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Yeah, the article points out that only 20% of our federal and state transit budgets go to transit, implying that it's underfunded. But it lacks the context tha

Yeah, the article points out that only 20% of our federal and state transit budgets go to transit, implying that it's underfunded. But it lacks the context that only 5% of Americans use transit...

goodcanadian 11y ago
It is a chicken and egg problem: Transit sucks, so no one uses transit. No one uses transit, so funding is sub-optimal. Funding is sub-optimal, so transit sucks. This cycle can be broken by funding transit properly. I have been to plenty of cities where transit was cheap, convenient, and useful. And before someone trots out the density problem, I have been to plenty of places that are far less dense than LA and have far better transit.
- jim-greer 11y ago
  I'm curious about the sparse places that have good transit... Where do you mean?
  - goodcanadian 11y ago
    Europe, mostly, where what are essentially small towns and villages are often connected by good train or bus service to each other. You may consider it inter-urban rather than intra-urban, but the distances would easily fit within LA, and the density is clearly lower (because there are farms in between).
- secabeen 11y ago
  You wouldn't know it, but LA has a pretty decent transit system, in terms of one that can get you most places you'd want to go. It's largely bus-based, and can take a while, but it is effective. Compared to some mid-western and southern cities, it's worlds better.
  - goodcanadian 11y ago
    I'll grant that it may be good by US standards, but that is sort of damning it with faint praise. Yes, it is good in the sense that you can get anywhere you want to go, eventually. When I say good, however, I mean comparable to driving in time and convenience.
bluthru 11y ago
Spending money on transit is a much better way to alleviate road congestion than building more roads. If you drive, you should be in favor of transit spending.
j2kun 11y ago
That's a fat tail issue, though. What percent of Americans who live in an urban environment use public transportation?
pavel_lishin 11y ago
In Dallas, I was one of the 95% who almost never used transit, because it didn't go to 95% of the places I needed to go.

Yeah, the article points out that only 20% of our federal and state transit budgets go to transit, implying that it's underfunded. But it lacks the context that only 5% of Americans use transit...

goodcanadian 11y ago

It is a chicken and egg problem: Transit sucks, so no one uses transit. No one uses transit, so funding is sub-optimal. Funding is sub-optimal, so transit sucks. This cycle can be broken by funding transit properly. I have been to plenty of cities where transit was cheap, convenient, and useful. And before someone trots out the density problem, I have been to plenty of places that are far less dense than LA and have far better transit.

jim-greer 11y ago
I'm curious about the sparse places that have good transit... Where do you mean?
- goodcanadian 11y ago
  Europe, mostly, where what are essentially small towns and villages are often connected by good train or bus service to each other. You may consider it inter-urban rather than intra-urban, but the distances would easily fit within LA, and the density is clearly lower (because there are farms in between).
secabeen 11y ago
You wouldn't know it, but LA has a pretty decent transit system, in terms of one that can get you most places you'd want to go. It's largely bus-based, and can take a while, but it is effective. Compared to some mid-western and southern cities, it's worlds better.
- goodcanadian 11y ago
  I'll grant that it may be good by US standards, but that is sort of damning it with faint praise. Yes, it is good in the sense that you can get anywhere you want to go, eventually. When I say good, however, I mean comparable to driving in time and convenience.

bluthru 11y ago

Spending money on transit is a much better way to alleviate road congestion than building more roads. If you drive, you should be in favor of transit spending.

j2kun 11y ago

That's a fat tail issue, though. What percent of Americans who live in an urban environment use public transportation?

pavel_lishin 11y ago

In Dallas, I was one of the 95% who almost never used transit, because it didn't go to 95% of the places I needed to go.