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My point is that we've had 50+ years of "trying to do it well" in the US. For all the claims that "it has been done better in other countries", how come not a s
by johnfn 1y ago
My point is that we've had 50+ years of "trying to do it well" in the US. For all the claims that "it has been done better in other countries", how come not a single city in the US has been able to extract the je ne sai quoi of what makes it work over there when it doesn't work here? What exactly is the time horizon for fixing all our issues? 50 years wasn't long enough to make a dent - if anything, things have gotten worse in that time.
- hackable_sand 1y agoMy city's public transportation is excellent. It's a vital service for people like me who don't drive and need timely transport loops.
- conception 1y agoWait, are you arguing that we’ve tried to do it well in the US?
- johnfn 1y agoWhat I'm saying if we've had 50 years to try to get it right and we have failed.
- verzali 1y agoPlenty of other places have figured it out. There's nothing so special about America that it can't work there too.
- keeda 1y agoAs the sibling comments suggest, I don't think the US has really been trying to very hard get it right. Leaving alone European countries, I've experienced and commuted using better public transportation in poorer countries of varying sizes 2+ decades ago.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> how come not a single city in the US has been able to extract the je ne sai quoi of what makes it work over there when it doesn't work here? Manhattan sort of nails it. Between the subway, Metro-North, LIRR and taxi system you don’t need to own a car and it massively increases life expectancy.
- rickydroll 1y ago> it massively increases life expectancy. Life just seems longer. When I lived in small cities and walked mainly, all of my health numbers went in the wrong direction. Higher blood pressure, poorer quality sleep, worse glucose control. It took me quite a while, but I eventually determined the problems were connected to noise, nighttime lighting, and too many people. Living outside of cities and better controlling my sleep environment has significantly improved my quality of life.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> Living outside of cities and better controlling my sleep environment has significantly improved my quality of life There will be outliers. Nevertheless, life expectancy and healthspan in car-free cities is meaningfully longer than in places where people drive.
- queenkjuul 1y agoNo, sorry, the US has had 50 years of "trying not to do it at all if we can get away with it" Absolutely not been trying to do it well. Despite this, Washington Metro is pretty solid, i take CTA or my bike everywhere in Chicago, and i was able to navigate Philly and NYC reliably without a car without issue. US transit agencies have been deliberately and systematically underfunded and poorly maintained. Public transit works great all over the world when governments actually care about doing it well.