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A lot of people here in Portland don't seem to grasp that. They go, well adding an extra lane will just make that lane full... yeah... exactly otherwise whats t

• Thlom 8y ago
  WTF. Mass transit is a great idea period. It works in numerous places around the world. Even if it doesn't run 24/7 or everywhere it runs most of the day and to many places. Meaning less cars and less need to "stack the highways"(!!!), meaning less space used for parking and roads and more space available for humans.
  • rplst8 8y ago
    It doesn't work for outlying areas. The further you get form a hub, the more varied the travel plans are. Express services work for connecting hubs. But it's the 30-60 mile out suburbs that are a challenge. Note, they are only a challenge if bureaucrats and big business continue to pour money into centralizing resources in giant cities. In a modern Internet connected economy, there is very little reason to colocate so many government services and large corporations.
• Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  Mass transit isn't perfect, so it shouldn't be had? That seems like flimsy logic when a number of the issues can be fixed. Move to smaller over-the-road mass transit for off-hours or have fewer busses. You don't need to have full-size busses at 2am when you can use the smaller busses that schools use at times, for example, or simply have a bus that runs once an hour. You can make sure that major employers are serviced by busses either regularly or at times when their shifts start and stop (factories, for example). You can use van-sized taxis for smaller areas and adjust the routes to meet needs in smaller areas or have electric, automatic trams that run at specific times through the day and less so at night. Intercity travel can be more restricted if the demand isn't there. Amsterdam has folks scan their ticket for the trams on their way out ... so they can see where folks are going to and from, in general, to better meet demand. Something like this can surely be done in different ways. Even more, you can create safe walking and cycling paths so folks are more likely to be able safely get to public transport. Have bus shelters many places. Perhaps don't expect it to make a profit. Perhaps tax vehicles to help pay for them when they are available to the user - after all, if you own a car when public transport will adequately fit your needs, the car is a luxury. Perhaps utilize more tolls to help pay for them. I've never had someone harass me on a bus where I am at now. In fact, I didn't have this issue in the states either when I was lucky enough to live in a place with busses. It would seem the solution would be to actually take care of folks that are homeless and mentally ill. It would make sense to call the police if someone is causing an actual disturbance to others. These aren't problems with public transportation, these are problems with society.
  • dawnerd 8y ago
    I’m not saying it should exist at all. It needs to be better here. American mass transit is just plain awful.