3 ms·

Quite a lot of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, etc have bad public transport. From your username and use of the British-style "transport"

Quite a lot of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, etc have bad public transport. From your username and use of the British-style "transport" rather than American "transportation", I'm guessing you have some connection to Hong Kong. I am quite willing to believe that's one of the places with good transport. But it's nowhere near the global norm if you look at the over-200 countries and separately administered regions/dependencies/teritories around the world.

FabHK 6y ago
Hong Kong does indeed have excellent public transport, and you are right that public transport is mediocre in many territories, particularly in rural areas. But most places really don’t require you to have a car (for starters, because many people cannot afford one). Thus, there is almost always a relatively cheap and decent option to get around, from matatus in Kenya, jeepneys in the Philippines, songthaew in Laos, to the agua guagua in Puerto Rico and the marshrutka in the former USSR. That has been my experience in all the places you mentioned except the USA and Australia. Let me rephrase my point a bit - independently of the quality of public transport, not being able to drive is not a big deal in most places except the USA. (An additional indicator for that might be the fact that the driver’s license operates as the de-facto ID card in the US.)
marcus_holmes 6y ago
I've lived in Europe, SE Asia, Australia, and very briefly America. I used to own a car in the UK about 20 years ago. Since then, bicycle and public transport (and renting a car if I need one). Europe (I now live in Berlin, but I've been most places in Europe) is obviously fine. There's 3 different rail systems, plus trams, plus buses. Plentiful bicycle lanes. Big wide pavements made for walking. And the city is so compact it's possible (even pleasant) to walk to the other side in a few hours. Australia (Perth, one of their least pedestrian-friendly cities) was sometimes a pain. Do-able - I lived there for almost 10 years with no car, but it was unusual enough to be remarked on. There is public transport, and it's mostly excellent; on time, affordable, clean and safe. But the scale of the city makes transport tedious regardless of method (half the population of Berlin, about 10 times the size). In SE Asia the "public" transport was non-existent, but you could get a tuk-tuk/red car/whatever to wherever for a few dollars (a 6-hour tuk-tuk ride in Sri Lanka cost us $20, getting anywhere in Phnom Penh was $2). And walking is usually fine - hot, sweaty, and fascinating. Transport is never a problem there. In San Diego, there was nothing. No pavement. No bus service (and I was advised not to take whatever bus there was because it was dangerous). Walking to the local 7-11 half a mile away was a 20-minute adventure dealing with road systems that made no provision for pedestrians at all. Obviously I haven't seen a bunch of the places you mention (they're on the list), but so far the USA (well, San Diego) is a completely different experience from the others. I would not want to live in San Diego without a car.

FabHK 6y ago

Hong Kong does indeed have excellent public transport, and you are right that public transport is mediocre in many territories, particularly in rural areas. But most places really don’t require you to have a car (for starters, because many people cannot afford one). Thus, there is almost always a relatively cheap and decent option to get around, from matatus in Kenya, jeepneys in the Philippines, songthaew in Laos, to the agua guagua in Puerto Rico and the marshrutka in the former USSR. That has been my experience in all the places you mentioned except the USA and Australia. Let me rephrase my point a bit - independently of the quality of public transport, not being able to drive is not a big deal in most places except the USA. (An additional indicator for that might be the fact that the driver’s license operates as the de-facto ID card in the US.)

marcus_holmes 6y ago

I've lived in Europe, SE Asia, Australia, and very briefly America. I used to own a car in the UK about 20 years ago. Since then, bicycle and public transport (and renting a car if I need one). Europe (I now live in Berlin, but I've been most places in Europe) is obviously fine. There's 3 different rail systems, plus trams, plus buses. Plentiful bicycle lanes. Big wide pavements made for walking. And the city is so compact it's possible (even pleasant) to walk to the other side in a few hours. Australia (Perth, one of their least pedestrian-friendly cities) was sometimes a pain. Do-able - I lived there for almost 10 years with no car, but it was unusual enough to be remarked on. There is public transport, and it's mostly excellent; on time, affordable, clean and safe. But the scale of the city makes transport tedious regardless of method (half the population of Berlin, about 10 times the size). In SE Asia the "public" transport was non-existent, but you could get a tuk-tuk/red car/whatever to wherever for a few dollars (a 6-hour tuk-tuk ride in Sri Lanka cost us $20, getting anywhere in Phnom Penh was $2). And walking is usually fine - hot, sweaty, and fascinating. Transport is never a problem there. In San Diego, there was nothing. No pavement. No bus service (and I was advised not to take whatever bus there was because it was dangerous). Walking to the local 7-11 half a mile away was a 20-minute adventure dealing with road systems that made no provision for pedestrians at all. Obviously I haven't seen a bunch of the places you mention (they're on the list), but so far the USA (well, San Diego) is a completely different experience from the others. I would not want to live in San Diego without a car.