Comments on: Public transportation 2.1

By: Texting For A Ride | Pay4Rides

Texting For A Ride | Pay4Rides — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:39:04 +0000

[...] another writer at this blog, Mark Pritchard, was also inspired by Tara’s story and he posted Public Transportation 2.1 as a response. He makes a very good case for small battery powered autocabs to supplement trains [...]

By: Mark Pritchard

Mark Pritchard — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:49:36 +0000

I’m not surprised they don’t have them in Singapore — they’re too chaotic and anarchic for a city that emphasizes control and over-organization. But clearly I was overstating they’re "every Asian city."

As for the low fares, you’re right that they would be more expensive here, but I think the ability to do many small trips — as opposed to a relatively few long trips that taxicab drivers hope for — will help keep the prices down. They can also be subsidized in a number of ways, from making the electricity cheap or free to subsidizing drivers’ health care costs and insurance.

By: Matt Bruensteiner

Matt Bruensteiner — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:40:00 +0000

Hi Mark, You mention that the auto-rickshaws in Asia are cheap. I’m guessing that might have a lot to do with most Asian countries having a much more flexible approach to minimum wage than we do. Your Berkeley taxi-driver might be hoping for more than a $5 fare because he need more than $5 to make a decent living; not because his vehicle is so much more expensive than the Asian autorickshaw. I’ll also mention I’ve been to Asia, but only to the richer areas (mostly Singapore) and never seen an autorickshaw, so even in Asia these might be something that doesn’t make sense once the cost of living gets to a certain point.

On the flip side, I was in central Europe for a couple of weeks last summer, and every city there (Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Olomouc) had an affordable, well-used light rail system that seemed to run within 4 blocks of almost anywhere in the city centers. That’s something I’d sure like to see develop in the US, though I’m not holding my breath. Those cities have been organizing their development around those transit systems for 100 years, where we in the western US have been organizing around the idea of everyone having their own car for at least the last 50 years. San Francisco or Oakland might be able to recover their old streetcar-oriented centers, but San Jose or Phoenix will have a hell of a time recreating what was never there.

By: Tara Brown

Tara Brown — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:21:21 +0000

That is an amazing idea, Mark! I also have been to India a couple of times and those rickshaws were super handy. I find myself avoiding grocery shopping to the last minute because I’m never sure how I’m going to deal with the groceries because I don’t have a car and I only have bikes. I never feel like renting a Zip Car to get groceries although I guess that’s the point…

If they were driven by responsible drivers (I was scared out of my mind a couple of times in India) and were electric, I think it would be a great investment for the city.

Good one!!