5 ms·

Yep. Intercity traffic is a problem we solved in the 1800s.

dmix 7y ago
Riding trains is great, getting to the train station(s) in a busy city, worrying about the schedule and being in the right spot for the right train, etc, is not at all fun. But otherwise agreed a ton of this stuff could be solved with modern trains. But appeasing all of the special interest groups in between has made infrastructure development impossibly expensive or takes a decade. So we keep driving cars even long distances between cities.
- bpye 7y ago
  This is still a solved problem in many European cities. Train stations are often in the city centre, or on the edge of it. They almost always connect with either metro or bus networks, typically with frequent services.
  - zahrc 7y ago
    Not in Germany, may be in big cities, but any other region is plagued by disruptions and way less frequent services paired together with horrible local public transport. The former government owned national railway basically owns every piece of important track and doesn’t give a damn about customers. The prices are constantly rising while the service declines. Can’t count how much time I’ve wasted on several train stations, waiting for up to two hours for late trains, hell, even having to get a hotel multiple times.
- fataliss 7y ago
  Cities like Tokyo have solved most of that for now decades. Def depends on whether the government is willing to make the investment (heavy) into the right amount and level of infrastructure. When you know that Los Angeles used to have over a 1000 miles of rails before the 60's and after pressure from car and tire makers ripped it all away, you understand where all our traffic problems come from :)
- zahrc 7y ago
  I know it’s practically impossible and sheer utopic but I dream of an never-ending Train going in a circle, kind of like a moving tunnel.
  - aikinai 7y ago
    The main loop in Tokyo comes every two minutes; it’s as close as you can get practically get to a constantly moving tunnel.
  - jpindar 7y ago
    You might enjoy this classic story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roads_Must_Roll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roads_Must_Roll
- ascagnel_ 7y ago
  > Riding trains is great, getting to the train station(s) in a busy city, worrying about the schedule and being in the right spot for the right train, etc, is not at all fun. I'd say that, in the majority of cases, it's either no more difficult or outright easier than getting to an airport, as airports tend to be located on the outskirts of cities (requiring connecting train/bus service or private cars), while most rail hubs tend to be in city centers.
Tiktaalik 7y ago
Intracity transportation was also solved in the 1800s. (compact towns & bicycles)

dmix 7y ago

Riding trains is great, getting to the train station(s) in a busy city, worrying about the schedule and being in the right spot for the right train, etc, is not at all fun. But otherwise agreed a ton of this stuff could be solved with modern trains. But appeasing all of the special interest groups in between has made infrastructure development impossibly expensive or takes a decade. So we keep driving cars even long distances between cities.

bpye 7y ago
This is still a solved problem in many European cities. Train stations are often in the city centre, or on the edge of it. They almost always connect with either metro or bus networks, typically with frequent services.
- zahrc 7y ago
  Not in Germany, may be in big cities, but any other region is plagued by disruptions and way less frequent services paired together with horrible local public transport. The former government owned national railway basically owns every piece of important track and doesn’t give a damn about customers. The prices are constantly rising while the service declines. Can’t count how much time I’ve wasted on several train stations, waiting for up to two hours for late trains, hell, even having to get a hotel multiple times.
fataliss 7y ago
Cities like Tokyo have solved most of that for now decades. Def depends on whether the government is willing to make the investment (heavy) into the right amount and level of infrastructure. When you know that Los Angeles used to have over a 1000 miles of rails before the 60's and after pressure from car and tire makers ripped it all away, you understand where all our traffic problems come from :)
zahrc 7y ago
I know it’s practically impossible and sheer utopic but I dream of an never-ending Train going in a circle, kind of like a moving tunnel.
- aikinai 7y ago
  The main loop in Tokyo comes every two minutes; it’s as close as you can get practically get to a constantly moving tunnel.
- jpindar 7y ago
  You might enjoy this classic story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roads_Must_Roll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roads_Must_Roll
ascagnel_ 7y ago
> Riding trains is great, getting to the train station(s) in a busy city, worrying about the schedule and being in the right spot for the right train, etc, is not at all fun. I'd say that, in the majority of cases, it's either no more difficult or outright easier than getting to an airport, as airports tend to be located on the outskirts of cities (requiring connecting train/bus service or private cars), while most rail hubs tend to be in city centers.

Tiktaalik 7y ago

Intracity transportation was also solved in the 1800s. (compact towns & bicycles)