4 ms·

You guys are lucky in the NL that you have the _option_ to bike, drive, public transport. Maybe driving is still the fastest but the others are still treated as

by tizzy 2y ago

You guys are lucky in the NL that you have the _option_ to bike, drive, public transport. Maybe driving is still the fastest but the others are still treated as first class citizens. In the US you couldn’t realistically bike anywhere nor does public transport go everywhere. Not to mention the 10 minute walk to the bus stop is probably much worse, especially outside of big cities.

systemtest 2y ago
Agreed, on my recent trip to Los Angeles a 45 minute car trip would often turn into a 2 hours bus trip. And outside of Santa Monica / Venice / Hollywood / Downtown I would often not have sidewalks. It felt a bit like Spain in that regard.
germinalphrase 2y ago
“ In the US you couldn’t realistically bike anywhere nor does public transport go everywhere.” This does, of course, depend entirely on where in the US you live. People commute by bike year round in Minneapolis, and it’s a stereotype for people in New York City to not have driving licenses because they take transit everywhere.
- digging 2y ago
  I'm unfamiliar with Minneapolis - sounds pretty amazing if there's a strong bicycle culture there, but not if "people" only means <1% of commuters. Bicycle enthusiasts live everywhere and are willing to make difficult or risky trips; we can't judge a city by whether or not hardcore bicyclists can survive there. NYC is an extreme outlier, we love to see it, but about 98% of the US doesn't live in the area served by NYC transit. I am sure the population of Minneapolis is much smaller, too. The vast majority of the US is prohibitively difficult to traverse by any mode except car. (Actually, it's usually a highly frustrating and dangerous experience by car, too.) I see reports of more than 60% of the population living in suburbs, which are, as a general rule, designed to discourage non-car travel.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    NYC is also an outlier in that there's really no cultural expectation that you own a car and drive. As an adult professional, I'm not sure there's any other US city where I would choose not to do so simply because friends and activities are so often structured around owning a car and certainly being able to drive--even if there's decent transit. You can work around it to some degree (and I know a couple people who do) but I doubt I'd choose to.
    - coldcode 2y ago
      In San Francisco it's common to not own a car, since parking is expensive and often not available and insurance is high also. At one point in the mid-90s I vaguely remember the ticket for parking illegally was less than the average parking space, until the city realized it. But SF is very small, so public transit/Uber/etc gives you many options to get around. Where I live now, if you have no car you go nowhere.
      - ghaff 2y ago
        SF does have somewhat lower car ownership than the average American city. I know a couple in SF who don't own one. Though I'd observe that, in addition to muni and some cycling, they lean heavily on Uber, Zipcar, and conventional rentals so they're carless mostly in the sense that they don't own one and have to park it but they certainly use and drive cars in some form on an ongoing basis.
  - floxy 2y ago
    Minneapolis, average high temperature in January: 24F / -5C Twin Cities Normal Monthly Snowfall in inches (1981-2010) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual 12.1 7.8 10.2 2.5 Trace 0 0 0 Trace 0.6 9.3 11.5 54.0 https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Minnesota/Places/minneapolis-temperatures-by-month-average.php https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Minnesota/Places/minn... https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/twin_cities/snowfall.html https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/twin_cities/snowfall.htm...

by tizzy 2y ago

systemtest 2y ago

Agreed, on my recent trip to Los Angeles a 45 minute car trip would often turn into a 2 hours bus trip. And outside of Santa Monica / Venice / Hollywood / Downtown I would often not have sidewalks. It felt a bit like Spain in that regard.

germinalphrase 2y ago

“ In the US you couldn’t realistically bike anywhere nor does public transport go everywhere.” This does, of course, depend entirely on where in the US you live. People commute by bike year round in Minneapolis, and it’s a stereotype for people in New York City to not have driving licenses because they take transit everywhere.

digging 2y ago
I'm unfamiliar with Minneapolis - sounds pretty amazing if there's a strong bicycle culture there, but not if "people" only means <1% of commuters. Bicycle enthusiasts live everywhere and are willing to make difficult or risky trips; we can't judge a city by whether or not hardcore bicyclists can survive there. NYC is an extreme outlier, we love to see it, but about 98% of the US doesn't live in the area served by NYC transit. I am sure the population of Minneapolis is much smaller, too. The vast majority of the US is prohibitively difficult to traverse by any mode except car. (Actually, it's usually a highly frustrating and dangerous experience by car, too.) I see reports of more than 60% of the population living in suburbs, which are, as a general rule, designed to discourage non-car travel.
- ghaff 2y ago
  NYC is also an outlier in that there's really no cultural expectation that you own a car and drive. As an adult professional, I'm not sure there's any other US city where I would choose not to do so simply because friends and activities are so often structured around owning a car and certainly being able to drive--even if there's decent transit. You can work around it to some degree (and I know a couple people who do) but I doubt I'd choose to.
  - coldcode 2y ago
    In San Francisco it's common to not own a car, since parking is expensive and often not available and insurance is high also. At one point in the mid-90s I vaguely remember the ticket for parking illegally was less than the average parking space, until the city realized it. But SF is very small, so public transit/Uber/etc gives you many options to get around. Where I live now, if you have no car you go nowhere.
    - ghaff 2y ago
      SF does have somewhat lower car ownership than the average American city. I know a couple in SF who don't own one. Though I'd observe that, in addition to muni and some cycling, they lean heavily on Uber, Zipcar, and conventional rentals so they're carless mostly in the sense that they don't own one and have to park it but they certainly use and drive cars in some form on an ongoing basis.
- floxy 2y ago
  Minneapolis, average high temperature in January: 24F / -5C Twin Cities Normal Monthly Snowfall in inches (1981-2010) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual 12.1 7.8 10.2 2.5 Trace 0 0 0 Trace 0.6 9.3 11.5 54.0 https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Minnesota/Places/minneapolis-temperatures-by-month-average.php https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Minnesota/Places/minn... https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/twin_cities/snowfall.html https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/twin_cities/snowfall.htm...