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It's rarely mentioned but in some areas it's just not worth taking public transportation because of the risk you'll get harassed, beat, or killed -- that's a fa

It's rarely mentioned but in some areas it's just not worth taking public transportation because of the risk you'll get harassed, beat, or killed -- that's a factor as to why some will not use public transportation.

consumer451 3y ago
This appears to be due to fear mongering, not facts. Being a driver or passenger in a car or light truck leads to a >10x higher rate of death over public transport. This includes non-crash related deaths. https://www.modeshift.com/is-public-transportation-safer-than-individual-transport/ https://www.modeshift.com/is-public-transportation-safer-tha... https://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPT17.4_Litman.pdf https://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPT17.4_...
- chrjxnandns 3y ago
  [dead]
AdamJacobMuller 3y ago
Very true. When I was younger (early 2000s) I remember taking the subway in NYC literally everywhere and at all hours. I remember being in one of the boroughs and having missed the last train I had to wait 3 or 4 hours for the next one, even in a sketchy train station somewhere in the Bronx it was no issue. 100s if not 1000s of trips on the subway (and path and light rail and NJ transit) with no real issues. Last year while taking the subway (in central manhattan no less) I was harassed by a panhandler who wanted money. He was extremely aggressive about it and did not accept that I had no cash on me to give (I only had my small wallet with a some emergency $100 bills) eventually following me onto the train, fortunately I was able to exit the train before the doors closed with him staying on it. I thought about what I have done in that situation if I was (literally or figuratively) backed into a corner, obviously I wouldn't be happy about it but I would have defended myself or my family if they were with me (I was fortunately alone that day). Personally, the final straw for me with regards to NYC transit was when Daniel Penny was arrested. To not only be unsafe on the subway but to be arrested for defending yourself? Too much of a risk for me, I will drive or take uber exclusively from now on.
- sershe 3y ago
  That type of stuff generally happens because people allow it to happen.. not that I would recommend this cause you have to be ready to escalate, but, I was getting gas in SF and as I lift the nozzle a hobo gets between me and the car and aggressively asks for money. Me, in my non-fake Russian accent: "Fuck off, vermin." He just sags and walks away. Then he walks over to some other guy who is standing around waiting for his tank to be full, and proceeds to literally chase the guy around the car as the latter tries repeatedly to disengage politely. At some point it looked almost like full-on assault; if the guy took out a gun and put that hobo down I'd volunteer to stick around to be a friendly witness for him. I don't understand why American society tolerates this kind of stuff. Watching movies like Easy Rider, you can see the opposite extreme of the society/the law treating any strangers and outsiders poorly, but I wonder if the current attitudes swung /too/ far in the opposite direction. Regardless, given that's how most people are socialized, I am not surprised they don't like public services that are disproportionately used by the poor (I think most poor are totally fine, but they are more likely to be dysfunctional, and public transit in particular also selects for the dysfunctional).

consumer451 3y ago

This appears to be due to fear mongering, not facts. Being a driver or passenger in a car or light truck leads to a >10x higher rate of death over public transport. This includes non-crash related deaths. https://www.modeshift.com/is-public-transportation-safer-than-individual-transport/ https://www.modeshift.com/is-public-transportation-safer-tha... https://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPT17.4_Litman.pdf https://www.nctr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPT17.4_...

chrjxnandns 3y ago
[dead]

AdamJacobMuller 3y ago

Very true. When I was younger (early 2000s) I remember taking the subway in NYC literally everywhere and at all hours. I remember being in one of the boroughs and having missed the last train I had to wait 3 or 4 hours for the next one, even in a sketchy train station somewhere in the Bronx it was no issue. 100s if not 1000s of trips on the subway (and path and light rail and NJ transit) with no real issues. Last year while taking the subway (in central manhattan no less) I was harassed by a panhandler who wanted money. He was extremely aggressive about it and did not accept that I had no cash on me to give (I only had my small wallet with a some emergency $100 bills) eventually following me onto the train, fortunately I was able to exit the train before the doors closed with him staying on it. I thought about what I have done in that situation if I was (literally or figuratively) backed into a corner, obviously I wouldn't be happy about it but I would have defended myself or my family if they were with me (I was fortunately alone that day). Personally, the final straw for me with regards to NYC transit was when Daniel Penny was arrested. To not only be unsafe on the subway but to be arrested for defending yourself? Too much of a risk for me, I will drive or take uber exclusively from now on.

sershe 3y ago
That type of stuff generally happens because people allow it to happen.. not that I would recommend this cause you have to be ready to escalate, but, I was getting gas in SF and as I lift the nozzle a hobo gets between me and the car and aggressively asks for money. Me, in my non-fake Russian accent: "Fuck off, vermin." He just sags and walks away. Then he walks over to some other guy who is standing around waiting for his tank to be full, and proceeds to literally chase the guy around the car as the latter tries repeatedly to disengage politely. At some point it looked almost like full-on assault; if the guy took out a gun and put that hobo down I'd volunteer to stick around to be a friendly witness for him. I don't understand why American society tolerates this kind of stuff. Watching movies like Easy Rider, you can see the opposite extreme of the society/the law treating any strangers and outsiders poorly, but I wonder if the current attitudes swung /too/ far in the opposite direction. Regardless, given that's how most people are socialized, I am not surprised they don't like public services that are disproportionately used by the poor (I think most poor are totally fine, but they are more likely to be dysfunctional, and public transit in particular also selects for the dysfunctional).