On 3/3/2022 at 3:36 PM, birdguy said:

Yes, I've done the math.  It's more expensive to lease than to buy but I liked to change cars every three years. 

There was always some new innovation I liked.  Like the car I have now has a HUD for the speedometer and if I am driving to a destination I have set on the GPS the HUD alerts me ahead of time when turns I have to make are coming up.

But this year was different.  I did the math and kept the car.

Noel

I can respect this. I also respect a man who is smart enough to know how to manage his money to afford things he wants. Good on you good sir! Much respect!

I think most of us here in the U.S. are addicted to our cars.  Most would say it gives us the freedom to go where we want/need to go, anytime. My insurance has never gone down, only up on my 7 year old Subaru Forester.  Here in S.F. the public transportation is excellent.  I have a senior Clipper Card and I applied for, and got, an exemption for free Muni bus rides.  A 2 block walk to the nearest bus stop!

This also includes very cheap rates for riding BART.  $3.05 to KSFO and about $4.50 to Oakland Intl.  BART station is a 10 minute walk.

Are the Jitney's still around Charlie? Back in 1965 they were my favorite form of transportation. We were just married, lived in the Mission, and I worked down on New Montgomery. The Jitney was the fastest way, for me, to get to and from work. God, I miss those days.....Doug

Never mind Charlie. I found the answer ( https://www.sfweekly.com/news/the-last-ride-of-the-jitney/ ). While I worked in The City for over 15 years I'll never forget that first year in the Mission district. All the other years we lived across the bay in Orinda and the Bay Bridge and I became very good friends 🙂 . My wife and I were both raised in Monterey and we try to make it "home" every couple of years. Did I say I miss those days? Sigh.......

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

In a small city like mine public transportation is marginal and the nearest stop to visit a doctor is a three or four block walk with my cane or a walker and inconvenient schedules.

The area I live now doesn't have what I consider to be a good public transit system.  They claim they have schedules but yet you can't find them on their website.  I'm used to Dallas where you can find all kinds of maps and schedules.

I'm really hoping that self driving taxis will become much more common.  It seems to me they should help lower taxi costs and would really help out seniors and disabled people.  I would feel much safer with self driving cars than with  many of the people I currently have to share a road with.  Obeying the speed limit appears to be a crime around here.

Doug...do you remember the Key Systems trains that used to cross the Bay Bridge.  The lower deck had two lanes for trucks and two tracks for the trains.  My brother and I would sometimes ride them across the bridge just to ride the trains.  The trains we took went up Shattuck Avenue to Berkley I think.  Then it reversed and went back to San Francisco.

Noel

 

Remember this train line in S.F., Noel?  The Belt Railroad.  Back in the good ole days, My sister, brother-in-law and I would meet on Friday mornings before work for breakfast at the Eagle Cafe on the Embarcadero.  Best corned beef hash and eggs anywhere!  The railroad workers would come in for breakfast and some shots.  The Eagle had a full bar.

https://picryl.com/amp/media/eagle-cafe-2566-powell-street-moved-to-pier-39-san-francisco-san-francisco-3

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dan-Andreotti-ran-waterfront-s-Eagle-Cafe-2631590.php

34 minutes ago, birdguy said:

Doug...do you remember the Key Systems trains that used to cross the Bay Bridge.  The lower deck had two lanes for trucks and two tracks for the trains.  My brother and I would sometimes ride them across the bridge just to ride the trains.  The trains we took went up Shattuck Avenue to Berkley I think.  Then it reversed and went back to San Francisco.

Noel

 

The Key System trains were a little before my time Noel. By 1960 the trains were gone and the AC transit buses had taken over. Then came BART. When I drove into The City the inbound lanes were on the upper deck and the outbound lanes were on the lower deck. The rail tracks on the lower deck were gone. I wish I had your memories of The City. It's my favorite place on earth. I was 11 years old when I first went there. I'll always remember the escalator at the Emporium. I'd never seen anything like it. I must have ridden it 100 times. Getting old sucks, 

Yeah Charlie.  I remember the Belt Railroad along the Embarcadero.  I remember when the WNA freeway didn't block the Ferry Building view from upper Market Street.

Do you remember 4 streetcar tracks on Market Street?

Do you remember the huge California State relief map upstairs in the Ferry Building?

And Doug, yes, I do remember the jitneys on Mission Street.  My wife used to live on Mission Street in the neighborhood where all the furniture stores were.  I never rode in one but I saw them when I drove to her apartment when we were dating.  And I recall all the hock shops on lower Mission Street.

There are some places that don't need to keep up with the times.  San Francisco is one of those places.

Noel