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Until a transit strike paralyzes it. Or until a storm shuts it down. Or until government decides to shut it down Covid-style. Or until the trains turn into home

Until a transit strike paralyzes it. Or until a storm shuts it down. Or until government decides to shut it down Covid-style. Or until the trains turn into homeless shelters with meth-overdosing zombies. Last thing in the world I want to do is spend time with “the public.” Or have to haul kids and groceries via train. Or have to get to a doctors appointment on one side of town and then another event on the other side of town and minimal time to connect those dots. I also don’t want to walk multiple blocks during heat waves, storms, or snow.

hayst4ck 4y ago
> Until a transit strike paralyzes it. People have had protests in the middle of a free way, so human action resulting in paralyzed transportation isn't novel. Storms, car crashes etc have "paralyzed" roads. Bridges have fallen into water ways paralyzing transit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-5_Skagit_River_bridge_collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-5_Skagit_River_bridge_collap... > Or until government decides to shut it down Covid-style... If you have widely used public transportation, then it can't be shut down. The public won't allow it. It goes from infrastructure to critical infrastructure. You would probably see enforced mask mandates. If you have public transportation used by the middle or upper class, the tolerance for homeless and drugs will decrease. > Last thing in the world... And this is the fundamental selfishness. You want to rob cities of economies of scale so they can subsidize your posh suburban life style. Meanwhile, there's a whole bunch of people just like you, and the end result is hour long commutes for 20 minute's of distance or 10 lane freeways that somehow seem to be some of the most clogged in the nation. You have bad experiences with American "public transportation" but probably haven't experienced functional transportation. Your point to point trip in a city could be unencumbered by the spectre of traffic. > I also don’t want to walk multiple blocks during heat waves, storms, or snow. If you travel to Asia, you will find that functional transportation often comes with sprawling subterranean complexes or covered walkways. Even when it doesn't there are umbrellas for sale everywhere. You still have to park and travel from your parking to your destination. I don't know about you, but that's frequently been blocks of walking for me in any city. American public transportation is bad. It's not reasonable to point to our bad transportation and say public transportation as an idea is bad. It is a vastly more pleasant experience in other places.

hayst4ck 4y ago

> Until a transit strike paralyzes it. People have had protests in the middle of a free way, so human action resulting in paralyzed transportation isn't novel. Storms, car crashes etc have "paralyzed" roads. Bridges have fallen into water ways paralyzing transit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-5_Skagit_River_bridge_collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-5_Skagit_River_bridge_collap... > Or until government decides to shut it down Covid-style... If you have widely used public transportation, then it can't be shut down. The public won't allow it. It goes from infrastructure to critical infrastructure. You would probably see enforced mask mandates. If you have public transportation used by the middle or upper class, the tolerance for homeless and drugs will decrease. > Last thing in the world... And this is the fundamental selfishness. You want to rob cities of economies of scale so they can subsidize your posh suburban life style. Meanwhile, there's a whole bunch of people just like you, and the end result is hour long commutes for 20 minute's of distance or 10 lane freeways that somehow seem to be some of the most clogged in the nation. You have bad experiences with American "public transportation" but probably haven't experienced functional transportation. Your point to point trip in a city could be unencumbered by the spectre of traffic. > I also don’t want to walk multiple blocks during heat waves, storms, or snow. If you travel to Asia, you will find that functional transportation often comes with sprawling subterranean complexes or covered walkways. Even when it doesn't there are umbrellas for sale everywhere. You still have to park and travel from your parking to your destination. I don't know about you, but that's frequently been blocks of walking for me in any city. American public transportation is bad. It's not reasonable to point to our bad transportation and say public transportation as an idea is bad. It is a vastly more pleasant experience in other places.