5 ms·

In my opinion, public transport in cities is already good enough (it could be better, sure, but it's good enough that most people won't want to buy this "car").

by dvdkon 6y ago

In my opinion, public transport in cities is already good enough (it could be better, sure, but it's good enough that most people won't want to buy this "car"). A small "sub-car" that can be driven by younger people would make much more sense in rural areas, where public transport might exist, but maybe only once every few hours with the stop a 30 minute walk from the village. Marketing it as a city vehicle, especially in dense Paris, seems strange to me. The only people who are going to be attracted to it in that setting are those who really hate public transport.

adimitrov 6y ago
What with a pandemic going on, that demographic just increased in number. We don't own a car, and used to just get everything done by bike and public transport. But we've stopped using public transport. We do more by bike now, and use car sharing wherever that would be impossible.
fredophile 6y ago
What cities do you regularly ride public transportation in? I've used public transportation in several major North American cities and disagree that public transportation is good enough. Most cities can do a lot to improve their public transit infrastructure.
- dvdkon 6y ago
  My comment was very Europe-centric, as the car is only for sale there, but I should've clarified my statement, sorry. From my experience here in the Czech Republic, most towns either have adequate public transport or are small enough that walking everywhere is viable.
- GordonS 6y ago
  North America is unusual in that respect. For most, or at least a lot, of cities across Europe and Asia, there is good public transport.
  - ImprobableTruth 6y ago
    For some definition of 'good'. In Germany it's usable enough that you can live without it, but only if you don't really value your time and comfort. From my personal experience, only the Netherlands has a city structure and public transportation that truly makes a car redundant.
    - rsynnott 6y ago
      It's all relative. Living in Dublin, I'm always amazed at how good the public transport is in German cities when I visit (in particular, it's punctual enough that "take this tram, then wait three minutes and take that tram, then wait four minutes and take that train" type directions often work!). And then again, I'm always amused when visiting Americans think Dublin's awful public transport is good :)
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
Rural areas implies bigger roads. You aren't going to need it to get from one end of the village to another. What you need is something to get to the next town five or ten miles away. This doesn't look so attractive then.
- dvdkon 6y ago
  I agree that distance/range is a problem, but I could see this as a way to get to school, to an after-school activity or to a shop in a nearby town. 50km should be enough for that and the speed, while much worse than a proper car, doesn't look so bad once you factor in waiting for a bus/waiting after the bus arrives/having to synchronize your schedule with parents.
Broken_Hippo 6y ago
I've lived in cities with no public transport. I've lived in a few with only cabs - one city had cabs so bad that you couldn't reliably use them to get to work. (no pre-order, waiting time 10minutes to 2 hours). One had busses that didn't run late enough for 2nd shift to get home and didn't run at all on Sunday. Most of the time in the US, you cannot get from one city to another using public transportation. It took moving to Norway to live in a city with decent public transportation - and I know the countryside doesn't have as many options, even here. It seems a bit expensive, but I'm so very happy to have it nonetheless! Many cities lack appropriate and affordable public transportation and force folks to buy a car. If you live in a town large enough to have shopping centers and you work in that same town, this car would fit well. Unfortunately, living in a rural area actually makes these cars more difficult, at least in some places in the US. There are roads you couldn't drive on due to speed, and your commute would be longer. Unfortunately, the roads you need to take are also the roads that get snow cleared less often and seem to have a higher rate of disrepair.

by dvdkon 6y ago

adimitrov 6y ago

What with a pandemic going on, that demographic just increased in number. We don't own a car, and used to just get everything done by bike and public transport. But we've stopped using public transport. We do more by bike now, and use car sharing wherever that would be impossible.

fredophile 6y ago

What cities do you regularly ride public transportation in? I've used public transportation in several major North American cities and disagree that public transportation is good enough. Most cities can do a lot to improve their public transit infrastructure.

dvdkon 6y ago
My comment was very Europe-centric, as the car is only for sale there, but I should've clarified my statement, sorry. From my experience here in the Czech Republic, most towns either have adequate public transport or are small enough that walking everywhere is viable.
GordonS 6y ago
North America is unusual in that respect. For most, or at least a lot, of cities across Europe and Asia, there is good public transport.
- ImprobableTruth 6y ago
  For some definition of 'good'. In Germany it's usable enough that you can live without it, but only if you don't really value your time and comfort. From my personal experience, only the Netherlands has a city structure and public transportation that truly makes a car redundant.
  - rsynnott 6y ago
    It's all relative. Living in Dublin, I'm always amazed at how good the public transport is in German cities when I visit (in particular, it's punctual enough that "take this tram, then wait three minutes and take that tram, then wait four minutes and take that train" type directions often work!). And then again, I'm always amused when visiting Americans think Dublin's awful public transport is good :)

tonyedgecombe 6y ago

Rural areas implies bigger roads. You aren't going to need it to get from one end of the village to another. What you need is something to get to the next town five or ten miles away. This doesn't look so attractive then.

dvdkon 6y ago
I agree that distance/range is a problem, but I could see this as a way to get to school, to an after-school activity or to a shop in a nearby town. 50km should be enough for that and the speed, while much worse than a proper car, doesn't look so bad once you factor in waiting for a bus/waiting after the bus arrives/having to synchronize your schedule with parents.

Broken_Hippo 6y ago

I've lived in cities with no public transport. I've lived in a few with only cabs - one city had cabs so bad that you couldn't reliably use them to get to work. (no pre-order, waiting time 10minutes to 2 hours). One had busses that didn't run late enough for 2nd shift to get home and didn't run at all on Sunday. Most of the time in the US, you cannot get from one city to another using public transportation. It took moving to Norway to live in a city with decent public transportation - and I know the countryside doesn't have as many options, even here. It seems a bit expensive, but I'm so very happy to have it nonetheless! Many cities lack appropriate and affordable public transportation and force folks to buy a car. If you live in a town large enough to have shopping centers and you work in that same town, this car would fit well. Unfortunately, living in a rural area actually makes these cars more difficult, at least in some places in the US. There are roads you couldn't drive on due to speed, and your commute would be longer. Unfortunately, the roads you need to take are also the roads that get snow cleared less often and seem to have a higher rate of disrepair.