[Sosfbay-discuss] going car free

[Rob Means]

After 6 years of pointing out the benefits of Personal Rapid Transit
(PRT) to the VTA Board and staff, I'm very cynical about them doing
anything outside their box.  They use 19th century technology (LRT) to
solve 21st century transportation problems created by the automobile
because the federal government doles out money for it.  
That may make some financial sense, but when you throw in the operating
costs, low ridership and near zero impact on car congestion, it looks
like a boondoggle.  We could get a bigger bang for our buck by giving
out thousands of electric bikes and scooters.

Check the following link for an alternative to the (overly) expensive
BART extension.  For about one-tenth the price, we can serve about half
the demand (which goes between the Fremont BART station and the Great
Mall LRT station) and provide better service all along the route.  
http://www.electric-bikes.com/ciscofield.htm

As for getting VTA bus service "up to snuff", how do you propose paying
for it?  Right now, the farebox only covers 20% of the operating costs.
Restoring recently-cut services requires money that the VTA claims not
to have.

Rob Means, Electro Ride Bikes and Scooters
408-262-8975   rob.means at electric-bikes.com
1421 Yellowstone Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035-6913
Discover cycling that's Easy, Safe, Fast - and FUN!
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-----Original Message-----

Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:33:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: JamBoi <jamboi at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sosfbay-discuss] going car free
To: Jim Doyle <j.m.doyle at sbcglobal.net>,	sosfbay discussion group
	<sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
Message-ID: <472474.76245.qm at web52215.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Locally we need to work on the VTA to get their service up to snuff. 
There are many adjustments to the routes taken, additional community
bus runs,  speeding up of the Light Rail and killing the rediculously
expensive BART extension in favor rail service (a fraction of the cost)
that could all make going car free in SCC *much* more workable.

There is a VTA Rider's Union e-mail list that is moderately active.  We
(the GPSCC) could support this coalitional effort!  Here's the eddress:
http://www.vtaridersunion.org/

Impeach for Peace!

Drew

--- Jim Doyle <j.m.doyle at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Andrea wrote
> 
> One of the issues that Nader used to talk about was that of  
> "facilities."  Without a decent and affordable transportation system,
>  
> IMHO, we haven't the "facilities" to allow very many people to go car
>  
> free.
> Andrea
> 
> My response is
> granted, we do not have the "facilities."
> So, how do we get them?  What do we do?
> 
> earlier email was
> 
> On Mar 13, 2007, at 9:54 PM, Jim Doyle wrote:
> 
> _______________________________________________
> sosfbay-discuss mailing list
> sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org
> http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss
> 


Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:19:43 -0700
From: Andrea Dorey <andid at cagreens.org>
Subject: Re: [Sosfbay-discuss] going car free
To: Jim Doyle <j.m.doyle at sbcglobal.net>
Cc: sosfbay discussion group <sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
Message-ID: <D89D5F4D-234F-46B5-9A2D-247B0DD33165 at cagreens.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; delsp=yes;
	format=flowed

I agree with Drew about bringing the services we have up to European  
standards (my term, not his).

We also need to get multiple methods of transportation, including  
BART, going around the Bay Area and make it as user friendly as  
possible?that, IMHO, means allowing car/gas slaves to park their  
monsters for free until we have them hooked and out of their gas- 
guzzlers.  We cannot set impossibly high standards for people who are  
just starting to cope with $3.50/gallon and the reality of global  
warming.  It's going to be a gradual process.

Andi