I live in SF, previously Chicago, and I'm annoyed everyday at:
* I have to cross large streets that have been built for cars all the time
* Public transport sucks
* The city is against other modes of transportation like kick scooters and people comolain about how much space they take when you have large cars parked everywhere
* Because people move in cars, no area is really densed. Restaurants and bars are miles apart.
* Because few people take the bus, there are all sorts of crazies there. I took the bus twice when I moved here and almost got beatten up the first time, witnessed someone getting mugged the second time. I'll never take the bus again here.
* When I'm in the shuttle, and the traffic is freaking slow, I look outside the window and see one person per car. Why don't more people take shuttles instead of taking so much space on the road? Well there is no public transport.
* Noise, noise, noise
* The roads are all broken. Shuttle rides are uber bumpy.
I think this is nuts. I lived in san Francisco for many years and the entire city is accessible by public tranit. The city is even building more like the new subway line.
And Chicago takes the cake for crazies on buses. Ive never felt so unsafe on a bus as Chicago.
Id rank san Francisco's situation on par with londons core urban areas. Maybe you're also including the surrounding burbs?
Which line were you on? I take a bus to work every day in Chicago, and I've felt unsafe maybe once or twice. Definitely felt way less safe walking through downtown SF with the homeless population heckling me for my soda.
Chicago's public transit ranks much, much higher than SF's. The fact that you compared it to London shows just how conceited you are.
I don't think that's quite the word you're looking for.
We took the bus from downtown to UChicago. The express was fine, but on the way back on the regular, going through south side. It was way worse than SF.
That being said, the commuter buses in Chicago and the L were basically as nice as any other respectable public transit option.
> The fact that you compared it to London
In both cities I have lived near the downtown core. In both cities I was able to get mostly where I wanted to go in under an hour, within and immediately surrounding the city. SF is moderately better in that, within an hour and a half on public transit I can not only visit the city, but also wilderness in Marin county.
> Chicago's public transit ranks much, much higher than SF's
I don't buy most 'rankings'. Portland, where I live now, is supposed to have one of the best transit systems on the west coast. We're looking for neighborhoods to live in. From one neighborhood six miles from downtown, it would take me one hour by bus to reach the city. In SF, I have lived in the city, but I've also lived in Silicon Valley (~ 40 miles away, but still only an hour to SF via Caltrain), and in Marin (~15 miles away in San Rafael, but still only an hour to the city). Still, Portland for some reason is ranked higher. Portland is about on par with Los Angeles. The system is slow. Something is wrong with most rankings IMO.
But what would I know, I'm just some guy who's lived in a bunch of cities, and never commuted by car to work, ever.
You're in luck, I also lived in London before moving to SF. Daring comparing these two cities public transport is FUD. I've never taken a cab in London, bus and some metro lines are 24/7. Public transportation of SF and the bay is a joke if you've ever been outside the US.
Yes, I do agree the 24/7 thing is very annoying. Although living in Marin for the past few years, it's weird because bus service to/from SF is actually 24/7 there. But, it's totally misplaced.
Within the city though, for everyday tasks, SF is basically on par with most cities in the world. Most cities do not have 24/7 transit.
* I have to cross large streets that have been built for cars all the time
* Public transport sucks
* The city is against other modes of transportation like kick scooters and people comolain about how much space they take when you have large cars parked everywhere
* Because people move in cars, no area is really densed. Restaurants and bars are miles apart.
* Because few people take the bus, there are all sorts of crazies there. I took the bus twice when I moved here and almost got beatten up the first time, witnessed someone getting mugged the second time. I'll never take the bus again here.
* When I'm in the shuttle, and the traffic is freaking slow, I look outside the window and see one person per car. Why don't more people take shuttles instead of taking so much space on the road? Well there is no public transport.
* Noise, noise, noise
* The roads are all broken. Shuttle rides are uber bumpy.