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I am so sick of car culture. One good part of covid was seeing all the pointless car driving significantly reduced. The usual arguments I see here on HN which

by foxes 5y ago

I am so sick of car culture. One good part of covid was seeing all the pointless car driving significantly reduced. The usual arguments I see here on HN which are pro cars are "what about the children/disabled/elderly". Completely nonsense pro car argument. An efficient, humane public transport system that is well connected, gets you to where you want to go, well funded and maintained would probably be better for a majority of the people in these groups anyway. Im not even advocating for removal of cars, but Im sure the majority of the population could easily reduce dependence. As for the "freedom" argument. Sitting in some box confined to miles of endless tarmac with countless rules, regulations, taxes, insurance doesn't seem free at all. Sure, I like the ability to go out into the country side to go for a trail run, but again that is not the majority of my trips. The vast majority of trips in a city could probably easily be replaced by public transport for a lot of people. It's just laziness and a deeply embedded car culture. Looking at pictures of American cities with enormous parking lots horrifies me.

milkytron 5y ago
> I am so sick of car culture. I think "car culture" is a bit too broad. I don't have as much of a problem with car enthusiasts, more so our country's continuous commitment to car infrastructure without supporting other options. I'm actually a huge car enthusiast, I love them. I don't own one though, nor do I drive much at all. But I think there is a difference between being passionate about cars, and forcing that passion to require people to use cars for nearly all transportation. Totally agree with your other points, although the US has a lot of work to start incentivizing other modes of transportation.
- foxes 5y ago
  Yes, you can appreciate the technology and the engineering involved. My comment and issue is towards the general mass adoption, car focused infrastructure. I don't want them eliminated entirely, they are still useful, certain people do have use cases. But I am sure for the vast majority of people their dependence could be quite reduced by supporting alternatives. There are plenty of disabled people that can't drive, and plenty of old people that can still ride a bike. I just see these arguments come up every time on HN and they are too focused on specifics.
nradov 5y ago
I like the idea of public transit in theory, but if they want me to wear a face mask just to ride the bus then forget it. I'll drive my big car instead and be comfortable. The taxes and insurance on my cars aren't very high. And the rules and regulations don't bother me a bit.
- SauciestGNU 5y ago
  Why would you not wear a mask during a global pandemic in such close proximity to others and such a poorly ventilated space as a bus or train? I can never understand why people treat mask wearing as such an unreasonable burden, and I've yet to hear someone explain their reluctance in terms that don't involve an almost depraved indifference toward exposing others to a potentially deadly pathogen.
chrismcb 5y ago
But we don't have an efficient, humane public transport system. And it will take decades to build something even closer. Even Europe didn't really have an efficient humane transport system that goes everywhere. Sitting in a small box that can go almost anywhere you want, even with tons of rules, offers much more freedom than sitting in a slightly larger box that has even more rules and didn't go very many places.
RickJWagner 5y ago
Nah. Public transportation might work in a city. For the people (and there are a lot of them) who live in suburbs and beyond, public transportation is a non-starter.

by foxes 5y ago

milkytron 5y ago

> I am so sick of car culture. I think "car culture" is a bit too broad. I don't have as much of a problem with car enthusiasts, more so our country's continuous commitment to car infrastructure without supporting other options. I'm actually a huge car enthusiast, I love them. I don't own one though, nor do I drive much at all. But I think there is a difference between being passionate about cars, and forcing that passion to require people to use cars for nearly all transportation. Totally agree with your other points, although the US has a lot of work to start incentivizing other modes of transportation.

foxes 5y ago
Yes, you can appreciate the technology and the engineering involved. My comment and issue is towards the general mass adoption, car focused infrastructure. I don't want them eliminated entirely, they are still useful, certain people do have use cases. But I am sure for the vast majority of people their dependence could be quite reduced by supporting alternatives. There are plenty of disabled people that can't drive, and plenty of old people that can still ride a bike. I just see these arguments come up every time on HN and they are too focused on specifics.

nradov 5y ago

I like the idea of public transit in theory, but if they want me to wear a face mask just to ride the bus then forget it. I'll drive my big car instead and be comfortable. The taxes and insurance on my cars aren't very high. And the rules and regulations don't bother me a bit.

SauciestGNU 5y ago
Why would you not wear a mask during a global pandemic in such close proximity to others and such a poorly ventilated space as a bus or train? I can never understand why people treat mask wearing as such an unreasonable burden, and I've yet to hear someone explain their reluctance in terms that don't involve an almost depraved indifference toward exposing others to a potentially deadly pathogen.

chrismcb 5y ago

But we don't have an efficient, humane public transport system. And it will take decades to build something even closer. Even Europe didn't really have an efficient humane transport system that goes everywhere. Sitting in a small box that can go almost anywhere you want, even with tons of rules, offers much more freedom than sitting in a slightly larger box that has even more rules and didn't go very many places.

RickJWagner 5y ago

Nah. Public transportation might work in a city. For the people (and there are a lot of them) who live in suburbs and beyond, public transportation is a non-starter.