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Also, the obsession with public transit coverage and walkability as some sort of benchmark for how well your country is doing is at best misguided and at worst

Also, the obsession with public transit coverage and walkability as some sort of benchmark for how well your country is doing is at best misguided and at worst ableist and ageist. Public transit fucking sucks even in countries where it's supposed to be good, because it's inherently sucky. Most of America is car-centric and it's pretty good once you buy into that model of living. Not everyone is a childless 25-year-old healthy able person who doesn't mind living in some 350 sqft box in the middle of a loud downtown hellscape and take public transit to almost-get-to everywhere they need to go before walking the last mile. When you go to someplace like the Netherlands and see "everyone" riding a bicycle, just keep in mind that what you're seeing isn't actually "everyone".

cindyllm 1y ago
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doom2 1y ago
> Most of America is car-centric and it's pretty good once you buy into that model of living. Is it though? I'm for public transit because one day I'll be of an age where I probably shouldn't be driving but am still able and independent enough to get around. In a car-centric culture, what's the solution? Making the elderly take taxis or rideshares everywhere (assuming there is taxi services or Uber available where you live)? That feels like an ageist tax unless those services are heavily subsidized somehow. Or allowing the elderly to drive, which in my experience can be its own hazard both to drivers and everyone else.
_DeadFred_ 1y ago
Imagine your entire access to the world is decided by an insurance company and their willingness to insure your driving in old age. When my mom was dying of cancer she was lucky our small town has a public shuttle bus system. She was not able to drive herself to her cancer support group at the end. When my very poor grandparents came to visit in Santa Cruz they could not afford a rental car. We took the bus everywhere. I have so many memories with them thanks to public transportation. My grandfather had a very very painful artificial hip.

cindyllm 1y ago

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doom2 1y ago

> Most of America is car-centric and it's pretty good once you buy into that model of living. Is it though? I'm for public transit because one day I'll be of an age where I probably shouldn't be driving but am still able and independent enough to get around. In a car-centric culture, what's the solution? Making the elderly take taxis or rideshares everywhere (assuming there is taxi services or Uber available where you live)? That feels like an ageist tax unless those services are heavily subsidized somehow. Or allowing the elderly to drive, which in my experience can be its own hazard both to drivers and everyone else.

_DeadFred_ 1y ago

Imagine your entire access to the world is decided by an insurance company and their willingness to insure your driving in old age. When my mom was dying of cancer she was lucky our small town has a public shuttle bus system. She was not able to drive herself to her cancer support group at the end. When my very poor grandparents came to visit in Santa Cruz they could not afford a rental car. We took the bus everywhere. I have so many memories with them thanks to public transportation. My grandfather had a very very painful artificial hip.