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The issue isn't that humans don't behave like ants. The issue is that we have an aversion to public/shared transportation and promote commuting as a given. Per

The issue isn't that humans don't behave like ants. The issue is that we have an aversion to public/shared transportation and promote commuting as a given. Personal car culture needs to die for traffic to be reduced. For that to happen we need better transportation options for rural areas or more remote-work opportunities.

bluGill 9y ago
Sounds good in theory, but there are limits to transit. You need a fairly high population density, and shared destinations. I have never worked in an office where the bus schedule allowed taking it - if I got the first by in and the last bus out I would have worked 7:45 - not a full 8 hour day before you consider a long lunch which is nice at times. Other offices the nearest bus stop was 3 miles away (along a route that was not walker friendly) Sure if you live in an apartment and work downtown public transit works great. However engineering companies tend to not be downtown because rent is so high.
roughcoat 9y ago
Why do you assume people embrace "personal car culture" just because there's a lack of public transportation? People like having their own vehicles. It's freedom and independence. Even if I lived right on a bus line, and my workplace was on that same line, I would still drive or ride a motorcycle to work (or bike, if it was close enough I suppose). I got well over being on the bus's schedule by my senior year of high school and I have no interest in going back to that. I do absolutely agree we need more remote work options but that's up to employers, and they don't seem to like the idea much in general, so... not holding my breath.
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  > It's freedom and independence This is why I assume people embrace it. Is it really freedom and independence when 90% of your time spent in the car is in traffic to get to work and home? Freedom to me is not wasting 5-10 hours a week on getting to work, unpaid. Even if that means sacrificing my 'freedom' to drive around the countryside on weekends.
  - roughcoat 9y ago
    I don't see how having a long commute somehow diminishes the benefits of having a personal vehicle. For most people, having a personal vehicle means, partly, being able to live where they want instead of having to choose a home based on accessibility to public transportation, or alternately, to be able to take a job that may be lucrative but totally inaccessible by public transportation. A personal vehicle offers a good deal of flexibility and antifragility that I think you're ignoring here, given the way the real world is set up. And perhaps all you do is drive around the countryside on the weekend, but that is hardly the only use for a personal vehicle. At least half the really interesting things I've done in my life would not have been possible without my own vehicle.

bluGill 9y ago

Sounds good in theory, but there are limits to transit. You need a fairly high population density, and shared destinations. I have never worked in an office where the bus schedule allowed taking it - if I got the first by in and the last bus out I would have worked 7:45 - not a full 8 hour day before you consider a long lunch which is nice at times. Other offices the nearest bus stop was 3 miles away (along a route that was not walker friendly) Sure if you live in an apartment and work downtown public transit works great. However engineering companies tend to not be downtown because rent is so high.

roughcoat 9y ago

Why do you assume people embrace "personal car culture" just because there's a lack of public transportation? People like having their own vehicles. It's freedom and independence. Even if I lived right on a bus line, and my workplace was on that same line, I would still drive or ride a motorcycle to work (or bike, if it was close enough I suppose). I got well over being on the bus's schedule by my senior year of high school and I have no interest in going back to that. I do absolutely agree we need more remote work options but that's up to employers, and they don't seem to like the idea much in general, so... not holding my breath.

nxsynonym 9y ago
> It's freedom and independence This is why I assume people embrace it. Is it really freedom and independence when 90% of your time spent in the car is in traffic to get to work and home? Freedom to me is not wasting 5-10 hours a week on getting to work, unpaid. Even if that means sacrificing my 'freedom' to drive around the countryside on weekends.
- roughcoat 9y ago
  I don't see how having a long commute somehow diminishes the benefits of having a personal vehicle. For most people, having a personal vehicle means, partly, being able to live where they want instead of having to choose a home based on accessibility to public transportation, or alternately, to be able to take a job that may be lucrative but totally inaccessible by public transportation. A personal vehicle offers a good deal of flexibility and antifragility that I think you're ignoring here, given the way the real world is set up. And perhaps all you do is drive around the countryside on the weekend, but that is hardly the only use for a personal vehicle. At least half the really interesting things I've done in my life would not have been possible without my own vehicle.