4 ms·

Yep. I grew up in the sticks, so of course I got a car the second I could to get around. Then I moved to an actual city (i.e., 250k population) and I spent mo

by creshal 10y ago

Yep. I grew up in the sticks, so of course I got a car the second I could to get around. Then I moved to an actual city (i.e., 250k population) and I spent more time hunting for parking spots than actually driving, and when I moved to an even bigger city, I left my car with my parents because I was fed up with how inconvenient cars were. I don't see how car manufacturers are going to "fix" being worse than public transit.

sitkack 10y ago
They could fix it by burning down public transit, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...
- yummyfajitas 10y ago
  Austin is the modern version of that. http://www.vocativ.com/327333/a-world-without-uber-dispatches-from-austin/ http://www.vocativ.com/327333/a-world-without-uber-dispatche... http://hotair.com/archives/2016/06/22/banning-uber-and-lyft-in-austin-has-led-to-an-explosion-of-black-market-ride-sharing/ http://hotair.com/archives/2016/06/22/banning-uber-and-lyft-...
  - sevensor 10y ago
    Austin once had streetcar lines, so Austin is also the historical version. http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2000-07-21/77996/ http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2000-07-21/77996/
  - amyjess 10y ago
    That was because Uber and Lyft threw a tantrum about having to get proper background checks for their drivers. They're not banned from the city; they could come back at any time if they agree to use real background checks. The SSN-based background checks Uber and Lyft use are way too easy to defraud by using a fake SSN. Fingerprint background checks are much more secure. I don't get the complaints: I had to get a fingerprint background check when I legally changed my name two years ago. Big whoop. It cost me about $40 and a few weeks of waiting (and I got the actual fingerprinting done at lunch, so I didn't miss any work), and I don't care because it meant I could finally use the name I go by on official stuff. What Uber and Lyft did is straight out of the 19th-century robber baron playbook: they responded to sensible regulation by boycotting the entire local market. That's not how a good corporate citizen behaves; it's abusive and monopolistic behavior.
    - yummyfajitas 10y ago
      The SSN-based background checks Uber and Lyft use are way too easy to defraud by using a fake SSN. Do you have any evidence that criminal behavior is higher on Uber and Lift than on yellow cabs? In any case, the fingerprint requirement is not the only thing the law requires. The law essentially required turning Uber into a yellow-cab like service which would more or less make part time driving unecomonical: http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm%3Fid=245769 http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm%3Fid=245769 It's factually wrong that they are a monopoly. Yellow cabs still exist, and suck just as bad as they ever did. Assuming Uber and Lyft are as unsafe as proponents of Proposition 1 claim, isn't it good that they are gone?
wastedhours 10y ago
The same - lived in a small city, got a car as soon as I could. Adore driving, love it as a pursuit as well as a means to get from A-B, but having moved to London last year can hand on my heart say I'd never own a car here. Traffic, no parking, slower than public transport and Uber is but a click away. Cars will go the way of the horse in urban areas - luxuries to be enjoyed as a passion rather than something for the everyday.

by creshal 10y ago

sitkack 10y ago

They could fix it by burning down public transit, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...

yummyfajitas 10y ago
Austin is the modern version of that. http://www.vocativ.com/327333/a-world-without-uber-dispatches-from-austin/ http://www.vocativ.com/327333/a-world-without-uber-dispatche... http://hotair.com/archives/2016/06/22/banning-uber-and-lyft-in-austin-has-led-to-an-explosion-of-black-market-ride-sharing/ http://hotair.com/archives/2016/06/22/banning-uber-and-lyft-...
- sevensor 10y ago
  Austin once had streetcar lines, so Austin is also the historical version. http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2000-07-21/77996/ http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2000-07-21/77996/
- amyjess 10y ago
  That was because Uber and Lyft threw a tantrum about having to get proper background checks for their drivers. They're not banned from the city; they could come back at any time if they agree to use real background checks. The SSN-based background checks Uber and Lyft use are way too easy to defraud by using a fake SSN. Fingerprint background checks are much more secure. I don't get the complaints: I had to get a fingerprint background check when I legally changed my name two years ago. Big whoop. It cost me about $40 and a few weeks of waiting (and I got the actual fingerprinting done at lunch, so I didn't miss any work), and I don't care because it meant I could finally use the name I go by on official stuff. What Uber and Lyft did is straight out of the 19th-century robber baron playbook: they responded to sensible regulation by boycotting the entire local market. That's not how a good corporate citizen behaves; it's abusive and monopolistic behavior.
  - yummyfajitas 10y ago
    The SSN-based background checks Uber and Lyft use are way too easy to defraud by using a fake SSN. Do you have any evidence that criminal behavior is higher on Uber and Lift than on yellow cabs? In any case, the fingerprint requirement is not the only thing the law requires. The law essentially required turning Uber into a yellow-cab like service which would more or less make part time driving unecomonical: http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm%3Fid=245769 http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm%3Fid=245769 It's factually wrong that they are a monopoly. Yellow cabs still exist, and suck just as bad as they ever did. Assuming Uber and Lyft are as unsafe as proponents of Proposition 1 claim, isn't it good that they are gone?

wastedhours 10y ago

The same - lived in a small city, got a car as soon as I could. Adore driving, love it as a pursuit as well as a means to get from A-B, but having moved to London last year can hand on my heart say I'd never own a car here. Traffic, no parking, slower than public transport and Uber is but a click away. Cars will go the way of the horse in urban areas - luxuries to be enjoyed as a passion rather than something for the everyday.