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> where countryside and suburban living is prevalent. It's just impractical, so cars reign supreme That a car is practical in many situations, i have no doubt.

> where countryside and suburban living is prevalent. It's just impractical, so cars reign supreme That a car is practical in many situations, i have no doubt. However being on the countryside doesn't mean you can't get trains near you. Half a century ago in France most folks on the countryside had a train station within walking range (or at least biking range) with a few trains going through every day. But these stations/rails have been discontinued in orchestrated policies dismantling public services (along with the hospitals, schools, etc). You can clearly see the result of such policy on a map of railway networks in France through time: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Railway_map_of_France_-_animated_-_fr_-_medium.gif https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Railway_... Simply because modern capitalist politics consider the countryside as an enormous farm or waste dump doesn't mean it is the only way. Also related, some french regions still have countryside buses going regularly and for a cheap fare (1-2€). It's simply a matter of policy/will.

nobodyandproud 6y ago
France has four times the population density of the United States. This doesn’t even begin to factor in just how sparse rural areas of the United States really are. The places that would see the most benefit are the suburbs, and ironically many blue states would benefit the most; and also have a rampant amount of NIMBYism to prevent this from ever happening.
- southerntofu 6y ago
  > France has four times the population density of the United States. Fair enough. But that doesn't refute entirely the idea that collective transportation could (not necessarily would) be more efficient / ecological.
  - nobodyandproud 6y ago
    It has its place, where the population is dense. In principle every city should have a well-running light rail or subway; and high speed trains can (and should) connect major metros. In reality, politics and NIMBYism makes this impossible. Eminent domain was meant to address this but somehow it’s abused for realtors and small-scale owners and not so much for grand, infrastructure projects that it was meant for. The United States could have gone a very direction, but we’re living with the legacy of Robert Moses—-who even then had to battle NIMBYism—who favored roads and cars.
eertami 6y ago
>some french regions still have countryside buses going regularly and for a cheap fare (1-2€) Better still, sometimes they are completely free, in villages with high tourism.

nobodyandproud 6y ago

France has four times the population density of the United States. This doesn’t even begin to factor in just how sparse rural areas of the United States really are. The places that would see the most benefit are the suburbs, and ironically many blue states would benefit the most; and also have a rampant amount of NIMBYism to prevent this from ever happening.

southerntofu 6y ago
> France has four times the population density of the United States. Fair enough. But that doesn't refute entirely the idea that collective transportation could (not necessarily would) be more efficient / ecological.
- nobodyandproud 6y ago
  It has its place, where the population is dense. In principle every city should have a well-running light rail or subway; and high speed trains can (and should) connect major metros. In reality, politics and NIMBYism makes this impossible. Eminent domain was meant to address this but somehow it’s abused for realtors and small-scale owners and not so much for grand, infrastructure projects that it was meant for. The United States could have gone a very direction, but we’re living with the legacy of Robert Moses—-who even then had to battle NIMBYism—who favored roads and cars.

eertami 6y ago

>some french regions still have countryside buses going regularly and for a cheap fare (1-2€) Better still, sometimes they are completely free, in villages with high tourism.