Autonomous cars have come a long way since Google's self-driving car project started back in 2009.
21.07.2023 - 08:23 / roughguides.com
San Francisco is the undisputed home of the start-up. From the Silicon Valley powerhouses to growing tech clusters in Oakland and the Mission, the Bay Area is a hub for digital innovation. Apple, Netflix, Twitter, Dropbox, Pinterest, StumbleUpon and more all hail from this corner of northern California . It should be no surprise, then, that San Francisco is also home to a host of companies that are changing the way we travel. Eleanor Aldridge picks seven of the best.
In 2010, it was impossible to find a cab in San Francisco, so Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick came up with an idea. They created an app that would allow users to get a quote and hail a car immediately, track the driver’s arrival using GPS and pay with a pre-registered card. Uber, “everyone’s private driver”, has since controversially re-defined taxi services around the world. There are several levels of service available – the cheapest, UberX, usually works out 20–50% less than a regular taxi. Drivers and passengers rate each other out of five after each ride; if drivers drop below 4.5 stars, they’re in danger of being struck off, while passengers with poor ratings are likely to be passed up.
The HotelTonight app has been downloaded over ten million times since it launched in 2011, and covers cities across the US and Europe. Each day they offer unsold rooms from a selection of handpicked hotels to travellers looking for a last-minute bed. Prices vary, but are usually at least 20% lower than the rack rate. Aside from the sleek, easy-to-use interface, a big selling point is the quality of the properties, which range from “basic” and “solid” budget options to five-star and design hotels classified as “hip” or “luxe”.
This “visual guide to good food and where to find it” aims to take the hassle out of choosing somewhere to eat. Rather than writing a review, Foodspotting users upload a snap of a restaurant’s best dish. Think of the app as Tinder for the palate: if you don’t like what you see, then keep on swiping. Even with 2.5 million foods “spotted”, the community is still growing and tips can be patchy in places, but this is definitely one to watch.
Founded in San Francisco just a year ago by Brit and Oxford graduate Ruzwana Bashir, with backing from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Peek is expanding fast. The website and accompanying app are a visually appealing one-stop-shop for activities and experiences: walking tours, surf lessons, cooking classes, tickets to major attractions and more. They’ve also persuaded “tastemakers” in each city to write a feature on their perfect day; foodies can follow Mark Hix around London, while in LA you can discover how Diane Von Furstenberg or Piers Morgan would spend a day out.
Hipmunk has been making
Autonomous cars have come a long way since Google's self-driving car project started back in 2009.
When San Francisco is in a period of transition, which it often is, it’s the foundational places that ensure the city never strays too far from itself. The city is known for its pioneering spirit, be that modern tech innovations or progressive politics, but what keeps the engine running is the steady energy pulsing through old school places like John’s Grill, where the people of San Francisco have long come to dine.
A lot of dishes were shattered during the pandemic. Although some breakage was accidental, incidental or ad hoc, the greatest damage was done in smash rooms, padded cells where people paid good money to sledgehammer remaindered crockery by the hour. Smash rooms were advertised as safe spaces to release Covid-induced anger and frustration. Many therapists questioned the effectiveness. One psychologist compared it to treating a gambling addiction by sending patients to Harrah’s.
How much should you expect to spend to visit each of the largest 100 U.S. cities?
In the days after Britons voted in favor of leaving the European Union, England seems to be learning a lot about itself—and not in the way you’d hope. The social media hashtag #PostRefRacism emerged this week to highlight increased public expressions of racism in the U.K., ranging from xenophobic graffiti and verbal threats to public harassment.
What to wear in San Francisco can be a bit of a conundrum: The city’s weather changes quickly, so definitely bring layers and be prepared to go from glorious sunshine to chilly ocean winds and fog—and back again—over the course of a day.
The winner of the Super Bowl usually says they’re going to Disney World. But even the Magic Kingdom would have a hard time competing with the pomp and circumstance in the Bay Area during the week leading up to this year’s big game.
As travel times between major metro areas go, the flying time between Los Angeles and San Francisco is about as short as it gets: less than an hour in the air, and a bit longer gate-to-gate. Getting to the airport probably takes longer than the flight itself.
Bike sharing has become a way of life for many Americans—a quintessentially Northern European trend that took hold of our hearts and wallets in recent years, and that grows each time someone moves to a city and opts for a two-wheel commute. Trendy and sustainable, bike sharing is now a major presence in every major U.S. city.
Wondering which airports are most likely to put you behind schedule during the busy summer travel season? If you’re flying to the Boston, Chicago, New York, or San Francisco areas this summer—or even worse, connecting to another flight there—be especially wary.
If you’re packing coffee, spices, baby powder, or anything else that could be considered to be a “powder-like substance” in your carry-on, you’ll need to keep it to 12 ounces or less or be subjected to additional screening, according to a new rule from the TSA.
Are you one of the expected 48.5 million Americans who will drive 50 miles or more over Thanksgiving 2018? You could face up to four times the normal driving times at peak hours, AAA warns. Drivers in or out of Boston, New York City, and San Francisco will face the worst congestion, and most other big cities will also see delays.