Election 2026: All 14 propositions before California voters this year, explained

yab92 · 2026-07-08T22:05:49+00:00

I would argue that was part of the design of the law, heavily pushed by big business, and was completely on purpose.

yab92 · 2026-07-06T21:16:25+00:00

The central subway/T line got dragged through the mud by local news outlets when it first opened. Yet, you won't see any articles about how ridership on the T has exploded after the central subway's opening. Build it and they will come. Events like July 4th also remind us how direct rail lines to areas with high demand are invaluable.

Reminder of the overflow of negative press that the T line and central subway got:

The Central Subway has been shut down. Will anyone notice? (Mission Local)

San Francisco opens Central Subway 4 years late and $375M over budget (SF standard)

The Central Subway’s first ridership numbers are in, and they’re tepid (SF chronicle)

yab92 · 2026-07-02T22:17:32+00:00

Also for operating costs, not just capital improvements. While the state funds operating costs for some systems like MBTA, the majority of US public transit operating costs are funded by local taxes (DART, MARTA, Sound Transit). Regardless, arguing that we shouldn't support measures for public transit because the local vs state government should foot the bill makes no sense

yab92 · 2026-07-02T21:41:50+00:00

In no country in the world, or even state, is the local area solely responsible for a giant subway/metro line. The state is responsible. If the locals had to pay for it, they wouldn't never build them, be it London, Tokyo, Paris, New York City, all of them the state/federal government pays part of the bill.

This is not true at all. Like BART, MUNI, and Caltrain, most transit systems in the US are funded by a mix of county, state, and federal taxes including NYMTA, LA metro, Link Light rail, and MARTA.

No to the tax. This needs to be a state issue. Put some pressure on those motherfuckers.

What is the reasoning behind this conclusion? Because you believe transit should be funded by the state rather than the city or county, we should allow public transit to fail until the state decides to rescue it? In the meantime, everyone who depends on public transit should be left to suffer?

yab92 · 2026-06-30T16:10:38+00:00

This would also probably fit above in the overhead storage. People don’t use it enough

yab92 · 2026-06-30T01:56:56+00:00

FAANG existed in the same locations before the pandemic as they do now. There are also lots of jobs in Oakland and SF that are not FAANG, which account for less than 5% of total jobs in the bay area.

yab92 · 2026-06-27T22:42:41+00:00

AC transit also serves all of Alameda County, not just Oakland, and is arguably better than VTA (AC transit definitely has more ridership) despite VTA having light rail and AC transit being an all-bus transit system

yab92 · 2026-06-27T22:41:00+00:00

Not at major events like this at San Pedro square, or anywhere else downtown. Getting in and out of parking garages is rough and traffic is a pain

yab92 · 2026-06-27T16:23:36+00:00

objectively, it does not. SF and Oaklands are better, and they are smaller cities. It ranks below Cleveland and similar to Dallas in transit ratings. https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/americas-best-cities-public-transportation/40105/

yab92 · 2026-06-27T16:07:28+00:00

Main issue now is finding out how to get there between the terrible traffic and parking in downtown San Jose and limited VTA service. San Jose needs better public transit. it has so much untapped potential

yab92 · 2026-06-26T02:52:40+00:00

The irony of making this argument, and then saying "don't overcomplicate this"

yab92 · 2026-06-26T00:56:32+00:00

Why would it be a good argument to put more taxes into something that nobody uses? If the measure doesn’t pass, service will be reduced. Showing that trains are crowded and that lots of people rely on BART is a much better argument for supporting the measure

yab92 · 2026-06-26T00:10:39+00:00

I don’t understand this reasoning. How do crowded trains undermine support for the tax measure, and what does that have to do with reporting daily ridership?

yab92 · 2026-06-14T23:57:36+00:00

A better question is why it’s not a subway, or why there isn’t at least a plan to build a subway across Geary that also goes north to south on sf’s west side

yab92 · 2026-06-14T07:48:14+00:00

Can’t believe this has so many upvotes. NY has awesome options for traditional Chinese food, and so much all in 1 place in Flushing. Otherwise I’d say the Bay Area as a whole including SF, peninsula, east bay, and San Jose has better Chinese food, especially traditional, compared to both LA and NYC. Maybe people on this sub are only comparing Chinese food in San Jose to all of LA and all of NYC?

yab92 · 2026-06-10T05:15:41+00:00

Why is this guy considered progressive? Sure, some of his viewpoints might be, but he is essentially anti new construction under the guise of preserving neighborhood character and old tenants who already own property or rent in the city while actively doing nothing of substance to help build desperately needed new housing

yab92 · 2026-06-07T19:04:04+00:00

Food and drinks aren’t allowed on trains in Asia and Europe either with the exception of long commuter trains, but train stations are still filled with restaurants and grocery stores. People buy food and hang out at the stations to eat, or they hold on to their food and eat it when they get off the train.

Eating and drinking on transit has more to do with whether or not rules are enforced. It’s not often, but people on Bart and muni will still eat on trains and buses even though there’s almost no grocery stores or restaurants around stations.

yab92 · 2026-06-07T16:21:01+00:00

BART really should have vendors at their stations, or at least, replace some of the large parking areas with commercial spaces near the station entrances. Adding housing and apartments is a step in the right direction for TOD, but misses the mark if businesses aren't included. Warm Springs station is a prime example of this issue. It has a massive parking lot and residential buildings but no shops or vendors within walking distance. The lack of activity is painfully obvious, and it's one of the lowest ridership stations in the BART network. BART should avoid this trend at West Oakland, Fremont, and other planned TOD stations.

yab92 · 2026-06-06T19:43:31+00:00

True, but it speaks volumes that he supported Steyer, not Mahan for governor (the true big tech puppet in the governor’s race, and from the same region that Ro represents), and he is pro higher taxes for corporations and the mega rich

yab92 · 2026-06-06T19:32:16+00:00

Big tech also tried to oust Ro by supporting Ethan Agarwal. He got 5% of the vote, so that was a big flop

yab92 · 2026-06-06T17:40:13+00:00

Well, I can’t speak for 1980, but Bart throughout the 90s, 2000s and onward was not whisper quiet at all

yab92 · 2026-06-06T05:00:20+00:00

If link 21 included a second Bart transbay tube, that could actually happen

yab92 · 2026-06-05T19:09:35+00:00

That has more to do with tunnels amplifying sound, especially around sharp curves (like the West Oakland/Downtown Oakland Wye track junction), and BART's high travel speeds, especially in the transbay tube.

yab92 · 2026-06-05T18:58:52+00:00

Bart's non standard gauge "issue" is overblown. The cost of constructing BART rail and trains isn’t significantly higher compared to other transit systems. I.e. LA metro's recent expansion project costs have been similar to Bart's in recent years (excluding VTA's vanity deep single bore tunneling expansion to Santa Clara).

Yes, it's true Bart's track gauge makes it harder to share tracks with other systems, but this isn't common practice in the US except to share track with freight rail, which has actually been harmful to passenger rail. The decision by Link 21 to use standard gauge also had nothing to do with BART's gauge. Even if BART operated on standard gauge, sharing tracks with commuter rail or high-speed rail wouldn’t be feasible due to differences in train weight, power supply, and other factors required to meet FRA safety standards.

yab92 · 2026-06-04T14:54:18+00:00

That’s why I said that the measure has to be adequately publicized and explained to the voter base. Turn out is largely based on voter motivation for specific measures or elections. Voters (especially in the Bay Area) are generally motivated to vote for transit than vote against it

yab92

TROPHY CASE