new.

Check it, SFCTA is EV ERYWHERE:

Click to expand

This image is just a snapshot. What you should do is click on over and then start tapping on the interactive map.

[Call and response, like when you were an activist before you became a typical selfish millionaire property-owning NIMBY-type] Whose streets? _MY_ STREETS!

Now you’re on the trolley. In fact, you’re paying for one, right…here. See?

All the deets:

[Click on this link to go directly to the MyStreetSF Projects Map.]

From signals to streetcars, bicycles to boulevards, from pedestrian safety to paving, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) provides funding for hundreds of transportation projects citywide. The MyStreetSF interactive map shows all projects currently underway that are funded by, or prioritized for funding by the SFCTA, as well as those for which the SFCTA provides some level of oversight, in our role as Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco.

Most of these projects are funded with Prop K sales tax funds matching other federal, state, or regional funds. We also provide funding through the Prop AA Vehicle Registration Fee and the Transportation Fund for Clean Air  programs.

The MyStreetSF interactive map allows you to search for projects by location, Supervisorial District, project type (e.g., bicycle, pedestrian safety, transit rehabilitation), project sponsor, or timeline. Click on a project on the map to see key information (e.g., short description, schedule, cost) and a link to the project page and/or project sponsor’s main page. The map page also includes information on city-wide projects and programs like Bicycle Education and Outreach.

We’re still beta testing the map and continue to work on new features, such as displaying already-completed projects.

Please let us know what you think. Your comments are invaluable in helping us correct, refine, and improve the map.

Disclaimer This map only shows transportation projects funded or prioritized for funding by the SFCTA, as well as those for which SFCTA is responsible for some level of oversight, acting in its capacity as Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco. SFCTA does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information shown on the map.

Uh, the “Clement Street Farmers Market” is “Nearing Approval” – Really? – Between 2nd and 4th Aves. on Sundays

Monday, May 13th, 2013

From Rishi Mukhopadhyay of NextDoor.com comes word of the:

Clement Street Farmers Market.

See?

Click to expand

So, they’re going to shut down Clement between 2nd and 4th Avenues in the Inner Richmond every Sunday until 2:00 PM starting four weeks from now on June 9th, 2013?

What? This is news to me! The opening date strikes me as highly, highly improbable, but what do I know?

The next steps for this concept:

- Monday, May 20, 2013: Community Meeting at 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, Richmond District Police Station, 461 6th Ave between Anza and Geary.

- Thursday, May 23, 2013: Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation (ISCOTT) Hearing, One South Van Ness, Seventh Floor, Room #7080.

OK, we’ll see how this one goes.

IMO, the SFMTA isn’t going to laugh off having the #2 Clement make a quarter-mile detour to get to a parallel street only to have to drive another quarter-mile to get back to Clement.

And I’ll point out that Clement Street itself is kind of a farmers market already on Sundays.

And I’ll point out that 2:00 PM is kind of a busy time on Clement in the Inner Richmond on Sundays.

And I’ll ask how does this proposal square with our Prime Directive of “Transit First?”

Now let’s hear from youthful Peter Lauterborn, Legislative Aide to District One Supervisor Eric Mar:

“Dear All,

I am writing you because of your past interest in opening a farmer’s market in the Richmond. And while I have been quiet on the subject for a little while, it is not for a lack of work. We are at the point of nearing approval for a significant market entering the neighborhood!

The Plan: The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) has teamed up with the Clement Merchants Association. AIM is known for a small number of high-quality, large scale markets around California.

The older plans for smaller markets all fell through, so we’re going big! This plan calls for a Sunday morning street closure of Clement from 2nd to 4th Aves on Sunday mornings. AIM plans very robust, well-rounded markets that are a major draw.

Major highlights of the AIM Market:

- Wide range of local products, including eggs, milk, cheeses, meats, etc.

- Include enrichment such as children activities, live music, and even kids jumpers.

- Provide matching dollars for “food stamp” users.

- Based on usage, the parking loss should be a non issue and the 2 Clement bus rerouting isn’t a problem. We are also planning outreach to all of the existing produce merchants along Clement. Also, the SF Bike Coalition is going to help make this a friendly event for those who don’t drive.

The Asks: As people who have advocated for a market, this is the time where we need your leadership the most! Our plan is going before the MTA for the street closure, and we need support!

1. Write a letter of support explaining why the Richmond needs a farmer’s market and how, given the low usage of Clement on Sunday mornings, this is the right use of public space. (send to Peter.Lauterborn@sfgov.org). The letter should explicitly support the street closure.

2. Encourage friends and community members to ask write!

3. Attend a community meeting on Monday May 20, 5:30-6:30pm at the Richmond Police Station. And bring out allies!

4. Bonus! Come to the MTA hearing on Thursday May 23rd at 1 South Van Ness to support the motion.

We wouldn’t have gotten this far without all of you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at any time.

Let’s do this!

Best,

Peter Lauterborn
Legislative Aide
Supervisor Eric Mar, District 1″

Here’s How the SFMTA / MUNI / DPT / SFBC Spies on You, With Video Cameras Everywhere on Some Buses

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

Figure one of these cams is constantly scanning license plates and the other is used on accident investigations:

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And there are other cameras on this bus as well. For MUNI fights ‘n stuff.

Anyway, if the SFPD is looking for you and you park your ride on a bus line street or, really, if you just drive it around the 415, this bus-mounted camera scanner is how they found you.

And if you park illegally in a bus stop, SFMTA employees will read your plate from the video and use that to issue you a ticket.

Cameras, cameras everywhere…

Hey MUNI, Your Thing is Up! A #6 Parnassus Driver Tools Down Market With An Access Panel Propped Open – Peds Beware

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

This wasn’t a sidelined bus waiting for help to get back on the road. No no, this was an operating #6 Parnassus heading inbound on Market just the other day.

San Francisco’s infamous jaywalking* peds will now need to keep an eye out for this kind of thing:

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*Uh, jaywalking isn’t illegal because of Big Oil. No no, jaywalking is illegal because Big Government wants to protect you from killing yourself. Yet another conspiracy theory debunked…

Ooh Nice One, Goldman Sachs! CODA Automotive in Bankruptcy Today – The Bay Area’s OTHER Electric Car “Factory”

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

Read the news and turn the pages.

I remember seeing CODA Automotive’s first SFMTA bus stop ad back in 2010. I thought, “Man, what a turkey.” That’s the year I started the DeathWatch.

This whole CODA concept appeared to be another big fat loser from Goldman Sachs and that’s exactly what it turned out to be.

Oh well.

Ah memories, memories from 2010:

Whatever You Do, DON’T Put $499 Down on the $45K, Mostly Chinese, All-Electric Coda Sedan

I’ll tell you, the Mitsubishi Carisma didn’t exactly slay the European market when it went on sale a decade and a half ago. Simply, it wasn’t popular. Then a regional car maker in China tried to take the design from Mitsu and make a version to sell to the Chinese in 2005. It wasn’t popular there neither, even at a price of just $10,000. It, as they say, “lacked quality to make a mark“ in the Chinese market. O.K. then.

Well, they went and took out the gas engine and fitted it with a big heavy battery and a lightweight motor and that’s how we’re getting the 2011 Coda Automotive Sedan at a price of, wait for it, Holy Toledo, $44,900. That’s the news of the day, 45K, officially.

Should California and the feds give you tax credits to buy this thing if all Coda Automotive is going to do is raise the price sky high?

What a POS this thing is. Just look at it. In some ways better, and in some ways worse than your sister’s ’94 Honda Civic:

Now, they’re going to have a showroom in the bay area soon and they’re going to let you take a test drive starting next month. Fine, test drive the thing, I don’t care. But don’t give them a deposit, don’t encourage them.

All right, what about the all-electric Nissan LEAF, the Coda Sedan’s arch-rival? The LEAF is better and cheaper.

Here’s what an overly-excited CODA fan was saying about the LEAF last year:

“It’s an alien-looking buggy with small wheels and no nose that won’t look like a real car to American buyers”

Uh, no, that’s incorrect. Sorry.

via NissanLEAF

Hey, here’s a question:

Why is the LEAF so much cheaper than the CODA?

Yes the CODA has a big trunk that the LEAF lacks but so what. (The CODA  has small rear seat area because of that big trunk, so oh well.)

Uh oh:

“More ominously for the company, the sedan is more expensive than the Nissan Leaf, which will retail for $32,800 before incentives. Put another way, the Leaf is almost as cheap before incentives as the Coda is after incentives. And Nissan has a well-known brand name and  years of automotive experience.”

Here’s another question:

Why does the CODA cost so much more than the Chinese design it’s based upon?

Here’s another question:

How on Earth can people call the CODA an American car if the bulk of it, the glider (basically the entire car except for the battery/transmission) is made in one factory in China and the giant battery is made in another factory in China? What’s that, you wait for the boats to arrive in L.A. County Contra Costa? Solano?, Alameda? (one of them counties anyway) and then slap the battery and various whatnots inside the glider and that’s your “final assembly” in America? I cry foul.

Let’s face it, the Coda Sedan is a Chinese car, whether you like that or not.

Maybe a $45k electric sedan seemed like a good idea last year, but this thing is looking like a clunker already. That’s why people are saying that it, “may be a tough sell.”

Now, speaking of tough sells, let’s look at some of the marketing we’re getting from the CODA people. Go ahead, click and read along:

Electric agility

“The CODA might be the most agile car you’ve ever driven.”

Nope!

“Do you know the feeling of stomping the pedal and waiting for the car to build speed? Those days are over. The experience of driving a CODA is completely different.”

Well, I know what a Chevy Chevette Diesel automatic is like. It’s slow, with a o-60 time of 20 seconds plus. I know your CODA is quicker than that, but is the experience of driving the thing “completely different” from other cars? Nope.

“It’s small, energy-dense UQM PowerPhase® electric motor packs a punch, and weighs hundreds of pounds less than internal combustion engines.”

How can a motor be “energy-dense?” Shouldn’t you be talking about the energy density of the battery instead? Speaking of which, how much does the battery weigh? Isn’t that the more salient aspect?

“So whether you’re standing still or moving at a good pace, you’ll get instant torque and acceleration when you need it.”

You’re selling an electric car on this basis? Isn’t the CODA slower than the average car being sold today? Yep.

All right, caveat emptor.

All the deets, after the jump

(more…)

Hey SFMTA! Why Not “Complete” Polk Street All the Way to Grove and Eliminate These Parking Spaces in Front of City Hall?

Friday, April 26th, 2013

OMG, would you look at this?

I mean check out all these deadly, beastly automobiles parked on Polk, the very same street that the SFMTA is trying to “complete” don’t you know:

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I know, why don’t you take out all these spaces and replace them with a separated bike lane or something, SFMTA?

After all, Transit First, right?

Oh, what’s that? These are the spaces that the Board of Supervisors and their aides park in for free every day so that’s where you just happened to end your campaign of completion?

But don’t you care about safety, SFMTA?

Mmmmm….

“This project seeks to implement aesthetic and safety improvements for all users of Polk Street between McAllister and Union Streets. In accordance with the City’s Transit First policy, improvements will primarily be focused on people who walk, use transit and ride a bicycle along Polk Street. The project is funded by Proposition B General Obligation Bonds and is part of an overall citywide effort to curb pedestrian and bicycle collisions and to provide a safe north-south connection for people on bicycles. Pedestrian and bicyclist collision and injury data on Polk Street point to a corridor in need of safety improvements for all those who share the road. In fact, the southern portion from Sacramento to McAllister Streets is part of the 5% of San Francisco streets that have more than half of the City’s most severe pedestrian collisions.”