**TL;DR: **The author describes taking their first and last ride on the new Pacific Beach “Beach Bug” Shuttle, a service aimed at easing congestion issues in the beach community. Despite finding the summoning process easy and driver friendly, the author felt unsafe riding in the small, slow vehicle without seatbelts or airbags among fast zooming cars. Concerned about the implications of an accident on the shuttle, the author decided to walk home and avoid taking the shuttle again.
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I finally took my first ride on the Pacific Beach “Beach Bug” Shuttle a few days ago. It will also be my last ride. Here’s why… In concept, it’s a really cool transportation solution for a congested area. Traffic and parking in P.B. is generally challenging, and wholly terrible on weekends and all days June-July-August. Just passing through the place is taking your life in your steering wheel gripping hands. I’ve been driving there since before there was dirt, have had numerous close calls, and seen myriad instances of outrageous drivertainment. So the BB Shuttle sounds great. It was launched with much fanfare in July ’23 by the local pols, covered by local news media. I installed the app on my phone, and summoned the vehicle. The process works a lot like ordering an Uber/Lyft. You can track the approaching vehicle on a map, and receive estimates of arrival time. The shuttle will be free for the first three months and then cost $2.50 for most riders, which will give them all-day access. I watched my ride approach, right on time and hopped in. The driver was friendly and talkative. “How’s business?” I asked. He told me it was booming and the shuttle was popular. We made our way out to Ingraham and headed north. Cars were zooming around us; the shuttle has a top speed of only 25 mph. “People honk at me and flip me off because they think I’m not going fast enough,” said the driver. As we sped along, I realized that I was out in traffic, sans-seatbelt or airbags, in an occasionally hostile environment, in a tiny, underpowered vehicle. I’ve almost been T-boned twice in my car (at Grand and Jewell), and I considered the implications of an accident of that type in this shuttle. I’d likely be knocked like a golf ball into the next world. I disembarked at Trader Joe’s, did some shopping and decided to walk back home. I enjoyed the ride and the experience, but considering the ultimate hazards, next time I’ll walk to Traders.
Man, sorry you had that experience. Stuff like this bums me out. I moved to San Diego largely because of my experiences coming to the beach when I was growing up, and after living here 10 years I rarely ever go because it’s so stressful to get in and out on nice beach days. When I do go I either pay for a rideshare or waste a bunch of time on the bus.
I don’t hold any particularly exciting political views, but I’m starting to see a lot of the reasoning for people questioning the modern state of cars. Looking at your situation, there was nothing actually wrong with the shuttle system - it came on time, 25mph was plenty fast for your trip, it was an efficient use of public space, and it didn’t require 50 sq ft of beachfront San Diego real estate for parking. The problem was other vehicles and the way they were driven. PB would be a safer place that could be enjoyed by far more people if the shuttles replaced most of the car traffic. But when the starting conditions are “this street must accommodate 3000lb+ vehicles that exceed the speed limit when they feel like it, and are driven by people who are often drunk or unfamiliar with the local roads”, no sane person will travel without their car :-/
I’ve thought the shared scooters would be a great solution to congestion. Not everyone can maintain or store a bike, so sharing a scooter is great for occasional trips to the beach, park, or restaurant.
Unfortunately the city council appears to have regulated the scooters out of business. I’ve also heard from folks who really don’t like them. In a vacuum I can understand some of the hate – people can drive them recklessly and sometimes they get put places that take the scooter companies some time to get them out of. But people also drive cars recklessly, and cars weigh 3000 lbs and are massively more dangerous.
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