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Banning is ridiculous. If you want people to take public transport make it ridiculously good so that the car will seem worse everytime. You know, Japan does not

Banning is ridiculous. If you want people to take public transport make it ridiculously good so that the car will seem worse everytime. You know, Japan does not ban cars in city centers and they don't need too.

thanksgiving 2y ago
I think they said city centers. Banning cars in city centers makes sense to me because it reduces traffic congestion. Japan does not need to ban cars because it is incredibly expensive to own a car in Tokyo. So either you ban it or you make it so expensive that only the rich can afford a car. Either way works for me.
- potato3732842 2y ago
  People aren't stupid. They'll see your "just make it so only the rich can afford it" scheme as a ban in all but name and they'll see your intent too. Optics matter. Sure with a powerful enough violence machine behind you you can kinda force people to do whatever but that's precarious and unsustainable. Doing the "right" thing needs to be so easy that people do it voluntarily.
  - thanksgiving 2y ago
    Absolutely, we would need to fund a public transit infrastructure and also a public relations/propaganda campaign so we can get everyone on board.
- ekianjo 2y ago
  More than 90% of Japanese households have a car, so it's not a problem of ownership. They only use it when they really need to.
realusername 2y ago
That doesn't work because cars are so expensive to buy and maintain that you can't realistically tax the same amount for a public transport service, no matter how good it would be.
amrocha 2y ago
Japan makes car ownership ridiculously expensive and inconvenient. People spend an average of 100,000 yen on a car per month, that’s a third of the average monthly income. Speed limits are low across the board, and there’s tons of traffic calming such that a trip by car is often slower than by train or bike. Yes, Tokyo has the best public transport in the world, but people would still choose cars if they were faster and cheaper.
- ekianjo 2y ago
  > Yes, Tokyo has the best public transport in the world, but people would still choose cars if they were faster and cheaper. thats the point, cars would not be faster and cheaper to move around in Tokyo.
  - amrocha 2y ago
    That’s a deliberate choice to slow down cars though. For example, Seoul has great public transport but high speed limits and traffic light patterns make it so that cars are twice as fast as trains. Of course, that pollutes the city and kills people, not to mention increase congestion. Tokyo intentionally makes cars slow.

thanksgiving 2y ago

I think they said city centers. Banning cars in city centers makes sense to me because it reduces traffic congestion. Japan does not need to ban cars because it is incredibly expensive to own a car in Tokyo. So either you ban it or you make it so expensive that only the rich can afford a car. Either way works for me.

potato3732842 2y ago
People aren't stupid. They'll see your "just make it so only the rich can afford it" scheme as a ban in all but name and they'll see your intent too. Optics matter. Sure with a powerful enough violence machine behind you you can kinda force people to do whatever but that's precarious and unsustainable. Doing the "right" thing needs to be so easy that people do it voluntarily.
- thanksgiving 2y ago
  Absolutely, we would need to fund a public transit infrastructure and also a public relations/propaganda campaign so we can get everyone on board.
ekianjo 2y ago
More than 90% of Japanese households have a car, so it's not a problem of ownership. They only use it when they really need to.

realusername 2y ago

That doesn't work because cars are so expensive to buy and maintain that you can't realistically tax the same amount for a public transport service, no matter how good it would be.

amrocha 2y ago

Japan makes car ownership ridiculously expensive and inconvenient. People spend an average of 100,000 yen on a car per month, that’s a third of the average monthly income. Speed limits are low across the board, and there’s tons of traffic calming such that a trip by car is often slower than by train or bike. Yes, Tokyo has the best public transport in the world, but people would still choose cars if they were faster and cheaper.

ekianjo 2y ago
> Yes, Tokyo has the best public transport in the world, but people would still choose cars if they were faster and cheaper. thats the point, cars would not be faster and cheaper to move around in Tokyo.
- amrocha 2y ago
  That’s a deliberate choice to slow down cars though. For example, Seoul has great public transport but high speed limits and traffic light patterns make it so that cars are twice as fast as trains. Of course, that pollutes the city and kills people, not to mention increase congestion. Tokyo intentionally makes cars slow.