4 ms·

I took a bus to a train to a bus to a tiny village in the countryside in England. Nothing in view for miles except the pub at the bus stop and a farm. You cou

by wffurr 6y ago

I took a bus to a train to a bus to a tiny village in the countryside in England. Nothing in view for miles except the pub at the bus stop and a farm. You could absolutely go visit your friend on his farm if we had a decent public transit system. Also how is your specific case a refutation of the GPs argument anyway? Everybody always loves to argue against public transit with some weird special case that's somehow "possible". It's quite tiresome. How about some imagination instead. Is it such a stretch to image a rural bus route that goes by your friends farm? How about a few mile bicycle ride from the nearest town's train station? How about renting a car ala Zipcar? I am sure there are many other ways to solve this non-problem.

_carbyau_ 6y ago
Weirdly, I think we're largely on the same side here. :-) Lets break this down: 1. I took a bus to a train to a bus to a tiny village in the countryside in England. Nothing in view for miles except the pub at the bus stop and a farm. 1A. Cool. I can't do that. I did write a convenience comparison [train, all day regional bus, unknown last mile effort] vs [car] but it was lengthy with predictable results, especially when travelling with wife and toddler. But I am absolutely not against trying to make it better. 2. You could absolutely go visit your friend on his farm if we had a decent public transit system. 2A. Ok. 3. Also how is your specific case a refutation of the GPs argument anyway? Everybody always loves to argue against public transit with some weird special case that's somehow "possible". It's quite tiresome. 3A. I didn't think I was refuting? I like the idea of decent public transport for all. I mean, there wasn't even any specifics mentioned. Just a general "goodness" of it. I like goodness! But many people take for granted the miracle of convenience a car provides. It certainly isn't some weird special case. It is a huge task to match that with Public Transport, just via engineering and technically. Let alone doing it in such a manner that it is socially accepted by the public at large. 4. How about some imagination instead. Is it such a stretch to image a rural bus route that goes by your friends farm? How about a few mile bicycle ride from the nearest town's train station? How about renting a car ala Zipcar? I am sure there are many other ways to solve this non-problem. 4A. I did say "With money, engineering and creativity it could be done." And it really isn't an all or nothing endeavor either. But it is a HUGE endeavor to match the convenience of a car. And my example was merely trying to demonstrate that.

by wffurr 6y ago

_carbyau_ 6y ago

Weirdly, I think we're largely on the same side here. :-) Lets break this down: 1. I took a bus to a train to a bus to a tiny village in the countryside in England. Nothing in view for miles except the pub at the bus stop and a farm. 1A. Cool. I can't do that. I did write a convenience comparison [train, all day regional bus, unknown last mile effort] vs [car] but it was lengthy with predictable results, especially when travelling with wife and toddler. But I am absolutely not against trying to make it better. 2. You could absolutely go visit your friend on his farm if we had a decent public transit system. 2A. Ok. 3. Also how is your specific case a refutation of the GPs argument anyway? Everybody always loves to argue against public transit with some weird special case that's somehow "possible". It's quite tiresome. 3A. I didn't think I was refuting? I like the idea of decent public transport for all. I mean, there wasn't even any specifics mentioned. Just a general "goodness" of it. I like goodness! But many people take for granted the miracle of convenience a car provides. It certainly isn't some weird special case. It is a huge task to match that with Public Transport, just via engineering and technically. Let alone doing it in such a manner that it is socially accepted by the public at large. 4. How about some imagination instead. Is it such a stretch to image a rural bus route that goes by your friends farm? How about a few mile bicycle ride from the nearest town's train station? How about renting a car ala Zipcar? I am sure there are many other ways to solve this non-problem. 4A. I did say "With money, engineering and creativity it could be done." And it really isn't an all or nothing endeavor either. But it is a HUGE endeavor to match the convenience of a car. And my example was merely trying to demonstrate that.