4 ms·
It's weird though since in the US people actively fight against mass transit. Even if you're not personally riding on mass transit it's a public service that h
by munk-a 6y ago
It's weird though since in the US people actively fight against mass transit. Even if you're not personally riding on mass transit it's a public service that helps the local economy thrive - people just get silly minded and all the NIMBY arguments start coming out.
- perryizgr8 6y ago> It's weird though since in the US people actively fight against mass transit. It's kind of understandable that people protest against having their money stolen and used to build things they don't like. Why do you think it's weird?
- epistasis 6y agoNo, it's completely illogical from every aspect. Even if the person is going to drive no matter what, and only wants to improve their own experience for least cost, the dollar for transit improves their road experience more than a dollar for more road infrastructure. And even those roads are mostly funded by general funds, not through gas taxes. Gas taxes and user fares fund roughly equivalent amounts of roads and public transit, respectively. And 80% of federal transportation money goes to roads. The only explanation that's possible is extremely short-sighted and self-defeating selfishness: seeing something that's not for them and instinctively opposing it, without thinking of the bigger picture. It's just childish.
- Uberphallus 6y agoIt's not weird, it's just extremely short sighted. It's exactly like socialized healthcare: somehow the US system manages to be more expensive than anywhere else in the world, ranks among developing nations, yet people will fight fang and teeth against "communism".
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- whatshisface 6y agoA proven track record of local government incompetence and private-public fleecing makes large civil projects much less popular than they would be in a perfect world.
- astrange 6y agoMostly it's because they think black people will ride the subway to their house and rob them. This is why Atlanta suburbs vote down every MARTA extension and fare change.
- whatshisface 6y agoI guess we have several competing hypotheses, how might we go about finding out the true answer?
- munk-a 6y agoI'd take a look at how often crime statistics come up during discussions of expanding public transit options - up here in BC and when I lived in Boston that was the primary argument against expansion... Public transit stations "cause" a raise in crime rate and lower (detached) home values.