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LA TRANSPO - I have had it. It has happened again, and will happen again: a gig economy vehicle, either ride share or food delivery, is parked at bus stop, and the bus driver has to go out of the their way to try to safely help riders disembark or enter the bus.
Bus stops go through processes of placement for safety of the riders, which should be the first priority. Also, buses are large vehicles, and need a lot of space to negotiate parking close curbside. These are careful considerations. Bus stops are needed for safe and timely operations.
When a gig economy driver, and others, park in a bus stop they create hazards for the riders. Buses sit high, and the sidewalks offer steps for the riders, but when a bus has to park away from sidewalk because some mindless, careless driver is in their bus stop, the step becomes quite high. At my mid-sixties my knees and ankles feel the passage of time. In the past I have strained my knees when stepping off a bus directly onto the street instead of the curb because the bus stop was blocked by a gig economy driver. With the most recent incident my knee was strained as was my ankle when disembarking the bus because I could not step onto the sidewalk but directly onto the street because a gig economy driver was parked there.
This also creates more stresses for the bus driver who has to safely negotiate street traffic to park the bus as close and as safe to the curb. All of this is due to the “disruptive” con of the gig economy.
The gig economy sold itself as the new way of business by being disruptive to the old order. This can sound so exciting, the thought that the old way of business is no longer functioning, and this new order will disrupt the old ways and improve the world.
It is not happening.
The old way of placing bus stops is a thoughtful process which, when disrupted, causes chaos for the bus driver, inconvenience and possible injury to the bus rider, and slows the bus on its schedule. This process should not be disrupted.
The disruptive gig economy is also:
The disrespectful economy. There is no thought nor respect nor examining of the old business models to see if the new model will cause harm.
The arrogant economy. I talk to these gig economy drivers and ask them to move their vehicle out of the bus stop for the eventually arriving bus which can hold up to thirty-plus passengers just so they can pick up a passenger or pick up or deliver one or two meals. But since they are in the new disruptive gig economy, they feel they have precedence and are superior, no matter that their disruption is causing harm.
The disruptive gig economy is the greater polluting economy. The Transportation and Environment website states “Ride-hailing services like Uber are increasing car travel, climate emissions and traffic congestion, according to a new US study. Ride-hailing trips now result in an estimated 69% more climate pollution, on average, than the trips they displace, it finds.”
Southern California has just suffered the worst fire disasters in its history, with wind speeds not seen before spreading embers miles ahead. Climate scientists have predicted for decades that the warming planet will make storms-wind, fire, snow, rain, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.-greater in intensity. This is happening now, and with no overall reduction of carbon gases going into the atmosphere, will increase. With the vehicle gig economy, things will only worsen, and the damage and death will happen at greater levels.
These are the life-threatening disruptions of the disruptive gig economy.
I ride buses and trains to reduce my carbon footprint, and the least society, and governments, can do for me is to make sure bus stops are used only by buses, and not hijacked by the selfish, disrespectful and arrogant gig economy businesses behind these disruptive practices.
What will also help is for governmental committees, commissions and elected officials when approached by the disruptive economy forces to have in place those who know transit system and have long time real experiences of riding buses and trains to defend us. The disruptive gig economy businesses have either sweet talked or steamrolled their disruptiveness to allow their selfish businesses to operate.
A few suggestions:
- As stated, any transit decisions made by governments, local-state-federal-need to be made by those with real transit experiences and knowledge.
- The gig economy drivers need to be tested and licensed. This is contrary to the disruptive gig economy in which previous rules do not apply. This gives unfair advantage to the gig economy drivers over other commercial drivers.
- Permanent stickers must be on the front and back of gig economy drivers’ vehicles so the public, including transit riders, can report the scofflaws, and there needs to be mechanisms in government to to report these infractions.
Either the disruptive gig economy businesses pay to fund these government organizations for reporting infractions-highly doubtful because it seems their business model is to not accept their responsibilities for the disruptions of their drivers, or have gig economy drivers pay fees to take tests for licensing. The overlord gig economy businesses would probably prefer this.
- Cities and counties become proactive and regularly and intensely ticket the gig economy drivers, and all drivers, parking in bus stops, but also in red zones which they do all the time.
Many transit riders are low income, the elderly, handicapped, and they have very small voices. They are no match for the siren songs of the gig economy lobbyists convincing governments, at all levels, that their disruptions are the new order. Governing bodies need to take the gig economy businesses at their word and realize their business model of disruption is harmful.
It is time to disrupt the disruptors.
(Matthew Hetz is a Los Angeles native, a composer whose works have been performed nationally, and some can be found here. He is the past President of the Culver City Symphony Orchestra and Marina del Rey Symphony. His dedication to transit issues is to help improve the transit riding experience for all, and to convince drivers to ride buses and trains to fight air pollution and global warming. He is an instructor at Emeritus/Santa Monica College and a regular contributor to CityWatchLA.)
