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So there is some non existent idealized theoretical public transportation system you are imagining that is better than having my own transportation system that

So there is some non existent idealized theoretical public transportation system you are imagining that is better than having my own transportation system that takes me wherever i want whenever i want and with whoever i want?

KittenInABox 3y ago
Yeah, actually. I want to be able to read, study, catch up on work, get wasted with friends, nap, and not worry about insurance, parking, or killing anyone. All for cheaper than gas, repairs, tires, etc.
- thepasswordis 3y ago
  Yes that sounds great. Maybe each of us could have our own dedicated self driving waymo? As it exists now, however: public transportation is terrible, and having a personal vehicle to take you where you want safely is universally preferable.
  - sanderjd 3y ago
    I didn't want to make assumptions, but as I've read more of your comments, I've found it increasingly implausible that you have ever traveled outside the US. If that's right, you really should do that sometime! It is useful to have a broader perspective on how the world lives.
    - thepasswordis 3y ago
      Hey man if you wanna compare passports let’s go for it! In the meantime: google image search photos of some of the Indian commuter trains I’ve ridden on and ask yourself why everybody with even a tiny bit of money hired a private driver. Your comment about “broader perspective” is insulting, and I guarantee you that my perspective is quite a bit broader than “traveled to some glorified Disney land parks in Western Europe.”
      - BytesAndGears 3y ago
        These things that you call Disney land parks, are where I’ve been living for the last year. It’s not Disneyland at all, though, since there is a bustling and productive economy (that I work in), even in the cities with minimal tourism. Actually some of the nicest walkable neighborhoods that I’ve visited since moving here, I was the only tourist that I saw. If you’re genuinely curious, I’d love to give you more information about my city (as an American that moved to Europe). Let me know. But I have 5 grocery stores within a quarter mile of my home, I take public transit and bike for all of my daily errands, and haven’t driven a car once since moving here. I see my friends whenever I want, often by either walking or taking transit depending on distance. Just last weekend, I took a train to another city to buy a new racing bike, and took the train most of the way home before riding it the last mile or two. It was easy, and I went all the way to a neighboring town to shop for it (since they had a model that I wanted to try). You can minimize it by calling it a glorified Disneyland park, but then you’re basically just skipping over the hundreds of millions of people who work non-tourism jobs (engineering, law, business, farming, medicine) and live within these generally well designed places.
      - sanderjd 3y ago
        It might be insulting, but it still seems accurate based on all your comments here. Your perspective seems incredibly narrow to me, which is why I - rather gently - suggested that traveling to more places might broaden it. But sometimes things are unflattering to people and there isn't really a way to point that out without the person feeling insulted. :shrug:
        sanderjd 3y ago
        Sorry that my comment above was peevish. I was peeved by the tone of your comments, but I regret that now. You're right, of course, that unpleasant public transportation is very common worldwide. But it's not universal, which, to me, suggests that it's possible to learn from those success stories.
  - KittenInABox 3y ago
    Public transportation can be good or bad, depending on execution, unlike car-centric infrastructure which never scales and becomes more expensive and results in more deaths from everyday distractions, drunk drivers, etc. If I could live in the infrastructure of large Japanese cities, that would be awesome, because it means I could live out in the quiet of the burbs and still get smashed deep in Tokyo and go home at 4 am asleep with my suit tie wrapped around my forehead without a single concern.
tyg13 3y ago
Just because you haven't experienced it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist; in much of the world outside of America, public transport is not unpopular. And your own transportation system is vastly inefficient in the task of getting you and thousands of other people where they need to go. In a world where people's destinations are wildly divergent and travellers are few, cars make more sense. But when you see a clogged interstate filled with cars all mostly going to the same or similar destinations, whose occupants could easily fit into a couple of buses, you start to see the logic behind public transportation.

KittenInABox 3y ago

Yeah, actually. I want to be able to read, study, catch up on work, get wasted with friends, nap, and not worry about insurance, parking, or killing anyone. All for cheaper than gas, repairs, tires, etc.

thepasswordis 3y ago
Yes that sounds great. Maybe each of us could have our own dedicated self driving waymo? As it exists now, however: public transportation is terrible, and having a personal vehicle to take you where you want safely is universally preferable.
- sanderjd 3y ago
  I didn't want to make assumptions, but as I've read more of your comments, I've found it increasingly implausible that you have ever traveled outside the US. If that's right, you really should do that sometime! It is useful to have a broader perspective on how the world lives.
  - thepasswordis 3y ago
    Hey man if you wanna compare passports let’s go for it! In the meantime: google image search photos of some of the Indian commuter trains I’ve ridden on and ask yourself why everybody with even a tiny bit of money hired a private driver. Your comment about “broader perspective” is insulting, and I guarantee you that my perspective is quite a bit broader than “traveled to some glorified Disney land parks in Western Europe.”
    - BytesAndGears 3y ago
      These things that you call Disney land parks, are where I’ve been living for the last year. It’s not Disneyland at all, though, since there is a bustling and productive economy (that I work in), even in the cities with minimal tourism. Actually some of the nicest walkable neighborhoods that I’ve visited since moving here, I was the only tourist that I saw. If you’re genuinely curious, I’d love to give you more information about my city (as an American that moved to Europe). Let me know. But I have 5 grocery stores within a quarter mile of my home, I take public transit and bike for all of my daily errands, and haven’t driven a car once since moving here. I see my friends whenever I want, often by either walking or taking transit depending on distance. Just last weekend, I took a train to another city to buy a new racing bike, and took the train most of the way home before riding it the last mile or two. It was easy, and I went all the way to a neighboring town to shop for it (since they had a model that I wanted to try). You can minimize it by calling it a glorified Disneyland park, but then you’re basically just skipping over the hundreds of millions of people who work non-tourism jobs (engineering, law, business, farming, medicine) and live within these generally well designed places.
    - sanderjd 3y ago
      It might be insulting, but it still seems accurate based on all your comments here. Your perspective seems incredibly narrow to me, which is why I - rather gently - suggested that traveling to more places might broaden it. But sometimes things are unflattering to people and there isn't really a way to point that out without the person feeling insulted. :shrug:
      - sanderjd 3y ago
        Sorry that my comment above was peevish. I was peeved by the tone of your comments, but I regret that now. You're right, of course, that unpleasant public transportation is very common worldwide. But it's not universal, which, to me, suggests that it's possible to learn from those success stories.
- KittenInABox 3y ago
  Public transportation can be good or bad, depending on execution, unlike car-centric infrastructure which never scales and becomes more expensive and results in more deaths from everyday distractions, drunk drivers, etc. If I could live in the infrastructure of large Japanese cities, that would be awesome, because it means I could live out in the quiet of the burbs and still get smashed deep in Tokyo and go home at 4 am asleep with my suit tie wrapped around my forehead without a single concern.

tyg13 3y ago

Just because you haven't experienced it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist; in much of the world outside of America, public transport is not unpopular. And your own transportation system is vastly inefficient in the task of getting you and thousands of other people where they need to go. In a world where people's destinations are wildly divergent and travellers are few, cars make more sense. But when you see a clogged interstate filled with cars all mostly going to the same or similar destinations, whose occupants could easily fit into a couple of buses, you start to see the logic behind public transportation.