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That's a depressing take. First off, you're not too busy to find it. Because you're probably not used to doing it. All you have to do is to tell your favorite
by esalman 1y ago
That's a depressing take.
First off, you're not too busy to find it. Because you're probably not used to doing it. All you have to do is to tell your favorite map app where you want to go, then switch to the public transit tab. You should try it.
Right now if I look at routes from Newark to OAK or SFO, it shows around 40 minutes by car and 1:40 hour by public transportation. If I had a plane to catch in 2 hours, I'd never take the bus. Here's why.
About 40 minutes of that 1:40 involves walking to the nearest bus stop. You could take an Uber instead and cut it down to 10 minutes. But that's problem A, public transportation doesn't have enough coverage.
There are 2 bus changes involved. The first one, Newark to Union City or Palo Alto, depending on whether you're going to OAK or SFO, runs every 30 minutes. That's problem B, the routes are not frequent enough.
The last bus change, very close to OAK/SFO, are design flaw- problem C. You really should be able to get off BART and take a short walk or shuttle to terminal. Instead, it's another bus ride that'll take 40 minutes.
From a regular commuter's pov, problems A/B/C are the issues that'll discourage someone from taking public transportation. Like other comments mentioned, it's not really a resource, infra or tech issue. It's a social/political issue that's preventing public transportation from expanding, both in coverage, frequency and in terms of connecting big population centers where it matters. All the issues that you mentioned, like stopping million times, guarantee of arriving on time, bicycles, and even safety and cleanliness, will go away if you solve the problems I mentioned- speaking from my experience taking public transportation for 30+ years in the US and abroad.
- kulahan 1y agoHuh? I’m too busy to find the study supporting the point I was making. I think you may have misunderstood? Anyways, maybe if we solve all these issues, things will improve, and I hope it does! Still, I’m with those survey respondents - I really do not care how hard cities work to overcome public transit issues. I’ll never take it. I just have no incentive to do so, and I like my car. It’s private. It’s fast as hell. It’s pretty. It’s comfy. I wouldn’t get even one of those in a bus. I’d be pretty shocked if this wasn’t a standard response. As an aside: it’s weird and disconcerting that you’re finding a different opinion to be depressing. Is it possible you’re just really disconnected?
- esalman 1y agoThere's a reason why US has higher rates of depression and mental health issues than other high income countries. Your thought process demonstrates why.