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> So, I have a friend. He owns a farm. I want to go and visit him on his farm. The state built a road to their farm (and presumably that road goes past the far

> So, I have a friend. He owns a farm. I want to go and visit him on his farm. The state built a road to their farm (and presumably that road goes past the farm as well). What would stop them from also running a (rare, definitely) bus line around there? > Last month my local train services were cut from every 15 minutes to every 30 "Cus COVID". Sure, global pandemics are one weak point of public services of every kind, unfortunately.

throwaway22032 5y ago
Okay, so I go and get in my car and I'm going to visit my friend on his farm. You're waiting at the bus stop for this rare service. How often is it coming? 99.99% of the time no-one even uses it. Once every day, then? Weekly? It doesn't make any sense at all. You'd turn basic interactions that I have into something approaching booking intercontinental flights. Absolute madness. Like, this bus service will not exist. Quantum tunnelling is more likely. I can't even get a bus to my friend who lives 10 miles away from me in London. On your second point - sure, the independence argument for public transport has become weaker. In 2020 my local tube station was actually fully closed for months on end "Cus COVID". Car 1, public transport 0.
- simiones 5y ago
  I'm not suggeting a bus that only goes to your friend's farm. It could be a (small) bus that passes very close, or that goes to a series of neighboring farms. The point is not that this is available today, as we clearly live in a very car-centric culture and no one is planning this type of small scale public transit. But it's not at all inherently impossible, it could well be achieved, especially where you're still near to a major city. In my country for example there is public transport for taking kids from small (and very poor) villages that don't have their own school to neighboring villages that do - and that's much more feasible and much more economical than expecting each family to buy and maintain their own car and gas, and to drive each child individually to school in the morning, then to drive back to school in the afternoon, pick them up, and drive back. And the kids are much more independent by having access to this than if they had to synchronize with their parents.

throwaway22032 5y ago

Okay, so I go and get in my car and I'm going to visit my friend on his farm. You're waiting at the bus stop for this rare service. How often is it coming? 99.99% of the time no-one even uses it. Once every day, then? Weekly? It doesn't make any sense at all. You'd turn basic interactions that I have into something approaching booking intercontinental flights. Absolute madness. Like, this bus service will not exist. Quantum tunnelling is more likely. I can't even get a bus to my friend who lives 10 miles away from me in London. On your second point - sure, the independence argument for public transport has become weaker. In 2020 my local tube station was actually fully closed for months on end "Cus COVID". Car 1, public transport 0.

simiones 5y ago
I'm not suggeting a bus that only goes to your friend's farm. It could be a (small) bus that passes very close, or that goes to a series of neighboring farms. The point is not that this is available today, as we clearly live in a very car-centric culture and no one is planning this type of small scale public transit. But it's not at all inherently impossible, it could well be achieved, especially where you're still near to a major city. In my country for example there is public transport for taking kids from small (and very poor) villages that don't have their own school to neighboring villages that do - and that's much more feasible and much more economical than expecting each family to buy and maintain their own car and gas, and to drive each child individually to school in the morning, then to drive back to school in the afternoon, pick them up, and drive back. And the kids are much more independent by having access to this than if they had to synchronize with their parents.