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Comment by maerF0x0 | Hacker News Reader

It's remarkably close by car, and though it was common for me when I lived in SF, I do not know many people who enjoy 2.25ish hour (round trip) walks. And doing $25 a day in ubers adds up fast too.

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Those $25 Uber trips aren't necessary if you get a bike.

And you don't even need to be in shape anymore with e-bikes...

Except that in SF you must bring your bicycle inside with you, which basically was only feasible for your office/workplace. Cannot do with a grocery store, theater, gym etc.

Edit: An idea that came to mind, someone run with this. Bike lockers would be an amazing feature that likely could curb a lot of the issues. Something with a secure lock built in (like biometric or complex pin), 360degree cameras, and an insurance policy. I'd have paid hourly for that service if I still lived in the city.

If only there were a single other way to navigate a modern city without walking, driving, or purchasing a bike...

hopefully you're not sarcastically referring to SF public transit as being anything resembling a desirable means of transportation?

except that the comment i was responding to was specifically about bicycles?

We can talk specifically about bicycles. You don't need to buy one and lock it outside. You can get a Lyft Bike membership which would probably come out to about $5 per daily 4-mile commute on an e-bike, and much less if you qualify for their low-income program. And you're constantly within a couple blocks at most of one of those bikes.

There's also Revel scooters if you need more power and space for groceries, Lime scooters if you like getting injured, and there are plenty of tiny electric vehicles now that you can buy, wouldn't call a bicycle but can easily be brought into grocery stores etc. They're all over SF. I don't think it's exactly out of place to call out alternatives when discussing whether biking is a viable commuting option.

How safe is your bike, even chained up, in downtown SF?

Not very, although there is a system of cages that you can use that are somewhat convenient.

He says he rides a bike, takes public transit, etc. Just don't think I'd write off a location based on a 4 mile commute but I realize its drastically different realities here.

The Muni is effectively a donation based system and can take you much further and faster if you live in the right neighborhoods.

Super agree that living within a 5 minute walk of 9th and market, Civic Center, Powell, Montgomery, or embarcadero stations is peak public transit experience from a distance perspective. I loved being able to get on the train at SFO and then hop off essentially at my home.

But of course those spots also mean avoiding poops, drug deals, a homeless person in the 1% group that assaults people, and other general shadiness. Generally fine for a huge man, much worse for a dainty woman.

I live in lower haight, less than a two minute walk from the muni and thus less than 15 mons from downtown and I dont really encounter any of these things, except dog poops

Nice! Yeah there are definitely lower poop/riff raff density if you're willing to walk 15 mins each way. In my experience Muni+Bart is required to have good coverage of places I wanted to go (including Oakland and berkeley).

Edit: and I'm a 0 transfer kind of person. Albeit I tolerated switching from Muni to Bart in same station on market street. And because my own personal tolerance for walking was higher than average, I'd often just look for the route that allowed me to ride one ride even if I had to walk 60 minutes across the round trip.

yeah, if you're 0 transfer it's going to be difficult, but the Muni - Bart transfers are among the least painful (Bart-Bart transfers where they line up the trains are also pretty convenient).

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