5 ms·

Public transit, if you're not acclimated to it, is absurd. Coming from outside the area, I'd have to pay to park (including time spent trying to find a decent s

Public transit, if you're not acclimated to it, is absurd. Coming from outside the area, I'd have to pay to park (including time spent trying to find a decent spot), walk a non-trivial distance to the station, coordinate movement of multiple people (including young children) amid crowds, wait for transit arrival, board, find seat (!), wait, stop at every station before exit, switch transit multiple times (repeat wait/board/sit/wait), be in close proximity with strange/unpleasant/criminal people, finally walk considerable distance to destination ... never mind cargo issues. If you're acclimated to this, you don't grasp how repulsive it sounds to many. That vs what is (to us driving-acclimated): get in car, drive there, get out ... with plenty of cargo space. Take the dog if you like. There's a reason I live suburban and yearn for rural: I don't want to be shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers much of the time, transit included. A few rare cases aside (Munich was nice), I don't want to "experience the city" - most are dirty overcrowded bastions of hyper-dependency. A car is a refuge; transit is exposure.

coldtea 7y ago
>Public transit, if you're not acclimated to it, is absurd. Coming from outside the area, I'd have to pay to park (including time spent trying to find a decent spot), walk a non-trivial distance to the station, coordinate movement of multiple people (including young children) amid crowds, wait for transit arrival, board, find seat (!), wait, stop at every station before exit, switch transit multiple times (repeat wait/board/sit/wait), be in close proximity with strange/unpleasant/criminal people, finally walk considerable distance to destination ... Oh, the humanity... All this sounds like someone perfectly able but going around in a power chair describing the "horrors" of walking around...
glofish 7y ago
Wait, you forgot the bit where you are stuck in downtown traffic for hours and you can't find a parking space near the location of where you are going. Then, what if you want to go to multiple places a day, each a mile or two away, the whole ordeal repeats. It has nothing to do with acclimation - many European cities cannot operate in a car-dependent manner. As for being in close proximity to strange/unpleasant/criminals ... that's the American thinking. Yes, there are many places in America where getting a bus is very troubling, stinks, dirty ugly etc. But then there are plenty of public transportations options in Europe and elsewhere that are almost free (for a day's parking you can travel for a week on every mode of transport), clean, fast, efficient, not crowded. Incomparably simpler, easier and better than driving - especially if you are going a mile or two away.
matchbok 7y ago
Car ownership, if you're not acclimated to it, is absurd. Coming from outside the area, I rely on the city to massively subsidize my car parking that takes up tons of space for a vehicle that is used for about an hour a day. The rest of the time it is just sitting there, doing nothing. I have to buy a car, pay for insurance, pay for gas, sit in traffic for an average of an hour a day, deal with strange/unpleasant/criminal drivers, never mind the dealing with car robberies and damage. Jokes aside, but rural/suburban life is much more dependent than city-dwellers. 100% dependence on a single car every day, depending on subsidized roads and gas, etc.
AcerbicZero 7y ago
The comments so far don't seem to be very generous to your position, but honestly I can agree with at least some of your points. I basically refuse to ride buses these days due to the experiences I've had on them, as well as their overcrowded nature since the world has decided to really stick with this 8-5 schedule, and I dislike the idea of being jostled around while the junkie next to me tries to cook his spoon. I do however, love a good light rail system, although even the best of them seem to suffer the same 8-5 cattle car problem. The light rail system in Portland had its fair share of weirdo's and whatnot, but it was easy to plan, easy to use, and even when crowded pretty friendly. Plus the rest of the city is "fairly" walkable, so if I didn't feel like getting stuck on a train I could just take a longer stroll.
- majewsky 7y ago
  > first paragraph It's hilarious how you can tell from those comments which people come from USA or from Europe. These experiences sound like bad fiction to my German ears (except for the overcrowding during rush hours, which public transit is affected by just as much as car traffic).

coldtea 7y ago

>Public transit, if you're not acclimated to it, is absurd. Coming from outside the area, I'd have to pay to park (including time spent trying to find a decent spot), walk a non-trivial distance to the station, coordinate movement of multiple people (including young children) amid crowds, wait for transit arrival, board, find seat (!), wait, stop at every station before exit, switch transit multiple times (repeat wait/board/sit/wait), be in close proximity with strange/unpleasant/criminal people, finally walk considerable distance to destination ... Oh, the humanity... All this sounds like someone perfectly able but going around in a power chair describing the "horrors" of walking around...

glofish 7y ago

Wait, you forgot the bit where you are stuck in downtown traffic for hours and you can't find a parking space near the location of where you are going. Then, what if you want to go to multiple places a day, each a mile or two away, the whole ordeal repeats. It has nothing to do with acclimation - many European cities cannot operate in a car-dependent manner. As for being in close proximity to strange/unpleasant/criminals ... that's the American thinking. Yes, there are many places in America where getting a bus is very troubling, stinks, dirty ugly etc. But then there are plenty of public transportations options in Europe and elsewhere that are almost free (for a day's parking you can travel for a week on every mode of transport), clean, fast, efficient, not crowded. Incomparably simpler, easier and better than driving - especially if you are going a mile or two away.

matchbok 7y ago

Car ownership, if you're not acclimated to it, is absurd. Coming from outside the area, I rely on the city to massively subsidize my car parking that takes up tons of space for a vehicle that is used for about an hour a day. The rest of the time it is just sitting there, doing nothing. I have to buy a car, pay for insurance, pay for gas, sit in traffic for an average of an hour a day, deal with strange/unpleasant/criminal drivers, never mind the dealing with car robberies and damage. Jokes aside, but rural/suburban life is much more dependent than city-dwellers. 100% dependence on a single car every day, depending on subsidized roads and gas, etc.

AcerbicZero 7y ago

The comments so far don't seem to be very generous to your position, but honestly I can agree with at least some of your points. I basically refuse to ride buses these days due to the experiences I've had on them, as well as their overcrowded nature since the world has decided to really stick with this 8-5 schedule, and I dislike the idea of being jostled around while the junkie next to me tries to cook his spoon. I do however, love a good light rail system, although even the best of them seem to suffer the same 8-5 cattle car problem. The light rail system in Portland had its fair share of weirdo's and whatnot, but it was easy to plan, easy to use, and even when crowded pretty friendly. Plus the rest of the city is "fairly" walkable, so if I didn't feel like getting stuck on a train I could just take a longer stroll.

majewsky 7y ago
> first paragraph It's hilarious how you can tell from those comments which people come from USA or from Europe. These experiences sound like bad fiction to my German ears (except for the overcrowding during rush hours, which public transit is affected by just as much as car traffic).