Rider Alert

Nothing is more disconcerting than seeing people waiting for a streetcar that isn’t coming. Especially in the afternoon when the fog is rolling in and visitors are caught in shorts and without jackets. If you plan to visit San Francisco between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, prepare for early spring/winter conditions. Even though century mark temps are only a few miles away from San Fran’s city limits, maritime conditions prevail in the city. Mark Twains phrase, “The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco.” applies to July and August in the city. If you are dying of the heat back east and in our Central Valley,  then do come and enjoy our natural air-conditioning!  I am familiar with the challenge of packing in hot weather back home, going to ‘sunny’ California, but not here between the ocean and the bay.

When I do the 21 Hayes, I travel down Market Street and see all the tourists waiting for the streetcar to take them to Fisherman’s Wharf. They pack in to the cars like sardines and creep towards the Ferry Plaza. Little do they know, they can take any bus or trolley down the street to Kearny and take an 8 to Chinatown, Coit Tower, and then Pier 39. 

Any disruption on the rails can block the track and cause a large queue of intending passengers on the islands on Market Street, particularly at Fifth, Fourth, and Main.  At these times it pays to take a 6, 21, or 31 to Ferry Plaza and transfer to the ‘E’ Embarcadero streetcar. An express 8X bus crossing Market at Third to Kearny is a great crosstown ‘shuttle’ to pier 39 and helps to clear the islands and get you moving to have fun.

The SFMTA posts “Rider Alert” signs in red and white, or orange, to let you know when stops and streets are closed to traffic. It’s important to notice these a day or two before an event. Indeed, many who find a never again attitude about transit is because of a lack of communication about rider alerts. This is where an Amber Alert type message can and should be adapted to our smart phones and with GPS technology developed by Uber and driverless car coding. 

Rather than stymie new creative GPS tech, Muni should work with Uber to track not only their own rideshare cars, but with buses. This would open up bus stops to ride share pickups when no buses are arriving or departing. Minutes go by when it is safe to use a bus zone, and this priceless curbside real estate can be easily shared with GPS tech. So too, could the large tour bus shuttles, also be included with this zone sharing. The key here is that transit is being administered as a unified body of vehicles, not separate entities fighting and blocking each other.

As a governmental body, our transit department just had another resignation, and now brings the vacant manager positions to eight. Coordination is lost. Creative new ideas are vacant because self-preservation mode is on, and no bigger picture can be established, much less horizon goals of integration as a whole.

Eventually, Rider Alerts could be all done electronically from an application rather than to have to manually park a vehicle and go out and attach a laminated alert sign to a bus shelter. The labor to then go ahead and remove all the signs would be a thing of the past: Remember, with a sense of community, anyone lacking a smart phone could be instructed by those nearby who do have a transit app on their phones. I ask all the time when I am at a shelter with others who are on their phones.

When Rider Alerts, Next Bus arriving times, and trip template suggestions all match to real time GPS and bus timetables.  Interactive GPS system can suggest changes to avoid congestion and blocking at transit stops. This is really an exciting time to be in a manager position to integrate stoplights, trip tracking, and headway adjustments between Uber, driverless tech, and transit schedules. Transit Metro Control (TMC) needs not be in the dark about conditions and buses. It can see what Uber customers see, inclusive of buses, including the Silicon Valley shuttles.

Being in the Zen means asking others about Rider Alerts and Next Bus arriving times when I am without the phone or application to be in the know. The same goes for tourists on the islands waiting to go to the wharf!

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