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The middled/old-aged NIMBYs in the suburbs don't use Uber/Pub-trans so they don't care and don't want to ever vote for it being improved or "taking my tax dolla

by swozey 3y ago

The middled/old-aged NIMBYs in the suburbs don't use Uber/Pub-trans so they don't care and don't want to ever vote for it being improved or "taking my tax dollars." They still equate public transportation with being poor and not how millions of people who live IN the city get around, nor how THEY can benefit from being able to come downtown or go to the mountains skiing more frequently. You know who wants tons of parking spots? Those people with their Suburbans and 6 kids who only come downtown for a sports game once every 3 months but complain about how scary and stressful being downtown is. If you want a concrete example of this- when Austin caused Uber/Lyft to exit the market in 2016 (iirc) based on them "not fingerprinting drivers" one of the big arguments for letting them leave from one of (or the most) important council members was some comment along the lines of, "Well I've never needed an Uber/Lyft before in my life. Why can't you use cabs?" Ironically this person lives in Clarksville (or Tarrytown) which is one of the most expensive suburbs right outside of downtown and they probably never NEED an Uber. I bartended back in 2016 when this was going on and it SUCKED when they left. We had already gotten them into Austin WAY later than most other cities and it finally felt like I could travel around without a headache and the bullshit that yellow cabs bring with it ("Sorry sir, my credit card is not working tonight! Cash only but we're here already, so you must find ATM!") People who actually go out and do things and didn't want to have to go back to cabs not showing up, potentially getting a dwi/dui, etc were angry beyond belief at the council. https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-05-14/dear-mayor-adler/ https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-05-14/dear-m...

oceanplexian 3y ago
> They still equate public transportation with being poor and not how millions of people who live IN the city get around. I rode BART out of Oakland for years. I don’t agree with NIMBYs but it’s not like they are making it up. I assure you, it is indeed full of insane people, homeless, the trains are nasty and smell like urine, frequently break down or get stopped because people regularly suicide themselves on the tracks. I’m sure in Asian countries the trains are fantastic but here people aren’t adults and ruin it for everyone.
- AlexandrB 3y ago
  > I’m sure in Asian countries the trains are fantastic but unfortunately public transit riders here aren’t adults and ruin it for everyone. Not sure why you would turn an obviously systemic problem into one of personal responsibility. Do you think there are no mentally disabled or homeless people in other countries? This attitude seems startlingly common in the US. It's like the pessimistic side of American Exceptionalism - "This problem, which many other countries have tackled successfully, cannot be fixed here".
TexanFeller 3y ago
< They still equate public transportation with being poor and not how millions of people who live IN the city get around. Because statistically that’s very true almost everywhere in America. Even flagship cities like NYC have pathetic trains/subways compared to Europe/Asia and 90% of the population has never been that far abroad to see what’s possible. I’ve tried the express busses and “train”(can you call it that with only two cars!) in Austin and gave up because they waste much more time and are less comfortable than driving. Never saw rich professionals on them, but plenty of mentally ill, drug addicted, and unbathed(not that we should avoid the homeless as much as we do now) persons.
- swozey 3y ago
  I worked on 2nd and Congress for 4 years and almost every single person I worked with who lived in the suburbs took the train from around the Domain/Aboreteum/further-north-Canada area. They would usually bike, park-at, or get dropped off at a park-n-ride. Nobody said addicts, etc aren't on trains. I said people think that is who is only on it. My software engineer dad-friends absolutely took the train every single day and so did a TON of people who worked downtown. They constantly complained that the trains were full and I remember them changing schedules based on how full they were. They all said they took the train because it was faster and they didn't have to sit in traffic. I've also taken tons of buses. I lived off the drag and worked on 2nd. I always took a bus by UT down Congress to get to downtown. A bus is a bus. Every city bus has bus issues like you mentioned. Yawn. It's even worse here in Denver.
QuercusMax 3y ago
I live in Portland, Oregon, and my house has a city bus stop with service every 15 minutes literally around the corner. If you walk 3-5 blocks, you can access 2 more bus lines, and if you're willing to go 10 blocks you can get to half a dozen more. We have light rail (Trimet MAX) and the Portland Streetcar with just over a mile walk. It's one of the reasons we moved where we did. I work for Google, and Google Portland gives me a free unlimited transit pass, as our office is located on the downtown transit mall. I've literally never driven into the office; a 20 minute bus ride with less than a 2 block walk is incredibly nice. My family takes transit all the time; I have 3 teens old enough to get their licenses and none of them have put much effort into learning how to drive because they can get around well enough using transit. If you talk to our Baby Boomer neighbors, though, you'd think that the second you step foot on a bus or train you'll immediately be assaulted by violent junkies. We do have a big unhoused problem here (like everywhere) but my neighbors seem to think transit is only for the poor; it's sad, really, as many of them are getting to the age where they really shouldn't be driving.

by swozey 3y ago

oceanplexian 3y ago

> They still equate public transportation with being poor and not how millions of people who live IN the city get around. I rode BART out of Oakland for years. I don’t agree with NIMBYs but it’s not like they are making it up. I assure you, it is indeed full of insane people, homeless, the trains are nasty and smell like urine, frequently break down or get stopped because people regularly suicide themselves on the tracks. I’m sure in Asian countries the trains are fantastic but here people aren’t adults and ruin it for everyone.

AlexandrB 3y ago
> I’m sure in Asian countries the trains are fantastic but unfortunately public transit riders here aren’t adults and ruin it for everyone. Not sure why you would turn an obviously systemic problem into one of personal responsibility. Do you think there are no mentally disabled or homeless people in other countries? This attitude seems startlingly common in the US. It's like the pessimistic side of American Exceptionalism - "This problem, which many other countries have tackled successfully, cannot be fixed here".

TexanFeller 3y ago

< They still equate public transportation with being poor and not how millions of people who live IN the city get around. Because statistically that’s very true almost everywhere in America. Even flagship cities like NYC have pathetic trains/subways compared to Europe/Asia and 90% of the population has never been that far abroad to see what’s possible. I’ve tried the express busses and “train”(can you call it that with only two cars!) in Austin and gave up because they waste much more time and are less comfortable than driving. Never saw rich professionals on them, but plenty of mentally ill, drug addicted, and unbathed(not that we should avoid the homeless as much as we do now) persons.

swozey 3y ago
I worked on 2nd and Congress for 4 years and almost every single person I worked with who lived in the suburbs took the train from around the Domain/Aboreteum/further-north-Canada area. They would usually bike, park-at, or get dropped off at a park-n-ride. Nobody said addicts, etc aren't on trains. I said people think that is who is only on it. My software engineer dad-friends absolutely took the train every single day and so did a TON of people who worked downtown. They constantly complained that the trains were full and I remember them changing schedules based on how full they were. They all said they took the train because it was faster and they didn't have to sit in traffic. I've also taken tons of buses. I lived off the drag and worked on 2nd. I always took a bus by UT down Congress to get to downtown. A bus is a bus. Every city bus has bus issues like you mentioned. Yawn. It's even worse here in Denver.

QuercusMax 3y ago

I live in Portland, Oregon, and my house has a city bus stop with service every 15 minutes literally around the corner. If you walk 3-5 blocks, you can access 2 more bus lines, and if you're willing to go 10 blocks you can get to half a dozen more. We have light rail (Trimet MAX) and the Portland Streetcar with just over a mile walk. It's one of the reasons we moved where we did. I work for Google, and Google Portland gives me a free unlimited transit pass, as our office is located on the downtown transit mall. I've literally never driven into the office; a 20 minute bus ride with less than a 2 block walk is incredibly nice. My family takes transit all the time; I have 3 teens old enough to get their licenses and none of them have put much effort into learning how to drive because they can get around well enough using transit. If you talk to our Baby Boomer neighbors, though, you'd think that the second you step foot on a bus or train you'll immediately be assaulted by violent junkies. We do have a big unhoused problem here (like everywhere) but my neighbors seem to think transit is only for the poor; it's sad, really, as many of them are getting to the age where they really shouldn't be driving.