AP: Gas Tops $3 in California; Locals Thank Sherlock Holmes for Update
The reality of Silicon Valley is that you need a car to get most places you'd actually need (or want) to get to on a regular basis. This is unfortunate because other urban-suburban regions have shown that it's both possible and practical to have large scale mass transit.
Boston, for example, has the amazingly interconnected T which seamlessly integrates its rail, subway, bus and boat system through everywhere from its Charles River neighbor Cambridge all the way out to "You Name It, Massachusetts"!
In contrast, the Silicon Valley equivalent is a myriad of public transportation silos which include the VTA, SamTrans, BART, MUNI, and ACE, among others. The good folks at Google helped make sense of all the acronym soup by working with 511.org to create what I call the Silicon Valley Public Transportation Wizard. It's essential for anyone hoping to get the most out of Bay Area public transport.
The other reality of our car-based culture is that gas is expensive in Silicon Valley. I remember a time when I loved to take random drives with friends to Gilroy or Half Moon Bay at the spur of the moment, much like we might have taken the Green Line in Boston to Sunset Grill and Tap.
That type of escapade has turned from pleasure to guilty pleasure and to add salt to the wound in our wallets, the Associated Press reports that gas prices have topped $3 in California. (Locals driving down El Camino or in the City have seen this a few times.)
So what can people do to ease the crunch?
Mar.08.2007 [ Filed under: Bay Area Info, Commuting ] Comment Here »
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