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I don't think anybody is suggesting that. But if public transport is better, if there are safe paved roads for cyclists, and if city center become safer for ped

I don't think anybody is suggesting that. But if public transport is better, if there are safe paved roads for cyclists, and if city center become safer for pedestrians, then maybe people will buy less cars and drive less miles...

decafninja 6y ago
The problem is: 1.) Public transportation in the US is at best, tolerable. Usually far worse. Not just in terms of coverage and utility, but in terms of cleanliness and safety. People use it because they have no other choice that is affordable. Get it to a level of quality like Tokyo or Seoul and more people would use it because they actually like it. I doubt that will happen anytime soon due to cultural issues, unless people are willing to tolerate draconian levels of enforcement. 2.) Bicycles are awesome, but you have to contend with precipitation, sweat, and theft. E-bikes help somewhat with the sweat, but then you have "traditionalists" that are trying to fight tooth and nail to ban them, and they are even more inviting theft targets. And you can still work up quite a sweat on an e-bike. Rain is still a problem. 3.) Living close to city centers is abominably expensive. People can drive in, or take public transportation in. But then go back to #1 in regards to public transportation.
- whimsicalism 6y ago
  > Public transportation in the US is at best, tolerable. I think this is very dependent on where you live, in both DC and the Bay I think public transportation is good, but expensive. To me, the problem more appears to be an American cultural aversion to intermingling the working class and the "professional" class of people. > 2.) Bicycles are awesome, but you have to contend with precipitation, sweat, and theft. Every mode of transportation has some downsides. You could say 'Cars are awesome, but you have to contend with about ~40k people dying in crashes every year.' > 3.) Living close to city centers is abominably expensive Hm, maybe if we could densify cities by removing some of these large paved spaces that people are supposed to stay away from.
  - decafninja 6y ago
    Regarding your first point, it's to a degree, subjective. But I would classify Bay Area transit to be pretty bad. Have not been to DC, but I live in NYC, where Newyorkers are often fanatically proud of the subway system. But I think the NYC subways are disgusting and horrible compared to say, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, etc. which while still imperfect, are the shining examples of what good, proper, public transit systems should be like. Various European cities also have far better subways. Then again, many Newyorkers think the subways in those cities are horrible and unusable just because they don't operate between ~1-5AM.

decafninja 6y ago

The problem is: 1.) Public transportation in the US is at best, tolerable. Usually far worse. Not just in terms of coverage and utility, but in terms of cleanliness and safety. People use it because they have no other choice that is affordable. Get it to a level of quality like Tokyo or Seoul and more people would use it because they actually like it. I doubt that will happen anytime soon due to cultural issues, unless people are willing to tolerate draconian levels of enforcement. 2.) Bicycles are awesome, but you have to contend with precipitation, sweat, and theft. E-bikes help somewhat with the sweat, but then you have "traditionalists" that are trying to fight tooth and nail to ban them, and they are even more inviting theft targets. And you can still work up quite a sweat on an e-bike. Rain is still a problem. 3.) Living close to city centers is abominably expensive. People can drive in, or take public transportation in. But then go back to #1 in regards to public transportation.

whimsicalism 6y ago
> Public transportation in the US is at best, tolerable. I think this is very dependent on where you live, in both DC and the Bay I think public transportation is good, but expensive. To me, the problem more appears to be an American cultural aversion to intermingling the working class and the "professional" class of people. > 2.) Bicycles are awesome, but you have to contend with precipitation, sweat, and theft. Every mode of transportation has some downsides. You could say 'Cars are awesome, but you have to contend with about ~40k people dying in crashes every year.' > 3.) Living close to city centers is abominably expensive Hm, maybe if we could densify cities by removing some of these large paved spaces that people are supposed to stay away from.
- decafninja 6y ago
  Regarding your first point, it's to a degree, subjective. But I would classify Bay Area transit to be pretty bad. Have not been to DC, but I live in NYC, where Newyorkers are often fanatically proud of the subway system. But I think the NYC subways are disgusting and horrible compared to say, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, etc. which while still imperfect, are the shining examples of what good, proper, public transit systems should be like. Various European cities also have far better subways. Then again, many Newyorkers think the subways in those cities are horrible and unusable just because they don't operate between ~1-5AM.