San Francisco may be charging drivers for driving

America's most deadly enemy....... a stinkin government employee! Government is like cancer! I keeps on growing in it's malignant way!

it was my first time ever in San Francisco,

besides that, probably the most interesting thing i could say is that the traffic was horrible.

Pandastw has contributed a photo to this story.

Given how most SF streets are steep (to say the least) I reckon drivers should be rewarded for driving there, not charged. :)

Cheers!

dt

Thanks Jeff for choosing my photo to appear in your piece. 

Now here's my comment :) 

Until the existing transit system starts getting better and is fixed in SF, I think this is a dumb idea. The MTA says they will collect these fees "to be invested in public transit and other congestion-reducing measures," but we've been throwing money at the system for years and things are getting worse. My local supervisor is sponsoring legislation to help people take more public transit in and to the City, but I had to write a letter to him saying that he and the rest of the Board of Supervisors need to help fix the system itself before encouraging people to take to the buses. Commute peak hours to and from work are the worst times to travel, and if schedules, equipment and service do not improve to take care of current issues, how will penalties encourage people out of their cars? Discounted transit passes or shuttle service won't fix a thing if the system cannot even accommodate current ridership at peak times. I see buses pass waiting passengers, including myself at times, both going to and coming from work. Some make for their cars, or call their places of work to let them know they'll be late. I've seen a few people call for cabs. What's most upsetting is when a wheelchair-bound rider is told to wait for another bus, only to find out that bus is also full. 

I ride the buses 5 - 6 days a week. My husband is the only driver in the family and he commutes in the opposite direction. I rely on public transit or good ole foot power for almost everything. And with no improvements in sight, I've been walking home. I am seriously considering discontinuing my participation in the transit pass program because I feel I don't get my money's worth. I'd rather pony up the $1.50 when I need to ride the bus rather than surrender $45 at the beginning of the month for rides I can't get. That money would be well worth saving toward a good pair of walking shoes!

PS: I am a government worker facing a possible lay off due to unsettled budget issues. My salary is a fraction of the people I support but I don't see their jobs on the line. Public or private sector, wherever I've worked, this is always true: the little guys always get cut first. And so, here I am, spiffying up my resume, in the middle of the night, just in case... 

I really enjoyed my visit, such a great place.  I decided not to do any driving whilst here, on advice from many people about parking and traffic, just wasn't worth the hassle.

stgodfrey25 has contributed a photo to this story.

Subramanyan has contributed a photo to this story.

Photo taken during the annual San Francisco Bay to Breakers race in 2007, during the effort to clear the starting line portion of the race at around 11 a.m. It offers a traffic-free view of Howard street that would not be seen any other time of year.

Enrico Limcaco has contributed a photo to this story.

The only problem with this is that it's all stick and no carrot. For many drivers, there's no reliable alternative to driving. BART is okay... if you're near enough to a BART station that it's still worth it to use. If you live outside of San Francisco's downtown core, Muni isn't a great option: it's unreliable and, well, prone to accidents. Muni drivers are allowed a certain number of at-fault accidents and no-shows per year before any disciplinary action is taken. If you live in the city long enough, you'll see that those buses have a tendency to crash into stuff or just not show up for ages.

Stop-and-go traffic in San Francisco--even on a Saturday morning.

Astrid B has contributed a photo to this story.

The traffic in San Francisco is definitely insane--in all parts of the city at all times of the day and any day of the week. Would rather opt for public transportation to avoid that kind of stress and hassle. Imagine the amount of emission gases being released into the environment!!!

S.F. should give Hybrid drivers a HUGE tax break in my opinion!!

I believe San Francisco must do what it has to in order to keep everything in order, and in improving traffic flow through the city. The impact without the necessary fees, could be more damaging. I am sure it will catch on in other cities, as well.

♥ Colpo di fulmine ♥ has contributed a photo to this story.

From what I experienced visiting SF twice and living there for over a month was that the city is compact in terms of geographical size, so in my experience majority of the people living inside the city shouldn't have much problems traveling there using public transportation and bicycles. I didn't have much trouble using the MUNI, and it worked fairly well for a U.S city. If the money is spent wisely on improving the muni-system and making the city even more bicycle frendlier, there shouldn't be any problems. If there is a U.S city where good public transportation is possible, then it's definitely SF. 

Jordan hit the nail on the head: All stick, no carrot.  I've lived here for over 30 years and have watched MUNI go from bad to worse to intermittently fine but often-enough-barely-workable.  I've found that, in order to be sure to make it to work on time, I need to allow 45 minutes for a 12-minute ride on MUNI Metro (my home is "conveniently" located only Metro 4 stops from work).  I do have to give MUNI credit: In the past few years, it works most of the time (well, at least when there are no MUNI-driver contract negotiations going on -- for some reason, whenever this occurs, MUNI Metro has one problem after another), but most-of-the-time doesn't cut it in a job that requires that a person be exaclty on time for work, like mine.  We can't rely on it.  And I've spent enough time in other cities to know that this is a uniquely San Francisco phenomenon.

But rather than taking necessary steps to fix MUNI, the SF Board of Supervisors spends its time concocting brilliant ideas like a plastic bag ban (so now I *BUY* plastic bags as trash can liners rather than use the ones I used to get at the grocery store, and I throw out the paper grocery bags), cigarette ban at pharmacies (this is supposed to reduce smoking?  c'mon!) and now an extra charge to drive downtown (how will this be collected/enforced?  sounds like cops stopping drivers, meaning more traffic jams!).  I love that I live in a progressive city, but some "progressive-sounding" ideas are just dumb.

Thanks for finding my photo on Flickr - glad to post here!

When I visited San Fran in Feb, I have to admit that it was fairly easy (as a tourist) to use the transportation system (okay, fine...there were a few SNAFUs, but those were mostly planning problems on our part!).  However, this is coming from a Boston native.  I agree with many of the posts above that point out the obvious - the public transportation system isn't up to par to support this idea.  I would be fully in support of a tax on driving in Boston proper, but I say this as someone who lives close to public transit and bikes to work most of the time.  I'm torn, because I think that it would be a good idea to reduce emissions and force people to reduce their carbon footprints, but I also know from experience that the subway/buses aren't always the most reliable options (leaving for job interviews hours before I had to be there just in case there was some (nearly invariable) incident involving the bus?  Yeah...that was the suck).

Its pain enough just to pay $8 to get in and out of the city along I-80...even for a tourist from Sacramento like me.

mrperry has contributed a photo to this story.

One of those rare clear sunny days, coming across the Golden Gate from Marin into San Francisco, traffic moving along at a steady 45 MPH until we all suddenly stopped. The backup lasted for several minutes and eventually people got out of their cars and starting meandering around, taking the opportunity to snap some photos of the bay and bridge.

starlord has contributed a photo to this story.

We already pay to get into the city when we cross the bridge. We pay taxes when we license our car. We pay to park. We pay taxes on the gas we buy.
I don't know how this is can be done. Will there be toll plazas to get into downtown? Wouldn't that just cause more congestion?

Miss Bliss 1955 has contributed a photo to this story.

The Bay Bridge-Blue Sky photo just added is mine.

The bridges around the bay area offer a lot of opportunities for scenic shots -- but it's more tricky getting shots while on the bridge, unless you are stuck in standstill morning commute traffic in a convertible with the top down like I was one morning. I love these bridges!

A propos the topic - I think it's a great idea. I'd like to even take it a step farther.

I would also like to see Market St completely closed to non-commercial private car traffic during business hours on weekdays.

From 8th St all the way to 1 Market, it should be strictly delivery vehicles, buses, street cars and taxis. That will reduce traffic congestion and make it safer for pedestrians and bicycles, too.

Some people might add in "handicap placards" but those are so abused in this city that it would be worthless. Someone in a wheelchair with special lift or controls might need access but chances are they are parking someplace with more space and safety like Yerba Buena Garage.

jennconspiracy has contributed a photo to this story.

Regressive idea that would hurt regular folks while privileging the wealthy even more.  We're getting to the point where more and more activities are exclusively for those who can pay.  Do we really want to get to the point where all the working stiffs have no choice but to take the bus or train while the roads are wide open only to the rich?

My office is directly across from a rideshare area where carpoolers line up to share a ride.  Some people who work in other parts of the city drive into the financial district just to pick up riders -- a good deed that reduces pollution and overall congestion.  But if they impose this regressive tax, there will be a disincentive for people to come over here to pick up carpoolers and share rides.  They might as well just drive straight home alone in their cars.

I appreciate being able to lend my photo to this story. It seems San Fran is evolving the toll road concept.

 My feelings are mixed on this too. Being able to drive is a very efficient to make good use of time.

 I live in the Mesa/Phoenix Arizona area. Rush hour toll road charging for motorist gets bounced around here more and more. Right now there is no such system in place.

 We do have traffic congestion here too but our worst problem is the winter weather pollution. The air pollution gets caught up in cooler air inversion. Air that can not rise will just hover over and stagnate.

 Right now the high gas prices have reduced the traffic volume. SUV’s and full size trucks are not so popular. They both have been landscape icons here. For now that makes tolling a more abstract discussion.

 

Golden Gate Bridge dusk. A great city! It will get even better if the environmental fees are accepted

aasmundbo has contributed a photo to this story.

nicolaos has contributed a photo to this story.

This was taken by me. Driving on the 5. Getting back from San Diego and back to the lovely city of San Francisco. I had missed the fog and the traffic.

bereniux85 has contributed a photo to this story.

I ride a bike around town. I have a car too but I only drive it here and there. I find it is actually faster to bike around in peak traffic hours than drive. I'm in favor of the tax. There is a good transit system here and the City is small geographically so there are several options to get around besides the car. I've driven in those high traffic areas and I do not see why some people are so stubborn they have to drive. Those streets are miserable and you crawl less than 5 mph.

no_use_fora_screen_name has contributed a photo to this story.

This was my first time in SF. Well, SF should have more public transportation for people who want to come to SF. This should reduce the amount of cars inside SF.
Anyway I took this photo while I was waiting for a bus to Lombard street.

narunaka has contributed a photo to this story.