The Solution to the Lack of Public Transportation

A Hongkonger’s commentary on Bay Area’s public transportation system

I had a pretty informative conversation with S. today over creama at Sharetea (it was my first time getting it!). Towards the end of our conversation, we spoke about ethical implications of technologies, and how policy could handle it. (This has been something that has been in my mind since about a month ago.) I was expressing my (usual) aversion towards Bay Area’s public transportation system (which, by the way, many say is already better of the rest of America’s), saying that, if I could become the next mayor, I would completely revamp the public transportation system and raise the parking cost significantly so people would be forced to take public transportation more. I would first make BART come a lot more frequently (preferably one every 2-4 minutes) and make it accessible in more locations of the city. (I feel like they’ve been talking about extending to South Bay for forever.)

Then, S. addressed that it’s hard enough for the city to build more stops because they have to raise money and build it, which would take years. (But how does Hong Kong do it so well?!)

But something he mentioned that blew my mind was the following thought: He brought up that the reason people drive more is that they had already invested in a car, which would make it cheaper for them to drive than to take public transportation. While increasing the parking cost would discourage people from driving in the short-run, it still can’t be helped that people, at some point, would have to get a ride, especially when they go grocery shopping.

That’s why having more ride-shares, such as Uber or Lyft, would give the citizens the mindset that rides are available when necessary, in which case they would not feel as much of a need to buy a car. While taxis have existed for many years, the concept of taking a cab have inferred too much financial burden for most citizens for it to even be an option unless in absolutely desperate situations. In the recent couple months, San Francisco’s citizens now seem to be quite receptive of Uber’s and Lyft’s idea of ride-shares. This, then, would give less incentive for citizens to buy a car, thus increasing their use of public transportation in the long-run.

While many citizens are complaining that startups like Uber and Lyft are putting the taxis in danger, it may in fact be solving a real problem by moving the transportation system to a more efficient direction.