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We've always heard about this elusive casual carpool that many East Bayers utilize to get them across the bridge every day. It sounds like an adventure to us, and a little scary, like the carpool driver who got carjacked a while back. Luckily she was able to jump out and get help. There's also the rather amusing story from a male friend of a friend who rode in the back seat of a casual carpool, next to the female driver's laundry basket of dirty underthings. He was titillated to say the least, and we have to wonder if this was the driver's desired effect. SFist Rita also documented some hilarious casual carpool happenings back in '05. We'd love to hear more such stories, so tell us in the comments! And check out Evany on Twitter (friend of SFist commenter AngryBat) for her daily Casual Carpool Dispatches!
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These people should pay tolls.
Should pay tolls? People use this so they can avoid paying and drive in the carpool lane.
Yes, they should pay tolls. They'd be paying for transit in the morning (how many of them get home) and many of the drivers wouldn't be driving across the bridge if they couldn't use the carpool lane. Casual carpools increase the number of cars on the road - they should pay tolls.
Should non-casual (formal?) carpools have to pay tolls, as well?
How do casual carpools increase the number of cars on the road?
My friend Evany casually carpools almost every day and writes great Twitter updates about them. They're preceded by "CCD" (for "casual carpool dispatch"):
http://twitter.com/evany
Awesome, I added her link to the post!
About a year after severely breaking my back thanks to an errant taxi cab I was riding my bicycle down first street in the far right lane right by the freeway offramp that the casual carpoolers use. For some reason I noticed back behind me that a car getting off the freeway wasn't staying in his lane and was instead heading right towards me. Ended up rear-ending me while going about 30mph. Went flying through the air for many feet thinking this really can't be all to good for my back. Somehow I landed just right and barely got scratch (though of course did end up in the hospital again since my back was tweaked, but no new broken bones). Pretty crazy to get hit from behind at that kind of speed.
But the real story: I have never seen 3 casual carpoolers exit a car and scurry off to work as fast as I did then. Clearly a pesky bicyclist lying hurt on the ground wasn't going to make them late for work!
I wrote this to the SF chronic February 26, 2007 A.D.
Subject: Newsworthy?
To Whom it may Concern:
Just wanted to make someone aware that at approximately 9:05AM today, while driving three people (picked up in the Berkeley rideshare on College Ave/Claremont Ave) over the Bay Bridge to Downtown SF, the man sitting shotgun pulled out a plastic bag and started fiddling with his pants zipper to pull out his penis to pee in the bag. I put the brakes on this action immediately, stating forcefully "What the F%&K are you doing!! Are you serious! You are a grown man! Hold it!. WTF!!".
Here's what followed:
Man: "...But I really have to go"
Me: "I don't give a $hit! You knew this trip would take 35 minutes. Any human can hold it for 10 minutes beyond the point where they don't thing they can hold it anymore!"
Man: "Ok, I'll hold it... but I really have to go..."
Me: (Looking back at the two back seat passengers for support on my stance..)
Them: (Hiding behind their newspapers; terrified)..
(To back up, this was the first day I ever participated in casual carpool, and I did so because I was late for a job interview and need to buzz through traffic. In hindsight, this was a poor decision.)
We had just passed the Treasure Island Tunnel and were still in heavy traffic, about 5-10 minutes from Downtown SF. I was steaming. But what can you say or do?? I contemplated stopping the car and throwing him out on the bridge, but realized he would be run over or fall off the bridge, and I subsequently would be charged with involuntary manslaughter, so I nixed that plan. (If you disagree with this point, look at how dumb our nation's legal system has become).
After pleading with the man to hold it (and thinking he would, because after all; he's an adult human), and after about 2-3 minutes of groaning from the man, he went
quiet.
This was disheartening, as his silence meant the groaning had stopped, and his groaning stopping meant he pissed his pants. And him pissing his pants more disturbingly, meant he pissed my cloth passenger side seat...
(There's little I could have done to prevent this. Once you commit to casual carpool, you can't pre-screen passengers that quickly at a pick up spot. You pick up the first two or three passengers and go. The man looked respectable. Certainly wasn't homeless, but he CLEARLY had problems).
When I got to the city (Fremont St.), I pulled over and screamed at him and demanded he pay for my detailing. He said no, and pointed out that I agreed to drive him and he thanked me for the ride..
What do you do in that situation? My friends said I should have called the cops.. I was livid, but I wasn't going to do that because I would have wasted time waiting for a police report, only to serve no purpose other than a funny story for the guys to re-tell at the station with no further recourse. Plus, I would have missed my interview. (FYI: I was in utter shock when I got to my interview and told the interviewer that I would not be able to answer any questions or speak in full sentences until he understood what I had just gone through. He was happy I told him).
Long story short, this type of $hit happens to me all the time. I just never thought it would get to the point that someone I was kind enough to give a ride to would thank me by empty his bladder on my front seat.
Fondly,
Stuart
FYI you can swear on the internet. I assume 'shit' isn't the name of any god in particular you're trying not to take in vain.
Good story though.
FYI you can swear on the internet. I assume 'shit' isn't the name of any god in particular you're trying not to take in vain.
Good story though.