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> Many people who don't really enjoy cars are now caught in a car-centered society where they have no choice but to drive to go anywhere. I used to think that

> Many people who don't really enjoy cars are now caught in a car-centered society where they have no choice but to drive to go anywhere. I used to think that way. But the past year has shown me that private car ownership has massive upsides. Public transit is wonderful in many ways, and I have used it as much as possible for a long time, but during the pandemic it has been very nice to have my own car. I would never be willing to go without one. Apparently a lot of other people feel the same way, because used car prices have been unusually high this past year. At the moment I would rather have a car commute than a bus or train commute, and that won't change until the pandemic is over. Don't tell me to ride a bike to work -- this isn't the 1800s. We are accustomed to living miles away from work, and modern public transit was built with that assumption -- if we all lived within a mile of work we would just walk. Cities are not spread out merely because of cars. Cities are spread out because people want space, and all modern transit infrastructure, including streetcars 100 years ago, was built to accommodate the fact that people were already living miles away from work.

hannasanarion 6y ago
Clearly written by someone who hasn't ridden a bike since childhood. Effective bike range isn't one mile, it's 2-10 miles. One mile isn't worth getting on the bike for. Since the majority of car trips taken by Americans are less than 7 miles[1] and have only one passenger, a bicycle is the optimal vehicle for the trip, especially since the advent of ebikes means that physical strain is no longer a consideration. As for how people have responded to the pandemic, more have turned to bikes than cars. Car prices are always being hiked, that's the whole reason manufacturers are pushing SUVs: same chassis, same engine, higher price, free profit. Bikes, on the other hand, are in such high demand that new ones are hard to find at all. I ordered a new bike in July, it is not expected to arrive until January because the waiting list is that long. 1. http://imgur.com/lCQTN9z http://imgur.com/lCQTN9z
- twblalock 6y ago
  > Clearly written by someone who hasn't ridden a bike since childhood. Try again. I know when the last time I rode a bike was. You don't. Hint: it was quite recent. Condescension reeks throughout your entire post. You are wrong about who I am, you are wrong about my bicycling habits, and you are also wrong about how realistic it is for me to ride my bike to work. Yet you think you are in a position to dictate to me what I ought to be doing. This is typical of bicycle-commuting advocates and it is the reason you are a fringe minority. > As for how people have responded to the pandemic, more have turned to bikes than cars. Car prices are always being hiked, that's the whole reason manufacturers are pushing SUVs: same chassis, same engine, higher price, free profit. Explain how this applies to used cars which is what I mentioned in my post. Of course you won't, because you have already put on your ideological blinkers and ranted about manufacturers pushing new SUVs, which I never mentioned. Instead, please explain why used cars are up in price compared to a year ago.
  - dang 6y ago
    Please don't respond to someone breaking the site guidelines by breaking them yourself, despite how provocative it may be. Doing this just guarantees a slide into a deeper circle of hell. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- dang 6y ago
  Personal attacks aren't allowed on HN. Please don't post like that. Your comment would be fine without that opening swipe. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

hannasanarion 6y ago

Clearly written by someone who hasn't ridden a bike since childhood. Effective bike range isn't one mile, it's 2-10 miles. One mile isn't worth getting on the bike for. Since the majority of car trips taken by Americans are less than 7 miles[1] and have only one passenger, a bicycle is the optimal vehicle for the trip, especially since the advent of ebikes means that physical strain is no longer a consideration. As for how people have responded to the pandemic, more have turned to bikes than cars. Car prices are always being hiked, that's the whole reason manufacturers are pushing SUVs: same chassis, same engine, higher price, free profit. Bikes, on the other hand, are in such high demand that new ones are hard to find at all. I ordered a new bike in July, it is not expected to arrive until January because the waiting list is that long. 1. http://imgur.com/lCQTN9z http://imgur.com/lCQTN9z

twblalock 6y ago
> Clearly written by someone who hasn't ridden a bike since childhood. Try again. I know when the last time I rode a bike was. You don't. Hint: it was quite recent. Condescension reeks throughout your entire post. You are wrong about who I am, you are wrong about my bicycling habits, and you are also wrong about how realistic it is for me to ride my bike to work. Yet you think you are in a position to dictate to me what I ought to be doing. This is typical of bicycle-commuting advocates and it is the reason you are a fringe minority. > As for how people have responded to the pandemic, more have turned to bikes than cars. Car prices are always being hiked, that's the whole reason manufacturers are pushing SUVs: same chassis, same engine, higher price, free profit. Explain how this applies to used cars which is what I mentioned in my post. Of course you won't, because you have already put on your ideological blinkers and ranted about manufacturers pushing new SUVs, which I never mentioned. Instead, please explain why used cars are up in price compared to a year ago.
- dang 6y ago
  Please don't respond to someone breaking the site guidelines by breaking them yourself, despite how provocative it may be. Doing this just guarantees a slide into a deeper circle of hell. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
dang 6y ago
Personal attacks aren't allowed on HN. Please don't post like that. Your comment would be fine without that opening swipe. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html