6 ms·

this is where public transport needs more funding.

ekianjo 9y ago
public transport is never going to let you go where and when you need to go unless you live in very dense cities. So no, thats not a solution.
- Doctor_Fegg 9y ago
  The story is about the UK and there are plenty of rural areas in the UK with good public transport: I live in one such and don't own a car.
  - mrb 9y ago
    You just did the software debugging equivalent of saying "it works for me" :)
    - vertex-four 9y ago
      Ehh, no, "it works where I am and it could work where you are" isn't "works for me" - it's pointing out that areas with shitty public transport don't have to have shitty public transport, that's just the obvious result of bus deregulation and a lack of relevant subsidies on the part of local Government.
    - lmm 9y ago
      That's a legitimate response when someone says "this doesn't work and could never possibly work".
    - Veen 9y ago
      I live in Devon in the middle of nowhere and the public transportation is excellent. I also don't drive, and I have no trouble getting where I need to be.
  - NTripleOne 9y ago
    Lucky you. We lost one of our major bus providers in Cornwall a few years back and public transport has been shite ever since. I literally cannot take public transport to and from work, it's that bad.
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      and even when there is public transport it does not work at night so it becomes a mess quickly if you enjoy going out.
- slight 9y ago
  I lived in the UK until I was 28 and never had a car. I lived mostly in small towns and the country, never had a car, wasn't a problem. The UK has a reasonably good public transport network though it's horribly over-priced since privatisation, especially trains.
  - tezza 9y ago
    try doing the school run with 2+ differently aged kids try getting stuff back from ikea with kids what about plumbers and tradespeople sure you can rent a car but then you are talking £££ just because it worked for you does not mean everyone else could follow suit
    - pizza234 9y ago
      As wrote above, it depends on the culture. I can tell you for certain that kids and ikea can be handled, and are handled, without the need for a car, where the culture supports it. Plumbers and tradespeople (and who else) are a small part of the population. That is not representative, especially considering that nobody's talking about banning cars completely. I don't doubt that in a city without good public transport and bike support the activies above are practically impossible. Ultimately, it depends on the direction a given culture wants to point to. sure you can rent a car but then you are talking £££ Owning a car costs, and not little. So very general statement like this don't make much sense.
      - ekianjo 9y ago
        indeed a car costs money so you can be sure that when most people have one it means they really need it and that its not for show.
    - bildung 9y ago
      I live in a town in Germany, with two kids and no car. Zero problems. If I order furniture online (or even in my town), a truck delivers it to the doorstep.
      - 9y ago
- pjc50 9y ago
  It's very much "yes, and" here: much of the UK needs better public transport anyway, especially local buses. Something like half the population lives or works in dense cities or towns - most UK city and town cores are on dense medieval street plans.
- pizza234 9y ago
  This statement is incorrect, if posed in the general form, as a distinction needs to be made between cultures where public transport is core (eg. some parts of Europe), or individual transport is (eg. some parts of USA). I don't doubt that in the latter it's hard to live without a car, but in the former, you can definitely live without it, and use other means for the exceptional cases.
- Veen 9y ago
  Before the 1960s and the Beeching Cuts, it was fairly easy to get everywhere in the UK — tiny villages included — by rail. I live in tiny village in Devon with a population of 250 people. It had a train station until the 60s. Today, my village has excellent bus service: two or three buses an hour into the nearest large cities and towns. That's likely because it's a big draw for tourists and hikers, and the roads around here aren't designed for lots of cars (many of them are too narrow for more than one vehicle at a time), but it's certainly possible. If the government had the will to invest in infrastructure, public transport is a reasonable option in the UK.
- xbmcuser 9y ago
  20 years from now self owned cars will be a rarity. I live in Singapore where the government has always been very anti car ownership and all its policies including great public transport didn't have as much effect as allowing grab and Uber did to bring down the car population in the last 2 years.
  - CrystalLangUser 9y ago
    Yeah pal try that in the US. Public transit is straight up impossible in many, many areas because few places offer transit that’s actually good enough for never using cars... Good luck reliably getting an Uber in Hicksville, SC or anywhere that’s rural.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    Singapore was already full of super cheap Taxis well before Uber.
    - xbmcuser 9y ago
      The price was cheap but normal taxi service was not convenient or good enough. Grab and Uber have changed that it is not just about the price but the convenience which was my main point.

public transport is never going to let you go where and when you need to go unless you live in very dense cities. So no, thats not a solution.

Doctor_Fegg 9y ago
The story is about the UK and there are plenty of rural areas in the UK with good public transport: I live in one such and don't own a car.
- mrb 9y ago
  You just did the software debugging equivalent of saying "it works for me" :)
  - vertex-four 9y ago
    Ehh, no, "it works where I am and it could work where you are" isn't "works for me" - it's pointing out that areas with shitty public transport don't have to have shitty public transport, that's just the obvious result of bus deregulation and a lack of relevant subsidies on the part of local Government.
  - lmm 9y ago
    That's a legitimate response when someone says "this doesn't work and could never possibly work".
  - Veen 9y ago
    I live in Devon in the middle of nowhere and the public transportation is excellent. I also don't drive, and I have no trouble getting where I need to be.
- NTripleOne 9y ago
  Lucky you. We lost one of our major bus providers in Cornwall a few years back and public transport has been shite ever since. I literally cannot take public transport to and from work, it's that bad.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    and even when there is public transport it does not work at night so it becomes a mess quickly if you enjoy going out.
slight 9y ago
I lived in the UK until I was 28 and never had a car. I lived mostly in small towns and the country, never had a car, wasn't a problem. The UK has a reasonably good public transport network though it's horribly over-priced since privatisation, especially trains.
- tezza 9y ago
  try doing the school run with 2+ differently aged kids try getting stuff back from ikea with kids what about plumbers and tradespeople sure you can rent a car but then you are talking £££ just because it worked for you does not mean everyone else could follow suit
  - pizza234 9y ago
    As wrote above, it depends on the culture. I can tell you for certain that kids and ikea can be handled, and are handled, without the need for a car, where the culture supports it. Plumbers and tradespeople (and who else) are a small part of the population. That is not representative, especially considering that nobody's talking about banning cars completely. I don't doubt that in a city without good public transport and bike support the activies above are practically impossible. Ultimately, it depends on the direction a given culture wants to point to. sure you can rent a car but then you are talking £££ Owning a car costs, and not little. So very general statement like this don't make much sense.
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      indeed a car costs money so you can be sure that when most people have one it means they really need it and that its not for show.
  - bildung 9y ago
    I live in a town in Germany, with two kids and no car. Zero problems. If I order furniture online (or even in my town), a truck delivers it to the doorstep.
    - 9y ago
pjc50 9y ago
It's very much "yes, and" here: much of the UK needs better public transport anyway, especially local buses. Something like half the population lives or works in dense cities or towns - most UK city and town cores are on dense medieval street plans.
pizza234 9y ago
This statement is incorrect, if posed in the general form, as a distinction needs to be made between cultures where public transport is core (eg. some parts of Europe), or individual transport is (eg. some parts of USA). I don't doubt that in the latter it's hard to live without a car, but in the former, you can definitely live without it, and use other means for the exceptional cases.
Veen 9y ago
Before the 1960s and the Beeching Cuts, it was fairly easy to get everywhere in the UK — tiny villages included — by rail. I live in tiny village in Devon with a population of 250 people. It had a train station until the 60s. Today, my village has excellent bus service: two or three buses an hour into the nearest large cities and towns. That's likely because it's a big draw for tourists and hikers, and the roads around here aren't designed for lots of cars (many of them are too narrow for more than one vehicle at a time), but it's certainly possible. If the government had the will to invest in infrastructure, public transport is a reasonable option in the UK.
xbmcuser 9y ago
20 years from now self owned cars will be a rarity. I live in Singapore where the government has always been very anti car ownership and all its policies including great public transport didn't have as much effect as allowing grab and Uber did to bring down the car population in the last 2 years.
- CrystalLangUser 9y ago
  Yeah pal try that in the US. Public transit is straight up impossible in many, many areas because few places offer transit that’s actually good enough for never using cars... Good luck reliably getting an Uber in Hicksville, SC or anywhere that’s rural.
- ekianjo 9y ago
  Singapore was already full of super cheap Taxis well before Uber.
  - xbmcuser 9y ago
    The price was cheap but normal taxi service was not convenient or good enough. Grab and Uber have changed that it is not just about the price but the convenience which was my main point.