A San Francisco bus route with absolutely no stories, ever
You looooooooove to bitch about Muni. Us, too, on occasion, because, duh. Some even call for it to be replaced by a private transit service. Pay to play, in other words—in pristine buses without the yelling and the excrement and, to us, the interest.
Well, your prayers have been answered. There is now a private transit service in San Francisco offering to move the society- and germ-averse to … wait, WHERE TO WHERE?
Uptown Almanac has the story:
Promising “A Seat For Everyone,” a ride on Nu Muni will cost you $6 each way–assuming you own an iPhone and live on a profitable route. Numi also only runs weekdays from “7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM,” because those are the times everyone needs to ride the bus.
The company running these shuttles, Leap, says, “Our first route, the Chestnut Express, services the Marina.” (emphasis mine) So. The first replacement for Muni services a neighborhood that isn’t exactly known for its bus-ridin’ pride.
I mean, really. If you’re lucky enough to fit Leap’s demographic, tell us: Would you pay more per ride to exorcise Muni from your existence?
h/t: Uptown Almanac
Let’s clear up one misconception. The Marina rides buses a lot. Those which go there that is – normally I’d insert a paean here to the 42 Downtown Loop but I’ll skip that. I’ve ridden the 30X for years and still do. It’s packed daily – ask anyone who tries to get on the route at one of the last 2 or 3 stops (on Chestnut in the am or in the Financial District in the pm) and watches 1 or 2 packed-to-the gills buses pass them by (watching one of these people give the bus the middle finger never gets old). Indeed, the 30X in the morning gets crowded to an extent I’ve never seen another MUNI bus allowed to reach by drivers.
OK, that said, this is a bit silly. But, I’m choosing to look on the bright side and provide Leap with a little market research. Potential pros of this route? – (1) Apparently they promise a seat for everyone (presumably because they don’t think demand will be all that high). (2) WiFi – if you already need an iPhone to use this, don’t you already have data service for at least your phone? (3) Timing – seems useless in the morning. The 30X runs a lot more frequently than once an hour. And the last 1 or 2 runs of the 30X after 9 am are usually not very crowded. I think a 9:45 version of it would be pretty empty. In the afternoon, however, later service seems like a good idea. The last several runs of the 30X, which cuts off at 6:15 pm, are often really crowded. And a 7 pm run seems more in line with how late people work today as opposed to 20 years ago (the last run of the 30X has been 6:15 or so since at least 1998).
I’m hoping that the market may actually work here. There is demand on the route for more coaches for sure. There may also be enough demand for later service.
But, to answer MD’s question, the only time I would pay more would be after 30X service has cut off in the evening and I didn’t want to walk from Union Street (the 41 runs through the Financial District and cuts off at 7 pm).