SF and Daly City: When Only L.A. is Worse, You Know it’s Time to Get on the Bus
Today’s San Francisco Chronicle reports that findings from the Texas Transportation Institute indicate the Bay Area commute really is as bad as you thought. Or maybe it’s worse, since in fact the only slower traffic jam is found in Los Angeles, that famed city of seven lane highways, where songs are written to glorify the fact that nobody walks.
The 2007 data from this survey report:
Congestion slowed Bay Area commuters an average of 60 hours a year, while Los Angeles commuters crawled along for 72 hours a year, according to the study. The national average: 54 hours for the 14 largest urban areas.
In other measures of congestion, the Bay Area also ranked near the top: Second in wasted fuel per driver (behind Los Angeles) and third behind Los Angeles and New York when commute hour traffic is compared to free-flowing traffic.
What does this mean to the potential home buyer? Consider MUNI: virtually every SF neighborhood is served by MUNI, though many people will complain they are not always served well. Still, you have to give credit: recent improvements include digital readouts telling you when the next bus is due, more busses and trains running on clean fuel, and more night owl lines that run into the wee hours.
Leaving the city for work? Caltrain is a great alternative for Peninsula commuters, the Ferry is a gorgeous way to get over to Marin, and SamTrans will take you into San Mateo. BART too is convenient for those commuting to and from the East Bay or Daly City. We all know ticket prices have gone up, with a round trip from SF to Berkeley costing $6 or more dollars a day, but if you factor your gas expenses, bridge toll, wear and tear on your car, parking, and road rage damage to your health, there’s no comparison. Plus, instead of gripping the wheel in rage you can relax into an air conditioned and surprisingly clean seat, get some work done, read, or take a little nap.
For added convenience, you can map any trip you might want to make, MUNI offers the logically named “Trip Planner” site. You can pretty much go anywhere, and feel smug doing so since you are helping to decrease the automobile’s rather large carbon footprint on our endangered environment.
So hop on the bus, folks. Let L.A. take the prize for worst commute; this is one are in which it is no fun to compete.
photo credit: Chris Stewart/Sfgate.com
Lucy Mura said:
I just want to say thanks to Redfin for these posts. Covering schools, transit, new construction, even rental news: you are really making a community here.
September 18, 2007 4:28 PM
Henry Liu said:
I agree with this, Lucy. I started reading Redfin when one of Anna Hibble’s blogs on parking in the city was sent to me by a friend. Today I read all the columnists daily because they all seem to be trying to address the whole of what living in the Bay Area community is about.For my family, the school posts, the posts about living next to nature, the walkability factor posts- all of these are so useful and enjoyable to us. It seems the blog has transcended being just an ad for Redfin, though I have to say that the information makes me want to use the company as my “realtor” when the time comes for us to buy or sell.
September 19, 2007 11:10 AM