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YEP. Electric cars are something we must do to halt climate change, but we need to recognize it's an example of doing the same broken thing, just better. At t

YEP. Electric cars are something we must do to halt climate change, but we need to recognize it's an example of doing the same broken thing, just better. At the end of the day we will have a more green version of what we have now, carrying over all the existing flaws of automobile oriented infrastructure (ie. pedestrian deaths, traffic).

closeparen 5y ago
Migrating away from automobile transportation solves "traffic" in only the most obtuse sense of the term - there aren't literally passenger cars contending for space. We care about traffic because it deters us from going where we'd like to and makes remaining trips take longer. I think pretty much everyone acknowledges that walking, cycling, and transit are slower than driving and will deter even more trips. We spin that in a positive way, as encouraging the development of more neighborhood-level communities and businesses. But then it's hard to explain why "traffic" is a problem you're solving. Traffic has the same effects as the solution you're selling!
- Tiktaalik 5y ago
  Traffic is an issue with automobile oriented infrastructure because automobiles are such a space inefficient way of transporting people. In the context of a conversation of how trucks are getting bigger and bigger, it's worth noting that the size gains are having implications on traffic too! The point being though that electric cars will be just as space inefficient as ICE cars. If we want to move more people, more efficiently and avoid traffic jams and new highway construction, we'll have to opt for different solutions.
  - closeparen 5y ago
    Clearing a traffic jam is only valuable to the extent that people get where they're going faster than they would have via the traffic jam. It's frustrating when the freeway moves at a a light jog, but that's as fast as a city bus was ever going to make progress, anyway.

closeparen 5y ago

Migrating away from automobile transportation solves "traffic" in only the most obtuse sense of the term - there aren't literally passenger cars contending for space. We care about traffic because it deters us from going where we'd like to and makes remaining trips take longer. I think pretty much everyone acknowledges that walking, cycling, and transit are slower than driving and will deter even more trips. We spin that in a positive way, as encouraging the development of more neighborhood-level communities and businesses. But then it's hard to explain why "traffic" is a problem you're solving. Traffic has the same effects as the solution you're selling!

Tiktaalik 5y ago
Traffic is an issue with automobile oriented infrastructure because automobiles are such a space inefficient way of transporting people. In the context of a conversation of how trucks are getting bigger and bigger, it's worth noting that the size gains are having implications on traffic too! The point being though that electric cars will be just as space inefficient as ICE cars. If we want to move more people, more efficiently and avoid traffic jams and new highway construction, we'll have to opt for different solutions.
- closeparen 5y ago
  Clearing a traffic jam is only valuable to the extent that people get where they're going faster than they would have via the traffic jam. It's frustrating when the freeway moves at a a light jog, but that's as fast as a city bus was ever going to make progress, anyway.