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ChineseBring Your Laptop on a Bus, Get Mugged?
The gadget blog, Engadget, posted a particulary offensive story yesterday about the implementation of free WiFi internet access on a few Bay Area bus lines. Apparently AC Transit, a transit authority in the East Bay, is in the testing phase of a system which will allow riders to log onto the internet from their laptops, free of charge, as they ride. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me, and a smart way to grab new ridership from business commuters. A majority of the cars cramming up our streets are from business people coming to and from work, business people who can’t do their precious business safely while driving a car. A WiFi enabled bus would be an attractive option for a business person who could check her email, catch up on the news, and check her favorite transit blog on her way to work.
But Engadget is skeptical. They reveal the “glaringly obvious” error in this thinking:
“You’re asking to be mugged if you’re happy with pulling out your prized laptop on a city bus.”
Duh. How could these idiots (AC Transit) forget that the service they provide is not a convenient and inexpensive way to get from Point A to Point B, but a rolling Den of Iniquity, complete with muggers, theives, and rapists. Way to go Engadget, perpetuate the public transit myth, keep our freeways filled with gadget loving drivers who divide their attention between the road passing by them at 70mph and their Blackberry Inbox (about 65% of attention diverted to the latter). How often are people randomly mugged on public transit for their property? Chime in MetroRiders if you have been. I have a feeling it’s probably close to the number of people who have been mugged outside of their favorite WiFi enabled cafe. One thing I can say for certain is that I’ve never felt unsafe on a bus or train in the gritty shitty city of Los Angeles. Disgusted? Sure. Nauseous? Maybe. Annoyed? Definately. Scared? Not yet.
The bus myth has got to end. Put WiFi on our buses, make them far more functional ways to get around and do business in than our personal automobiles. I can bet your chances of losing your property are far greater in a car (how many auto accidents happen every day?) than in a city bus. And let’s realize that the only thing that is glaringly obvious is that we (society as a whole, not Engadget its editors, writers, or advertisers) are inherently, irrationally, and racistly prejudiced against public transit, and that is wrong.
Discussion
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Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
Wow!
“One thing I can say for certain is that I’ve never felt unsafe on a bus or train in the gritty shitty city of Los Angeles.”
You must be very lucky there in LA. But in other major cities I’m sure many people would say they’ve felt uncomfortable even taking out their iPod on public transit. Everyone wants to feel safe, and everyone wants to have the convenience of having Wi-Fi in public places. But don’t knock someone for considering the safety risk involved with it. They’re real.
Hi, this is Ryan from Engadget. I edited the post in question, and I stand behind the remark. I know that this is obviously a public transportation centric site; I do not own a car, so it goes without saying I use public transport quite a bit.
I think it’s pretty ridiculous to assert that “business commuters” would ditch their cars for busses that take forever to get between point A and point B (don’t try to tell me busses are faster than cars with all the stops they make) just to get WiFi on their laptop which would probably go flying out of their hands at a sudden stop, which all buses I’ve ever ridden are prone to making.
You’re totally flying off the handle to assert this is some weird racial predatory issue; having lived in New York (and now SF) I know numerous people who have been mugged on public transport. Common sense dictates you don’t flash your laptop around on a bus, subway, or in any insecure public place. Even the cafes of SF are increasingly less safe to use laptops in after the rash of muggings we’ve had. It sounds a lot to me like you’ve got some kind of agenda, but whatever the case may be, calling us racists only makes you look worse for it.
Best, Ryan
I would contend that they feel that way because of social perceptions and not because in reality it is unsafe SFrider. I could be wrong, but I bring my Ipod, Sidekick, and laptop in my backpack on the bus/train everyday and have never felt like I was going to get robbed, and more importantly, I’ve never been robbed (knock on wood). And it’s not like I live in Beverly Hills or Pacific Palisades eithers.
I just think that a lot of people who are scared to ride the bus are scared because they assume that people who are poor enough to HAVE to do such a nightmarish thing as ride a bus must also be desperate enough to rob and steal when they see something of any value. The majority of people I see on the bus/train while they may not be rich, or even middle class, are just people like anyone else trying to get from Point A to Point B without any problems. Sure there’s the crazy bag lady and the yelling bum, but I’ve never felt threatend by those crazies. Amused? Of course.
Hi Ryan, I’m not calling you racist, I’m saying that there is an inherrent stigma in our society about public transit (the bus in particular) that is most likely rooted in racism and class struggle. People with money drive cars, poor desperate people are forced to ride the bus. And poor desperate people are scary to people with money. And I’m not saying I’m above that kind of thinking, I’m just saying that we need to get past it if we want to move to a public transit lifestyle… which is my agenda.
I never contended that busses are faster than cars, but that the ability to concentrate on something else other than driving could make it a more viable option for the business commuter. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to hope that these folks will ditch their cars for public transit, it’s essential in a city like Los Angeles where automobile traffic is out of hand.
And just to let you know, I’m a big fan of Engadget, but as a transit advocate, I found the article in question mildly offensive for the reason mentioned above. Offensive only in that it confirms social tendencies that keep the “car culture” on top.
I also wanted to respond to this. It goes to the larger issue of public WiFi. You mentioned muggings/robberies at cafe’s… and that’s exactly my point. It’s not limited to the bus… there is risk involved in taking an expensive piece of equipment anywhere. My sister’s laptop got stolen form her home. I read a blog of a local man who a few weeks ago got his laptop stolen from his table at a local starbucks (article here). But no one questions why a coffee shop would install WiFi, if people would risk flashing their expensive gadgets there. Why? I believe it’s because coffee shops and busses are seen in a very different light, although both probably hold equal risk for a laptop being stolen.
You’re not calling me or my publication racist? What’s this? “And let’s realize that the only thing that is glaringly obvious is that we (society as a whole, not Engadget its editors, writers, or advertisers) are inherently, irrationally, and racistly prejudiced against public transit, and that is wrong.”
Check yourself dude, your rationale has left the building. I’m not debating this anymore, it’s pretty apparent who’s got some weird agenda and who’s calling it like it is. Peace.
Right there I made it clear that I’m not talking specifically about you or your publication. And what agenda could I possibly have other than what I’ve already stated (advocating public transit)? Do you think this is a spinoff blog from Gizmodo? And I’m not the only one who was taken aback by your article either, a quick perusal of the comments on it reveal:
and
as well as
it continues
and again
there’s more
In fact, I could only find one commenter that really, agreed with you:
Brilliant.
Let me reitterate, not calling you or your publication racist by any means. Just saying that your statement reveals the prejudice society has against the bus: that it is a dangerous place where muggings are likely to happen. As evidenced by many of the commenters on your article who ride with laptops, that is not true.
LA, SF and NYC are a great deal different when it comes to public transit ridership as well. Ryan, you say you’ve lived in/currently live in the two latter cities where public transit in away is considered the only mode of transportation. Sure there are the exceptions of people that do drive, but by no means as much as what we have here in LA. Car is king here and the current stigma is that bus’ are disease infested lawless free for alls , which of course is not the case. However, public transit is seen that way by the majority, and ridership, though the second largest in the nation, is lower than it should be. Why? Because those business people who you claim will never make the switch to public transit are NOT currently riding public transit. Point being, by perpetuating the idea that people of any standing riding with anything of value will get robbed, keeps those people from ever venturing on public transit. Which of course negates the goals of this site and the goals of the millions who ride public transit for the endless reasons that they do; whether it be economical, political, environmental, necessity, or as you seem to doubt, convenience. Being the editor of Engadget you’ve had to have made it out here at some point; surface streets and freeways alike are effed and LA’s future needs to move to even more public transit, bus and train alike, and if putting wifi on those vehicles will help market/promote ridership, I’m all for it.
hahahah wow. well at least the engadget article is getting the support of the intelligent. man thats classic. my ultimate fear everyday i get on the bus is that i’m going to get mugged and butt raped. lolz. so absurd.
Maybe so, but that read like an accusation to me.
I just bought my first laptop last week and have been taking it with me to work on the bus. Just this morning I thought about taking it out during the ride to see if I could pick up a wireless network, but opted not to as I was juggling an empty coffee cup at the time.
If I wasn’t dealing with the coffee cup I still would have probably kept the macbook in the bag, but not at all because I thought it would get stolen. Because of some neurotic part of my brain I have this idea it might be construed as an offensive to brandish such an obvious sign of wealth on a bus that runs across one of the poorest areas in LA (south central). Maybe I’m oblivious to the obvious threat I’m passing through, but I definitely don’t feel like I would get mugged on an MTA bus regardless of what I’m toting. If I get mugged it’s going to be because I look like I have money, not because I have something worth money. Cash beats a computer for a mugger anyday.
Attitudes have to change along with tangible changes in a community. At the heart of change is a desire for a better future. We take small risks into the unknown. Wifi could be a way to encourage small steps — I mean “rides” into the future
I work at home as my contribution to lessening pollution and congestion, but I certainly would love to use transit for my appointments. Carolyn
I agree Caroline, attitude is a big part of the issue. Tangible change won’t occur without a change in perspective first. Welcome to MetroRiderLA.
WiFi is coming, albeit slowly. The Riverside Transit Agency offers it on one of its commuter lines, and may expand it to all commuter services. Metrolink is also planning to install WiFi on trains, but it has difficulty doing so because all of its trains are out in service.
I ride the bus every day from Watts to U.C.L.A. I spend most of the time working on my laptop. I won’t pull it out sitting at the bus stop but it’s extremely silly to worry about getting mugged on a bus. Laptops are bulky and relatively fragile items and whoever takes it from you has to worry about getting off the bus. After they’re off the bus then they’re on foot with the certainty that the police have been called immediately after they left. I can’t know what motivated Engadget’s remark. Maybe it’s ignorance. Maybe it’s racism. Maybe it’s fear of poor people. Whatever it is I can’t see any motive that isn’t pretty ugly. Buses are chaotic environments but just because something is chaotic doesn’t automatically mean it’s dangerous.
Riding the bus IS scary! I for one don’t feel safe because I was actually mugged twice on MUNI in San Francisco. The first time I was playing a portable gaming system. Some thugs (they were just kids) grabbed it and ran when the doors on the train opened. The second time I was using a cell phone and someone shoved me and snatched it. It wasn’t even a hi-tech phone, it was the cheapest phone I could find since I didn’t want to worry about people trying to rob from me after the first mugging. I have personally witnessed several people being mugged on the BART train. Two of them were females with i-pods. The third was a male with a laptop. Luckily there was a plainclothes policeman who caught the thief who tried to run off with the laptop, but most riders don’t have assurance that there are police officers who will protect them from these muggings. Anyone who feels safe using gadgets on public transport must live in a suburban area and/or have total faith in the system. I’ve heard horror stories from friends and co-workers about being mugged for their wallets or jewelry in broad daylight, some of them simply reading a book and minding their own business. Am I racist for holding my purse a little tighter or glancing around my surroundings for shifty-eyed thieves when I board public transport?