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Bad BART behavior?
Deliciously big brother-y, BART is now asking riders to snap photos of rider at its worst and post them them to BART's Facebook page. It's called "Rude Rider Hall of Shame," and we look forward to all of you ratting out your fellow passengers. And it's so easy too! On trains, platforms, or anywhere around the station, have your cellphone at the ready to capture images of one person taking up two seat spaces, people not standing to the right on an escalator, selfish backpack carriers, self-centered cyclists, and more.
We can't imagine what kind of educational effect this will have on riders; ultimately, this seems like it will simply generate interest to their page. But we congratulate BART for asking riders to spy and snitch on each other via public humiliation. Welcome to the dark side.
Image: lgrhone
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So where are cyclists supposed to put their bikes? Its not like the new bike cars are marked on the outside. It isn't our fault that bart doesn't have a very good system for bikes.
It may sound kind of douche-y to snitch on each other but I think public shaming by the community is better than having cops writing tickets and such.
Of course, with the cyclists, we can expect them to be offended by being asked to behave and they'll probably start overloading the cars with bikes on the last Friday of the month.
I think you're supposed to put it right in front of the doors. If you leave just enough space, people will try to squeeze by.
Personally, I don't think the guy in the image is being particularly egregious. (There are only two images on ""Rude Rider Hall of Shame" as of today.) Then again, I don't take BART during rush hour. so...?
Although this idea might give some a little gleeful twinge in their nether regions, to see some sickly strange and creepy social justice being meted, but it won't seem like quite the voyeuristic joy when some innocent act of their own is plastered all over local blogs, giggled about over evening cocktails, and posted on refrigerators as a reverse wanted poster.
Too bad there's not a similar page up for BART FAIL Hall Of Shame showing cars with defecating homeless people and aggressive teenagers threatening riders with no BART Police in sight.
Sounds like a fine idea ... video would be better, but snapshots work. People do things because they assume they won't get caught or hassled about it .... who will host a similar site for photos/videos of MUNI rider idiocy, tagging, and fights?
New Yorker here that just recently visited
Why San Francisco Mass Transit system does not have a universal metro card is beyond me
I witnessed so many problems that would be alleviated just by creating a single card that electronically scans upon entrance to any public transit train or bus
There will always be aholes but first you need to get into the 21st century and limit their opportunities.
Then you can start to knitpick about the little things
Correct the big problems first people
We do and don't: www.translink.com
"San Francisco Mass Transit" is a misnomer; BART operates through several counties and all the transit agencies are owned by different groups with different interests. So saying something banal like "oh just make one payment system work for everything" is difficult when you consider there are many different rail agencies, not just "San Francisco."
Muni is San Francisco's version of New York's MTA, and though the proof-of-payment transfer system is a bit outdated, it works well throughout the system (with a few exceptions).
BART (and Caltrain) are more analogous to NJ Transit, LIRR, or Metro North, serving the surrounding areas. None of these commuter rail systems use the same payment methods as Muni or MTA.
We're really not all that different.
Encouraging people to take pictures of strangers without their consent seems deeply irresponsibly to me. Hope BART police is prepared for the wave of assaults that this is going to result in.
Good point.
Also, the best way for you all to take surreptitious photos on your cell in public is to either turn off the click sound (which, sadly, is becoming increasingly impossible to do with newer models), or put earphones into your phone so the click sound will be muted when you take the shot.
The iPhone clicker is silent if you set the phone on silent.
To address the likely committers of such assaults, BART could add an anonymous tip line like they now have at sports stadiums. (stadia?) "Fellow rider being a jerk? Tip us via SMS at 510-xxx-xxxx. Provide car number."
Of course this would work better if the cops could actually respond in a timely fashion.
Resting your bike on yourself in the two-person seat serves the dual function of giving the cyclist a place to sit where they don't have to worry about their bike as well as keeping the bike as far from foot traffic as possible. As long as there's no one disabled who needs the close seat, it seems the ideal place. It's better to have the bike flush with a seat instead of in the open space, as the bike would block someone with a wheelchair from parking in the open space.
The caption on the Facebook page says it was during rush hour, if that's really true then it's a legitimate issue. But "taking up two seats" hardly is.
Most of the cyclists I've seen on BART will stand near the non-operating doors. Plus they'll usually make the effort to spread out on various cars if they see that there are already other cyclists in a car. And there is the guy with the fold-up bike who gets on in the Mission sometimes who wins points for cuteness and actually having his bike collapsed before getting on.
There are the occasional clueless ones who stand in the aisles with their bikes and the one who made us wait at platform for a while because they refused to get out of the lead car, even though the train operator was telling them to move to another car in increasingly annoyed tones. The guy in that picture deserves to be ridiculed if only because he appears to be the type who likes to let his junk "breathe".
That said, I pretty much only ride BART during rush hour, so technically I shouldn't even be seeing bikes on the trains (except for the fold-up bikes).
I wish I could snap more pictures of bad people in action, but my damn Sprint/Nextel phone makes the clicking noise, even if I put the phone on complete silence.
This is why I stick to snapping photos of bad drivers, parking idiots, and parking space hogs.
Even then, I see worse morons than bad bicyclists on BART. I was riding back on an uncrowded train to Daly City and this couple left their "sporty" baby carriage blocking the door. The train was approaching the station, and to grab the attention, I made a loud cough, but after the parents didn't get that, I yelled "whose is this!" and the father told me that he'll move it soon (like in a minute), but had to inform the guy that the train was almost stopped at the platform, and I wanted to kick it out of the train car. The moron should have just moved it into the wheelchair spot, just next to the door.
Is there the "station agent hall of shame?" I've got two contributions of the same agent hogging parking spaces in the Daly City lot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentakit/2662007651/in/set-72157604362341007/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agentakit/2821154238/in/set-72157604362341007/
(Also featured on "Photo du Jour 168")
Paging jameth...
hi
I'd be a lot more intrigued by a "Blow-Job-Giving Rider Hall of Fame".
i've already been doing this for the past 1.5 years. what!
Great. Just another way we can fight over stupid issues that mainly come when you've had a bad day. Just take it out on people who don't know they are offending.Smart move BART.
Great. Just another way we can fight over stupid issues that mainly come when you've had a bad day. Just take it out on people who don't know they are offending.Smart move BART.
That's pretty pathetic. Out of all the BART offenses, they post a guy on a bike taking up an extra seat.
I ride BART regularly, and will likely soon make it to the rude rider page. I sit in that same seat often, and when traveling from Dublin/Pleasanton into SF, the train will go from nearly empty to standing room only @ Embarcadero and Montgomery stations. Even during non-commute hours (when bikes are allowed). There would be no way to get out at my 16th/Mission stop if I were anywhere further from the door.
Yes, I realize I am taking up an extra seat. I dont have a choice but to bike to/from BART. The alternative is to drive.
Believe me, if a disabled person or grandma gets on, which is rare in and of itself, I will be the first to move.
My very pregnant wife and I play a race profiling game to see who will let her have a disabled seat on her daily commute on BART. Result: White males never get up for pregnant women on a full train. Ever.
Thanks white guys.
This white guy would.
Thanks racist guy.
Really? I must be weird.
They pulled the plug:
Looking for rude riders? We heard that not everyone is comfortable with that sort of photo sharing, and we respect that. So we're leaving it to Flickr and TwitPic. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos here and, yes, we agree: it's not ok to bring aboard a full-sized mattress or leave a spilled bag of Cheetos on the seat. If you have any other ideas for photo sharing sections here, please let us know!
my understanding is that bikes are not allowed during rush hours. something like 7-9 am and 5-7 pm? otherwise, bring the self-righteousness!
this is good, though. we don't get enough opportunities to judge here. it's hurting our self-esteem.