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Hong Kong is an odd example of a big, dense city with excellent public transit where access to a car can still be a major quality of life improvement, just beca
by culturestate 6y ago
Hong Kong is an odd example of a big, dense city with excellent public transit where access to a car can still be a major quality of life improvement, just because of climate and topography. The government’s resistance to ridesharing is incredibly annoying.
- kelnos 6y agoAs someone who absolutely loves the ability to use (the misleadingly-named) ridesharing, I absolutely hate what the legions of fare-seeking Ubers and Lyfts have done to traffic in SF (well, pre-pandemic). My completely-without-evidence theory is that there is some amount by which we can cut the allowed number of rideshare cars on the road at any time, and while wait times to get a vehicle might increase, the overall time will be the same or less because transit time will be reduced with less congestion.
- culturestate 6y agoHong Kong's problem isn't infrastructure, though, it's a combination of unimaginative bureaucracy and taxi companies with influential backers. It's the same reason HK taxis are still effectively cash-only, consistently refuse "inconvenient" fares with no real consequences, and are just generally irritating to deal with.
- CalRobert 6y agoYou might enjoy The Pushcart War, about this very idea! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219557.The_Pushcart_War https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219557.The_Pushcart_War
- alasdair_ 6y ago> The government’s resistance to ridesharing is incredibly annoying. To be fair, the government’s resistance to the rule of law, international promises or basic human rights is incredibly annoying too, so at least they are being consistent.