4 ms·

This is such a ridiculous thing to say. Cars are so immensely useful because I can go to exactly where I want to when I want to. I can transport people and thin

This is such a ridiculous thing to say. Cars are so immensely useful because I can go to exactly where I want to when I want to. I can transport people and things easily. How do I take a train or a bike 80 miles away to go hiking, boating (imagine carrying a boat or a canoe onto a train!), golfing, etc? Or the other way to the beach? Or to drop kids off at different places with a variety of things they have with them? I would seriously limit my freedom of movement and ability to do things. There's a tendency here for a I assume young person who lives in a city and doesn't have a family or hobbies that require going to far away places with things, etc.

ericmay 3y ago
Can you elaborate on why if we build more infrastructure, create more bike lanes or sidewalks, create street cars in downtown areas and such, you wouldn't be able to drive your car 80 miles away to go hiking or boating or golfing or go to the beach?
- nemo44x 3y ago
  Well, I interpreted this: > The best ride in a car isn't one in which I'm driving or not driving, it's one in which I don't get in the car in the first place. As saying you don't see any need for cars at all. That the future is these other things. I'm just saying that cars are extremely useful and that if I had to choose between having a car or all the other things then I'd pick a car. I enjoy the other things too and am grateful to have a train nearby I can take into the city. But I can't imagine life without a car.
  - ericmay 3y ago
    Oh ok. I also have a car, and a garage, and have no plans on not having those. It's convenient and allows for flexibility. I'm not advocating for banning cars or something. But we also do not have to make an either-or choice. The answer is we can have both! But today we need to do two things: 1. Not building car-only infrastructure. I.e. build sidewalks, bike lanes, busses, and trams/street cars. While I can afford a car, many can't or struggle to, or even if they can it is a poor financial choice. By giving people additional options we can increase entrepreneurship, reduce barriers to things like physically getting to a job, etc. 2. Reducing the need to use a car for things like buying a loaf of bread, short trips, going out to a restaurant, heading to a local sporting event, etc. There's no world in which you will forever be able to drive a large truck or SUV 15 miles to a grocery store to buy a few trivial items. We can do that now because we hit an energy jackpot with fossil fuels (which are necessary and useful), but economic physics dictate that this can't last. So instead of driving to do common tasks, you can instead just walk (exercise is good for you) and then walk back. If it's raining, umbrella. Etc. There are a lot of additional benefits here like obesity reduction which will save us money. Today what we have is incredibly expensive infrastructure and transportation. We don't need to. We need more options.
dghlsakjg 3y ago
I took the train from Rotterdam to go to the beach at Den Hague. It was great. I didn't have to plan ahead at all. When I grew up in Buenos Aires Argentina we used to take the train to our small boat, that train ran every 15 minutes. The boat was kept at a "dry" marina stored on bunks in stacks of other boats. We would call them about 15 minutes ahead of time, and they would forklift the boat into the water. I used to ride the train myself to school so my parents didn't have to drop me off with my variety of things. On the way home I would get off the train at a beach for after school sailing lessons. They had Canoes, kayaks, windsurfers, small boats, etc. so you didn't have to own your own or bring it on a train. When I lived in Seattle, and Vancouver, there were busses that regularly went to trailheads. They would add express routes on the weekends from downtown directly to trailheads in Seattle. If I were a golfer, I can't imagine being willing to walk my clubs a few miles over 18 holes, but not be willing to walk them a block or two to the bus stop. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that some people leave their clubs in a locker at the course so they don't have to load them into and out of their car. All of the "problems" that you solve with your car have already been solved in other places without using cars. It seems like a distinct lack of imagination to think that everything you own has to be at your home, and that you have to use a car to use it.

ericmay 3y ago

Can you elaborate on why if we build more infrastructure, create more bike lanes or sidewalks, create street cars in downtown areas and such, you wouldn't be able to drive your car 80 miles away to go hiking or boating or golfing or go to the beach?

nemo44x 3y ago
Well, I interpreted this: > The best ride in a car isn't one in which I'm driving or not driving, it's one in which I don't get in the car in the first place. As saying you don't see any need for cars at all. That the future is these other things. I'm just saying that cars are extremely useful and that if I had to choose between having a car or all the other things then I'd pick a car. I enjoy the other things too and am grateful to have a train nearby I can take into the city. But I can't imagine life without a car.
- ericmay 3y ago
  Oh ok. I also have a car, and a garage, and have no plans on not having those. It's convenient and allows for flexibility. I'm not advocating for banning cars or something. But we also do not have to make an either-or choice. The answer is we can have both! But today we need to do two things: 1. Not building car-only infrastructure. I.e. build sidewalks, bike lanes, busses, and trams/street cars. While I can afford a car, many can't or struggle to, or even if they can it is a poor financial choice. By giving people additional options we can increase entrepreneurship, reduce barriers to things like physically getting to a job, etc. 2. Reducing the need to use a car for things like buying a loaf of bread, short trips, going out to a restaurant, heading to a local sporting event, etc. There's no world in which you will forever be able to drive a large truck or SUV 15 miles to a grocery store to buy a few trivial items. We can do that now because we hit an energy jackpot with fossil fuels (which are necessary and useful), but economic physics dictate that this can't last. So instead of driving to do common tasks, you can instead just walk (exercise is good for you) and then walk back. If it's raining, umbrella. Etc. There are a lot of additional benefits here like obesity reduction which will save us money. Today what we have is incredibly expensive infrastructure and transportation. We don't need to. We need more options.

dghlsakjg 3y ago

I took the train from Rotterdam to go to the beach at Den Hague. It was great. I didn't have to plan ahead at all. When I grew up in Buenos Aires Argentina we used to take the train to our small boat, that train ran every 15 minutes. The boat was kept at a "dry" marina stored on bunks in stacks of other boats. We would call them about 15 minutes ahead of time, and they would forklift the boat into the water. I used to ride the train myself to school so my parents didn't have to drop me off with my variety of things. On the way home I would get off the train at a beach for after school sailing lessons. They had Canoes, kayaks, windsurfers, small boats, etc. so you didn't have to own your own or bring it on a train. When I lived in Seattle, and Vancouver, there were busses that regularly went to trailheads. They would add express routes on the weekends from downtown directly to trailheads in Seattle. If I were a golfer, I can't imagine being willing to walk my clubs a few miles over 18 holes, but not be willing to walk them a block or two to the bus stop. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that some people leave their clubs in a locker at the course so they don't have to load them into and out of their car. All of the "problems" that you solve with your car have already been solved in other places without using cars. It seems like a distinct lack of imagination to think that everything you own has to be at your home, and that you have to use a car to use it.