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The irony here being that Japan already looks like this. It has wonderful public transportation and cars are almost non-existent in Tokyo and Osaka. You see a

The irony here being that Japan already looks like this. It has wonderful public transportation and cars are almost non-existent in Tokyo and Osaka. You see a lot more cars in the outskirts and in smaller cities (like Kyoto) where they haven't hit critical mass, or there has been mismanagement of the transit infrastructure.

rayiner 7y ago
> It has wonderful public transportation and cars are almost non-existent in Tokyo and Osaka. What version of Tokyo have you been to? Cars are everywhere in Tokyo. A quarter of commuters drive alone.
- streb-lo 7y ago
  > A quarter of commuters drive alone. That's really low compared to NA where even in a metro area I'd guess it's at least 50%.
  - rayiner 7y ago
    Sure, it's lower, but it's hardly "non-existent."
    - streb-lo 7y ago
      Non-existent is seemingly hyperbole (never been to Japan) but I can imagine it might be shocking if OP were from NA and he/she are actually witnessing traffic volumes cut in half or more.
      - just_myles 7y ago
        Definitely not non-existent but can appear that way when you compare it to southern california.
- Patrick_Devine 7y ago
  I'm not certain how to parse your comment. If 25% of people drive in Tokyo to commute, that means 75% of them don't, which supports my point. Compare that to most cities in North America where more than 85% of commuters drive.
  - xyzzyz 7y ago
    If 25% of people drive in Tokyo to commute, that means 75% of them don't, which supports my point. Your point was that "cars are almost non-existent in Tokyo and Osaka", which hardly is supported by the fact that 25% of commuters drive.
    - Patrick_Devine 7y ago
      Here's a link to some photos on my last trip to Tokyo. This is in and around Akihabara and Asakusabashi, and I think there might be one in Shibuya. I realize this can be considered anecdotal or "cherry-picked", and I'm sure there are parts of Tokyo which have way more traffic (most likely closer to the outskirts), however, this was the experience that I've had in many parts of the city the multiple times I've been there. https://photos.app.goo.gl/MnZphrfcZNB2GvW26 https://photos.app.goo.gl/MnZphrfcZNB2GvW26
      - xyzzyz 7y ago
        In my experience, most US cities, even those with terrible traffic, are not uniformly packed with cars. That's because there are lots and lots of roads in a city, but only so many cars. However, usually there are certain corridors that one practically has go through if one wants to get from one area to the other, and those are the most congested. For example, I live in Seattle, city with one of the worse traffic situations in the country. However, if you stroll on most of the surface streets in downtown, you'll never notice that. Most congestion in the metro occurs on the major freeways that allow one to travel through the area on a north-south axis: SR-99, I-5 and I-405, and on the surface streets and ramps directly leading to these freeways. Before you get to these, and after you get off them, you'll see rather little traffic, and pretty much no congestion to speak of.

rayiner 7y ago

> It has wonderful public transportation and cars are almost non-existent in Tokyo and Osaka. What version of Tokyo have you been to? Cars are everywhere in Tokyo. A quarter of commuters drive alone.

streb-lo 7y ago
> A quarter of commuters drive alone. That's really low compared to NA where even in a metro area I'd guess it's at least 50%.
- rayiner 7y ago
  Sure, it's lower, but it's hardly "non-existent."
  - streb-lo 7y ago
    Non-existent is seemingly hyperbole (never been to Japan) but I can imagine it might be shocking if OP were from NA and he/she are actually witnessing traffic volumes cut in half or more.
    - just_myles 7y ago
      Definitely not non-existent but can appear that way when you compare it to southern california.
Patrick_Devine 7y ago
I'm not certain how to parse your comment. If 25% of people drive in Tokyo to commute, that means 75% of them don't, which supports my point. Compare that to most cities in North America where more than 85% of commuters drive.
- xyzzyz 7y ago
  If 25% of people drive in Tokyo to commute, that means 75% of them don't, which supports my point. Your point was that "cars are almost non-existent in Tokyo and Osaka", which hardly is supported by the fact that 25% of commuters drive.
  - Patrick_Devine 7y ago
    Here's a link to some photos on my last trip to Tokyo. This is in and around Akihabara and Asakusabashi, and I think there might be one in Shibuya. I realize this can be considered anecdotal or "cherry-picked", and I'm sure there are parts of Tokyo which have way more traffic (most likely closer to the outskirts), however, this was the experience that I've had in many parts of the city the multiple times I've been there. https://photos.app.goo.gl/MnZphrfcZNB2GvW26 https://photos.app.goo.gl/MnZphrfcZNB2GvW26
    - xyzzyz 7y ago
      In my experience, most US cities, even those with terrible traffic, are not uniformly packed with cars. That's because there are lots and lots of roads in a city, but only so many cars. However, usually there are certain corridors that one practically has go through if one wants to get from one area to the other, and those are the most congested. For example, I live in Seattle, city with one of the worse traffic situations in the country. However, if you stroll on most of the surface streets in downtown, you'll never notice that. Most congestion in the metro occurs on the major freeways that allow one to travel through the area on a north-south axis: SR-99, I-5 and I-405, and on the surface streets and ramps directly leading to these freeways. Before you get to these, and after you get off them, you'll see rather little traffic, and pretty much no congestion to speak of.