4 ms·

The likely answer is that the Japanese are an efficient people in general. It's not surprising that a group of people following the same social norms would hav

by fein 8y ago

The likely answer is that the Japanese are an efficient people in general. It's not surprising that a group of people following the same social norms would have an efficient system for public transport.

contingencies 8y ago
Americans would first build a three level carpark and gas station, then a strip mall with a drug store, take-away coffee and donuts. Then they would privatize the publicly funded station, at which time the service quality would tank and the entire facility would fall in to a state of minimum repair. Or something like that.
- fein 8y ago
  Are we using reality here or whatever lives in your head? American public transit is public (government owned and run) and it still sucks. Additionally Japan, just like any other country, is going to build concessions and parking into/ around anything that draws enough people to merit an investment.
  - contingencies 8y ago
    Reality, depending on what you believe. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/oct/prescription-drug-costs-us-outlier http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/20... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doughnut_shops#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doughnut_shops#United_... https://www.nap.edu/read/10141/chapter/4#42 https://www.nap.edu/read/10141/chapter/4#42
- twblalock 8y ago
  In Japan, most of the rail network was privatized in the 1990s and it's still the best in the world. Nothing tanked. Large department stores, malls, hotels, etc. are generally built into the major stations, and are often owned and operated by the rail companies. Most of them really do have drugstores, coffee shops and bakeries/donut shops. It's very convenient for commuters who need to shop on the way to/from work, and the money helps keep the trains running. If we did more of this in America, our transit companies would be better off.
  - contingencies 8y ago
    Yep, I am not table-thumping just drawing an amused sketch of the US stereotype. Regarding real estate as a funding source for transit, HK has a similar model. MTR corporation runs about seven malls I think.
  - sirmarksalot 8y ago
    Japanese privatization is an interesting phenomenon, where crony capitalism gives the corporations immense power, but simultaneously a huge responsibility act like societal patriarchs. At least on the outside, a big corporation can't be seen as evil, and if they ever get caught betraying that trust, CEO suicides are not unheard of. On the bright side, it means the train lines get built and the fares are kept reasonable, despite monopoly power. On the negative side, people tend to trust these companies way more than is healthy, and if you try to do something that you're legally entitled to, but that a company doesn't like, you generally won't get much sympathy when it doesn't work out.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  >Then they would privatize the publicly funded station, at which time the service quality would tank and the entire facility would fall in to a state of minimum repair. Or something like that. The reverse happened to the rail system I ride. It tanked when government took over. Turns out that a company that can't just ask the taxpayers to bail it out if it goes bankrupt runs a more effective train system than the government who answers to (in practical terms) nobody. The fact of the matter is that if the organization that runs the service has a culture that gives no fucks about delivering good service to customers then you won't get good service. In the US this attitude is more often found in government than private enterprise because the government has a monopoly backed by law so it doesn't have to care about pesky things like customer satisfaction.
droidist2 8y ago
In India they follow much different social norms, it's an interesting contrast. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1eAP-BoxVkg https://youtube.com/watch?v=1eAP-BoxVkg
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  I did this at my last India visit a long time ago. It was frightening and exhilarating at the same time :-).

by fein 8y ago

contingencies 8y ago

Americans would first build a three level carpark and gas station, then a strip mall with a drug store, take-away coffee and donuts. Then they would privatize the publicly funded station, at which time the service quality would tank and the entire facility would fall in to a state of minimum repair. Or something like that.

fein 8y ago
Are we using reality here or whatever lives in your head? American public transit is public (government owned and run) and it still sucks. Additionally Japan, just like any other country, is going to build concessions and parking into/ around anything that draws enough people to merit an investment.
- contingencies 8y ago
  Reality, depending on what you believe. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/oct/prescription-drug-costs-us-outlier http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/20... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_vehicles_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doughnut_shops#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doughnut_shops#United_... https://www.nap.edu/read/10141/chapter/4#42 https://www.nap.edu/read/10141/chapter/4#42
twblalock 8y ago
In Japan, most of the rail network was privatized in the 1990s and it's still the best in the world. Nothing tanked. Large department stores, malls, hotels, etc. are generally built into the major stations, and are often owned and operated by the rail companies. Most of them really do have drugstores, coffee shops and bakeries/donut shops. It's very convenient for commuters who need to shop on the way to/from work, and the money helps keep the trains running. If we did more of this in America, our transit companies would be better off.
- contingencies 8y ago
  Yep, I am not table-thumping just drawing an amused sketch of the US stereotype. Regarding real estate as a funding source for transit, HK has a similar model. MTR corporation runs about seven malls I think.
- sirmarksalot 8y ago
  Japanese privatization is an interesting phenomenon, where crony capitalism gives the corporations immense power, but simultaneously a huge responsibility act like societal patriarchs. At least on the outside, a big corporation can't be seen as evil, and if they ever get caught betraying that trust, CEO suicides are not unheard of. On the bright side, it means the train lines get built and the fares are kept reasonable, despite monopoly power. On the negative side, people tend to trust these companies way more than is healthy, and if you try to do something that you're legally entitled to, but that a company doesn't like, you generally won't get much sympathy when it doesn't work out.
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>Then they would privatize the publicly funded station, at which time the service quality would tank and the entire facility would fall in to a state of minimum repair. Or something like that. The reverse happened to the rail system I ride. It tanked when government took over. Turns out that a company that can't just ask the taxpayers to bail it out if it goes bankrupt runs a more effective train system than the government who answers to (in practical terms) nobody. The fact of the matter is that if the organization that runs the service has a culture that gives no fucks about delivering good service to customers then you won't get good service. In the US this attitude is more often found in government than private enterprise because the government has a monopoly backed by law so it doesn't have to care about pesky things like customer satisfaction.

droidist2 8y ago

In India they follow much different social norms, it's an interesting contrast. https://youtube.com/watch?v=1eAP-BoxVkg https://youtube.com/watch?v=1eAP-BoxVkg

maxxxxx 8y ago
I did this at my last India visit a long time ago. It was frightening and exhilarating at the same time :-).