"Ryan Ginstrom" <ginstrom@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<bebvb9$3c8uk$1@ID-101276.news.dfncis.de>...
> "Scott Reynolds" <sar@gol.com> wrote in message
> news:bebnvq$sgu$1@newsflood.tokyo.att.ne.jp...
> > system good enough that someone who can afford a car would seriously
> > consider doing without one? On this measure, very few American cities
> > would score very high, I wager.
> 
> San Francisco surely scores on this point. Many people go without cars, or
> use them only on weekends like Tokyoites, because it is simply more
> convenient without one.

I wish that were true, but the reality is that, although some people
take the bus, subway, or ferry to the financial district for work, the
system doesn't really work very well if your job is located outside
the financial district or if you want to travel at a time not during
the peak hours. (I used to take the bus or the ferry; BART didn't go
to Marin).

One can take Muni to reach most of San Francisco, but that is not an
experience that I would recommend for anyone. When I was taking the
California bar exam I had to go to Japantown by bus from work, and
although I loved Japantown, I hated taking the bus because of the
peculiar smell.

Too many people take their cars and the resulting noise/aggrevation
level is high among drivers downtown. Parking is limited and costly,
and traffic is a mess, but people drive because they need the
flexibility not given by BART.