Parking

There are only a few places in the country where population density makes the automobile a less than optimal transportation solution. New York. Not Los Angeles, it was built for autos. San Francisco.

In San Francisco, your monthly parking fees may exceed your monthly car loan payments. Considering the city is only 8 miles across, if you want to park on the street, you may do more driving looking for parking spots than you do getting to destinations. And you will always get tickets; whether it's leaving your car parked overnight on a street-cleaning night, expired meters, or parking in the wrong zone -- the system is designed to maximize revenue by being difficult for the visitor or beginner to understand.

I once worked somewhere with an email alert system to notify everyone that the meter maid was around the corner and headed your way. People still got tickets. If you have any reason to wonder why San Franciscan bicyclists are so rabidly devoted, drive and try to park a car in this town for a week or two, or better yet, pay the added expense of a car for a few months.

Public transit can be a wonderful thing (sometimes... read my other post on MUNI ! )