2 ms·

If you approach the issue holistically, you both improve transit and wind down subsidies and aids for drivers. Tangent: there's an interesting equilibrium effe

If you approach the issue holistically, you both improve transit and wind down subsidies and aids for drivers. Tangent: there's an interesting equilibrium effect with commuter traffic - if a commute is served by an automobile route and a train line, the commute times will be similar. If for some reason, automobile traffic is delayed by loss of road capacity, over the long term some of that auto traffic will switch modes to the rail option, until the systems are in equilibrium once again. Obviously in the real world this is much more complex but it's still observable... let me see if I can find a link...

sokoloff 5y ago
I can believe that; I look at total door to door time as the primary factor in choosing my transit (with cost as a second, but pretty distant second [I’m not commuting daily into the city->I’d have to consider cost higher if doing it 20x/month]). I live in Cambridge, MA (1.4 miles from the Boston red line subway) and, excluding rides where I’m coming home from the airport, I bet I ride the subway less than once per year on average. It’s just not remotely competitive on door-to-door time with a private car, an Uber, or [most commonly] driving in the other direction to an alternative restaurant or shop with parking. (And Boston is probably in the top 10 of functioning mass transit systems in the US.)
- 0_____0 5y ago
  Somerville here :) Like you, I commute to somewhere where it's annoying to take transit. I've settled on a combination of cycling, WFH and driving on occasion. I can pick up a rail trail for about half my commute, which means that it's actually faster to bike than to dive. I'm actually looking for employment that's a little bit closer. If I worked within about a 2 mile radius, I'd actually have a feasibly walk-only lifestyle.
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    I had that living by Museum of Science and later in Cambridgeport and walking to Kendall Sq for years. It was awesome! When it came time to have a family, a one BR apartment didn’t cut it any more so we moved to a less dense part of Cambridge and I got a job in a suburban office park just off Rt 128 with a reverse commute. My 9 mile commute time went way down, but it’s not nearly as pleasant as a 1.5 mile walk in the city.

sokoloff 5y ago

I can believe that; I look at total door to door time as the primary factor in choosing my transit (with cost as a second, but pretty distant second [I’m not commuting daily into the city->I’d have to consider cost higher if doing it 20x/month]). I live in Cambridge, MA (1.4 miles from the Boston red line subway) and, excluding rides where I’m coming home from the airport, I bet I ride the subway less than once per year on average. It’s just not remotely competitive on door-to-door time with a private car, an Uber, or [most commonly] driving in the other direction to an alternative restaurant or shop with parking. (And Boston is probably in the top 10 of functioning mass transit systems in the US.)

0_____0 5y ago
Somerville here :) Like you, I commute to somewhere where it's annoying to take transit. I've settled on a combination of cycling, WFH and driving on occasion. I can pick up a rail trail for about half my commute, which means that it's actually faster to bike than to dive. I'm actually looking for employment that's a little bit closer. If I worked within about a 2 mile radius, I'd actually have a feasibly walk-only lifestyle.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  I had that living by Museum of Science and later in Cambridgeport and walking to Kendall Sq for years. It was awesome! When it came time to have a family, a one BR apartment didn’t cut it any more so we moved to a less dense part of Cambridge and I got a job in a suburban office park just off Rt 128 with a reverse commute. My 9 mile commute time went way down, but it’s not nearly as pleasant as a 1.5 mile walk in the city.