Transfers kill you in transit. Non-integrated transfers between systems are even worse, an the Bay Area's balkanized transit systems have that problem in spades.
Absolutely. What's worse is things like SamTrans which pretend to have integration with major hubs like Caltrain. The schedule is timed just right, from Menlo Park to Menlo Park Caltrain, for example, to get you on the West side of the tracks about 2 minutes before the Northbound train goes up the East side of the tracks, crossing requires walking what's about half a city block North or South, corssing the tracks, and then walking South or North half a city block, to board the train (and get a 10-ride validated.) So integration that doesn't take reality into account is a problem, too :)
When I was commuting from Menlo Park to San Francisco, that just about drove me insane. Now my biggest problem in my commute (SF->Palo Alto) is frequency, if I'm five minutes late getting to Caltrain, I'm an hour later getting in to work. Well, that and that I don't like a two hour door-to-door commute to begin with, even if there's no wait time or missed transfers.
The Bay Area's transit systems are great for anything but commutes which require transfers. BART even has this problem internally, with the questionable assortment of trains they run on the weekends (I can't remember the last time I rode from Ashby, transferred from the Fremont train to the SF train at MacArthur and saw *anyone* left on the Fremont-bound train, on a Sunday night.)
I've never taken ACE, but I've wanted to for a while, I've just been in need of an excuse.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-10-21 06:12 am (UTC)Absolutely. What's worse is things like SamTrans which pretend to have integration with major hubs like Caltrain. The schedule is timed just right, from Menlo Park to Menlo Park Caltrain, for example, to get you on the West side of the tracks about 2 minutes before the Northbound train goes up the East side of the tracks, crossing requires walking what's about half a city block North or South, corssing the tracks, and then walking South or North half a city block, to board the train (and get a 10-ride validated.) So integration that doesn't take reality into account is a problem, too :)
When I was commuting from Menlo Park to San Francisco, that just about drove me insane. Now my biggest problem in my commute (SF->Palo Alto) is frequency, if I'm five minutes late getting to Caltrain, I'm an hour later getting in to work. Well, that and that I don't like a two hour door-to-door commute to begin with, even if there's no wait time or missed transfers.
The Bay Area's transit systems are great for anything but commutes which require transfers. BART even has this problem internally, with the questionable assortment of trains they run on the weekends (I can't remember the last time I rode from Ashby, transferred from the Fremont train to the SF train at MacArthur and saw *anyone* left on the Fremont-bound train, on a Sunday night.)
I've never taken ACE, but I've wanted to for a while, I've just been in need of an excuse.