Construction work on the Sunset Tunnel has been suspended because of noise, although volume is the least of the issues for people who depend on the N for their commuting. (Does it seem to anyone else like that train is constantly stuck in a tunnel?) Happily for residents of Cole Valley and the Upper Haight (whose rapid transit options remain grim as the N issues get sorted out), there's now an alternative to the whole shitshow: Chariot.
The app-based van service has been running shuttles from the northwest edge of the Marina to the Ferry Building and SOMA for some time now, and Hoodlinereports that its “Cole Valley Cruiser” route began Monday. Every 13 minutes from about 7-9:30 a.m., a 15-passenger van departs from Arguello and Carl, making four additional stops en route to seven drop-off points in the FiDi and SOMA with the reverse trip happening from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
In other words, instead of bringing direct service to an overlooked route that would typically require a transfer, Chariot now targets a transit-dense corridor to bleed a little pressure off of it.
Co-founder Ali Vahabzadeh told me they’re not making much money with this concept but he expressed unbridled transit-nerd excitement about Chariot’s potential. To him, it’s “a platform for people to come to us and say, ‘Hey, I need a route from Potrero to Caltrain because nothing like that exists, and if it does, it takes 60 minutes and comes every 12 minutes.’ We’re begging for San Franciscans to say, ‘I need this route and I can get 20 of my colleagues and friends [on board].'"
That bottom-up aspect is driving the expansion. Although Vahabzadeh wouldn’t disclose plans for future routes or hard ridership numbers, he said, “We were really happy with the results from day one. It’s an opportunity to alleviate the overcrowding and provide a reliable complement” to the SFMTA. (The fact that Muni broke down at Van Ness station yesterday morning probably didn’t hurt, either).
Most importantly for skeptics of privatized transportation, Chariot doesn’t hog space at SFMTA stops; instead, drop-off points are planned around the white-painted passenger loading zones where any vehicle can stand for five minutes. And in a world beset by outrageous surge gouging, the fare isn’t too bad. As of November, they were charging 2,000 daily riders roughly $4 per ride, or a little less if you shell out for the $93 monthly pass, according toTechCrunch. That’s hardly exclusionary.
Lyft Line is also competing in the group-ride solution to Muni issues with rates of $2.25 for people who live in the "Drive Happy District" (boundaries are east of Stanyan and north of Ceasar Chavez, so similar to Chariot).
You can make a strong case that the last thing Muni needs is cannibalization by private companies, which will only further deplete the beleaguered transit agency’s coffers and help push it into a death spiral. (You could also argue that Muni entered the death spiral phase long ago). Entrepreneurship and the public interests of an avowedly transit-first city can clash sometimes, but for most people that debate becomes academic when they’re late for work. Better to have options than to stand around until it’s time to board a ferry down the River Styx instead.
[Via Hoodline, TechCrunch; Photo via Chariot]
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