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Meanwhile in the USA we subsidize big oil and gas and bail out failing car manufacturers all while claiming market mechanisms and capitalism is the only way to

by maym86 8y ago

Meanwhile in the USA we subsidize big oil and gas and bail out failing car manufacturers all while claiming market mechanisms and capitalism is the only way to go.

paidleaf 8y ago
Don't forget too-big-to-fail banks. They got bailed out and now they are even bigger than they were after gobbling up a bunch of mid-level banks the past few years.
seanmcdirmid 8y ago
We also have a lot more electric buses on the road in the USA than before, at least here in the Seattle area (well, we’ve always had them due to hills and cheap hydro, but now they have batteries).
- maym86 8y ago
  The article isn't just about having some elecric busses in some cities. We also had some solar panels in USA but we weren't investing in them in the same way to increase their usage and ramp up their production. It's about the Chinese government investing in electric vehicles to make them cheaper long term and increase their viability and usage.
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    Yes, I know. But it isn’t like electric buses aren’t getting traction here in the states at all. Where public transportation is really a thing, this is happening. China has public transportation everywhere of course, though you’ll see these buses in shanghai and Beijing but not yet in tier 3’s (at least last time I checked a couple of years ago, it will change eventually).
- mtgx 8y ago
  > We also have a lot more electric buses on the road in the USA Is there a source for that?
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    Here is what is happening locally where I live: https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/king-county-rolls-on-with-its-electric-bus-fleet-plans/ https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/king-county-rolls-on-with... https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/with-some-all-electric-buses-metro-transit-rides-into-the-future/ https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/with-some-all-electric-... I happen to live near both of the routes (downtown Bellevue) that have already been electrified, so it already seems like a huge thing here, even though they are just getting started. (Incidentally, the same thing was true in Beijing when I lived on their first battery electric route 7 years ago)
- thebradbain 8y ago
  From what I've read, 99% of the world's municipal electric busses are currently in Chinese cities. And I also believe Los Angeles has a bigger electric bus fleet than Seattle? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/china-is-adding-a-london-sized-electric-bus-fleet-every-five-weeks/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/china-is-adding-a-lon...
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    I believe that is correct, though LA is a much bigger city than Seattle also.
- theseadroid 8y ago
  >a lot more electric buses on the road in the USA The sources you provided didn't say anything about that. In the meantime: https://qz.com/1169690/shenzhen-in-china-has-16359-electric-buses-more-than-americas-biggest-citiess-conventional-bus-fleet/ https://qz.com/1169690/shenzhen-in-china-has-16359-electric-...
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    Because I never made that claim in the first place. I only meant more than before, not more than China, that should have been obvious from context but I edited my comment to make that more clear.
- PakG1 8y ago
  I find that difficult to believe. For example, Shenzhen just achieved a milestone of 100% electric buses, and it alone has way more buses on the road than Seattle. Your point on 3rd-tier cities stands, but I think it's misleading to say that there are more electric buses on the road in the USA. Other Chinese cities won't be far behind Shenzhen.
  - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
    Sorry if it wasn’t clear in my comment, I meant “a lot more” as in “more and more”, not “more than China”. I wasn’t trying to claim that he USA had more electric buses than China (that should have been obvious isn’t the second sentence, but I edited my comment to make it clearer), only that parts of the USA are undergoing an electric bus revolution at the moment also (to counteract parent that said we are just obsessed with oil).

by maym86 8y ago

Meanwhile in the USA we subsidize big oil and gas and bail out failing car manufacturers all while claiming market mechanisms and capitalism is the only way to go.

paidleaf 8y ago

Don't forget too-big-to-fail banks. They got bailed out and now they are even bigger than they were after gobbling up a bunch of mid-level banks the past few years.

seanmcdirmid 8y ago

We also have a lot more electric buses on the road in the USA than before, at least here in the Seattle area (well, we’ve always had them due to hills and cheap hydro, but now they have batteries).

maym86 8y ago
The article isn't just about having some elecric busses in some cities. We also had some solar panels in USA but we weren't investing in them in the same way to increase their usage and ramp up their production. It's about the Chinese government investing in electric vehicles to make them cheaper long term and increase their viability and usage.
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  Yes, I know. But it isn’t like electric buses aren’t getting traction here in the states at all. Where public transportation is really a thing, this is happening. China has public transportation everywhere of course, though you’ll see these buses in shanghai and Beijing but not yet in tier 3’s (at least last time I checked a couple of years ago, it will change eventually).
mtgx 8y ago
> We also have a lot more electric buses on the road in the USA Is there a source for that?
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  Here is what is happening locally where I live: https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/king-county-rolls-on-with-its-electric-bus-fleet-plans/ https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/king-county-rolls-on-with... https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/with-some-all-electric-buses-metro-transit-rides-into-the-future/ https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/with-some-all-electric-... I happen to live near both of the routes (downtown Bellevue) that have already been electrified, so it already seems like a huge thing here, even though they are just getting started. (Incidentally, the same thing was true in Beijing when I lived on their first battery electric route 7 years ago)
thebradbain 8y ago
From what I've read, 99% of the world's municipal electric busses are currently in Chinese cities. And I also believe Los Angeles has a bigger electric bus fleet than Seattle? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/china-is-adding-a-london-sized-electric-bus-fleet-every-five-weeks/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/china-is-adding-a-lon...
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  I believe that is correct, though LA is a much bigger city than Seattle also.
theseadroid 8y ago
>a lot more electric buses on the road in the USA The sources you provided didn't say anything about that. In the meantime: https://qz.com/1169690/shenzhen-in-china-has-16359-electric-buses-more-than-americas-biggest-citiess-conventional-bus-fleet/ https://qz.com/1169690/shenzhen-in-china-has-16359-electric-...
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  Because I never made that claim in the first place. I only meant more than before, not more than China, that should have been obvious from context but I edited my comment to make that more clear.
PakG1 8y ago
I find that difficult to believe. For example, Shenzhen just achieved a milestone of 100% electric buses, and it alone has way more buses on the road than Seattle. Your point on 3rd-tier cities stands, but I think it's misleading to say that there are more electric buses on the road in the USA. Other Chinese cities won't be far behind Shenzhen.
- seanmcdirmid 8y ago
  Sorry if it wasn’t clear in my comment, I meant “a lot more” as in “more and more”, not “more than China”. I wasn’t trying to claim that he USA had more electric buses than China (that should have been obvious isn’t the second sentence, but I edited my comment to make it clearer), only that parts of the USA are undergoing an electric bus revolution at the moment also (to counteract parent that said we are just obsessed with oil).