Bay Area Public Transit Agency To Subsidize Uber, Lyft Rides

By Ian Wenik : thestreet – excerpt

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — The Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA), a public transit agency that operates in the California Bay Area suburbs, is testing out a new initiative: subsidized ridesharing trips.

LAVTA, which operates buses in cities such as Dublin, Livermore and Pleasanton, is set to roll out the service on a one-year trial in mid-September. The plan will offer riders in certain areas of Dublin subsidized Uber and Lyft fares to local destinations at prices ranging from $3 to $5, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

LAVTA Executive Director Michael Tree explained the reasoning behind the program in an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Alley.”… (more)

If you didn’t need more proof that the plan is to privatize transportation systems after the government takes away your right to own your own transportation, this is it. It is the classic”Bait and Switch” scheme.

• First they convince you that “parking isn’t free so they can charge you to park on the public streets.
• Then they claim they can provide the transportation system you need while “calming traffic”.
• Next they claim they need more money to “improve service” and raise the taxes fines and fees.
• Next they “improve service by removing bus stops and seats, forcing more people to stand so they can fit in more people.
• Then, when they have millions of people depending on them for service, they tell you to take the new “smart” corporate car service that they will subsidize so you can afford it.

The joke, if it was a joke, is that we had the private car service when we started on this journey, but now instead of owning our own homes and cars, we rent them from the corporation that can control our every move, and the worst traffic nightmare imaginable.

If this picture bothers you support the Prop L, the SFMTA Charter Amendment: stopsfmta.com

 

Tearing Down I-280 Freeway In SF Could Be ‘Game Changer’ For Commuters, Real Estate

By Phil Matier : cbslocal – excerpt

San Francisco Mayor Lee Pushing Plan to Tear Down Portion of I-280

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— In what at least one city official calls, “A big game changer,” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is shopping plans to tear down Interstate 280 at Mission Bay.

Those who are behind the plan are touting a potential eased flow of traffic in the area, as well as more room for development between Potrero Hill and some of the city’s southern parts. Another idea is to put a tunnel underneath AT&T Park for high speed rail to head downtown.

It’s a complete remake of the southern part of San Francisco and it would change travel times for a lot of people who end up going to Giants games, or the Warriors if they ever arrive in San Francisco. This is more than just putting traffic down on the surface at 16th street, but it would reconfigure the railroad tracks so that they’d run in a tunnel under 3rd Street, past the proposed Warriors Arena, past the tech and UCSF presence and under AT&T Park to the new Transbay Transit Center.

It’s a pretty dramatic plan, but I’m not sure the peninsula train service [Caltrain] is all that crazy about it, because it would mean losing their rail yard at 4th and King streets… (more)

Just when you thought they couldn’t do anything worse, they out do themselves with yet another bad idea. Do we want another game changer? There are three other people running for Mayor that I know of. Let’s see if we can do better. Do we want to be jerked around by the SFMTA? And share our water with more people? And evict thousands of citizens? I think not Mr. Mayor.

The SFMTA’s Restriping of JFK Drive Has Been a Massive Failure for a 100 Small Reasons – Let’s Take a Short Trip

sfcitizen – excerpt

This place is a mess. Many long-time cyclists now avoid using JFK. Is this what the all-seeing all-knowing SFMTA wanted? IDK. Oh what’s that, cycling in San Francisco is going to increase six-fold by 2020 (I’m seriously, this was the goal, this was what was “expected” by local pols not too long ago), so we need to accommodate all the new traffic? But what if that huge increase doesn’t materialize and then you lose a significant chunk of the pre-existing riders?

(Any survey from the SFMTA showing broad-based support for these changes isn’t a real survey.)

Moving on, to this. Where else in the world do they put a kink into double yellow lines… (more)

It gets a lot wore on Third Street south of Evans where traffic lanes weave in and out of light rail lanes and bike lanes without warning.

See the video we shot on crooked Third Street: http://stopsfmta.com/wp/4-tep-projects/folsom

 

Roadshow: Strange new parking spaces called ‘traffic nightmare’

By Gary Richards : mercurynews – excerpt

Q The new parking lines on the west side of Stockton Avenue between The Alameda and Julian Street at the new Whole Foods in San Jose seem to be facing the wrong way. This requires vehicles traveling south on Stockton to stop and back in. … What is the logic behind this? … This certainly must be incorrect? The lines need to be changed and quick; it is a traffic nightmare. … I have never seen this before. Half the people don’t do it and it seems to make no sense. Yet I have to believe there was some thought behind it… (more)

Yeah, how to driver drivers crazy while putting everyone on the road at risk and blaming it on the drivers. That is the thought that went into it.

Read the comments and guess who likes this crazy parking scheme – cyclists who don’t drive cars! We should start a poll to find out how many car drivers like it.

I know someone who hit a car as she was driving out of one of these “nightmare” sparking spots. The visibility sucks.

Bay Area bike-sharing venture rolls out Thursday

by Bay City News – sfexaminer – excerpt

Bay Area Bike Share will be operated by the same company that oversees New York’s bike-share, (Bike-share vendor coming to S.F. is accused of unfair labor practices.)
Thursday marks the start of the Bay Area Bike Share program, in which about 700 bicycles will be available for rent 24 hours a day at kiosks in San Francisco, Redwood City, San Jose, Mountain View and Palo Alto.
The bikes will be stationed near transit hubs and popular destinations, and they will be available mostly for short trips of 30 minutes or less, according to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
The $11.2 million program will offer rows of Canadian-made, seven-speed bikes at a cost of $9 for a daily pass, $22 for three days of rides and $88 for a full year, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District… (more)

High priority item for SFMTA as the bridge closes and millions are left to fend for themselves. What will it take to get a raincheck on bike activities?

Comments here are welcome.