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Something seems wrong about this analogy. Scarcely any U.S. city can compete with Quito—a place I was told would be poor and dysfunctional—in the ease of getti

by lacker 6y ago

Something seems wrong about this analogy. Scarcely any U.S. city can compete with Quito—a place I was told would be poor and dysfunctional—in the ease of getting around on public transit. The network of these informal bus lines has not been coordinated from above. These aren't "public transit". They are private bus lines. The right comparison is how easy it is to get around the US using private transit like Uber. In the US, it's also quite possible to furnish your house over the internet, by getting furniture and other items delivered. Far more efficient than traveling about, either on public or private transit.

ogre_codes 6y ago
> These aren't "public transit". They are private bus lines. The right comparison is how easy it is to get around the US using private transit like Uber. I agree they aren't public transit in the classic/ US sense, but comparing them to Uber/ Lyft isn't right either since the cost difference is an order of magnitude different. Uber and Lyft very wasteful compared to a busy bus line. Bus transportation in Quibi is $0.25-0.50 by comparison, an affordable amount even where incomes are much lower. If Uber was $1-2, then it would be more comparable. For lower income workers, the $5.80/ trip minimum Uber fair is simply not an option for daily transportation.
- lacker 6y ago
  Income is also an order of magnitude different between the US and Ecuador. So the cost is pretty similar between the two options in terms of peoples' ability to pay.
rcoveson 6y ago
> The right comparison is how easy it is to get around the US using private transit like Uber. In my experience (Santa Ana, El Salvador), it's still not even close. The bus routes are smart and frequent, the city is eminently walk-able, and you can always just hop in a Bajaj rickshaw ("tuctuc") if you need to go somewhere far off a route. You'd never pay more than 50 cents for any trip in town. Uber can be extremely slow (I've waited up to an hour and often around half an hour for trips in some big US cities). It's also absurdly expensive, and it seems that the more expensive it is the slower it will probably be (cities with low driver counts).
Barrin92 6y ago
Public transport generally means group transit accessible to the general public, not "publicly owned". Uber is private transit because of its individualised nature, and that's what the author is talking about here. And it's definitely true that the US, in many places just lacks in that regard even compared to poorer countries.

by lacker 6y ago

ogre_codes 6y ago

> These aren't "public transit". They are private bus lines. The right comparison is how easy it is to get around the US using private transit like Uber. I agree they aren't public transit in the classic/ US sense, but comparing them to Uber/ Lyft isn't right either since the cost difference is an order of magnitude different. Uber and Lyft very wasteful compared to a busy bus line. Bus transportation in Quibi is $0.25-0.50 by comparison, an affordable amount even where incomes are much lower. If Uber was $1-2, then it would be more comparable. For lower income workers, the $5.80/ trip minimum Uber fair is simply not an option for daily transportation.

lacker 6y ago
Income is also an order of magnitude different between the US and Ecuador. So the cost is pretty similar between the two options in terms of peoples' ability to pay.

rcoveson 6y ago

> The right comparison is how easy it is to get around the US using private transit like Uber. In my experience (Santa Ana, El Salvador), it's still not even close. The bus routes are smart and frequent, the city is eminently walk-able, and you can always just hop in a Bajaj rickshaw ("tuctuc") if you need to go somewhere far off a route. You'd never pay more than 50 cents for any trip in town. Uber can be extremely slow (I've waited up to an hour and often around half an hour for trips in some big US cities). It's also absurdly expensive, and it seems that the more expensive it is the slower it will probably be (cities with low driver counts).

Barrin92 6y ago

Public transport generally means group transit accessible to the general public, not "publicly owned". Uber is private transit because of its individualised nature, and that's what the author is talking about here. And it's definitely true that the US, in many places just lacks in that regard even compared to poorer countries.