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Yeah but it’s not good for “thE eCOnOMy”:
An efficient system just has fewer cracks to jam in rent-seeking, regulatory capture, artificial needs, fomo, hype, subscription service tiers, monopolies, service-services, gig indirections, consultants, charlatan management, etc.
You still can do that in an efficient system, but you can fit - like - five parasites there instead of five hundred.
I want a self-driving car that doesn’t require parking, doesn’t spread microplastics, has dedicated lane so doesn’t get stuck in traffic, has power lines so doesn’t need batteries, and can efficiently fit and transport me and my friends. Also it’s good to make it bigger and share the costs with other passengers to make sure everyone can benefit from my awesome super duper car design. Since we are sharing it with many people, it would be nice if it just kept operating in regular, reliable hours so I can hop on and off when I need it.
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Fast rail system would be rad man. I used to drive a lot for work and it killed the joy of it for me. Now I just wanna sleep
Autonomous vehicles would be a huge imorovement for “last mile” transport. People don’t tend to have train stations in front of their homes.
[comment] choochooo
Don’t forget the main selling point of car traffic; it goes directly from my door to my exact destination, and …and this is the big one…i don’t have to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with, or listen to, or smell the cloying stink of neaeby random strangers for the entire trip. make public transport have that, as well as the punctuality and better last-mile coverage, and it will be a sure winner.
I’m not sure that door-to-door thing really is a main selling point. I know people who walk to their car farther than to the next public transport station and complain about seeking longer for parking spots than it would take them to walk to the station or from the station to their workplace.
If you’re driving to anywhere that’s not in the densest part of cities, it’s absolutely a main selling point.
Good point: lack of density is yet another negative byproduct of car-first infrastructure.
Dunno, here in Germany, the cities’ outskirts are usually kinda well connected, too. And even in the suburban village I grew up in, it took you at max ten minutes by bike to get to the train station. Nowadays with e-scooters you don’t even have to use your muscles for that part either.
In competently designed cities, the doors are made to be a reasonable walking distance from transport stops and hubs.
On my bus this morning there were about 10-15 people, mix of parents with children, two elderly folks, students, young and middle aged adults with plenty of open seating since this is a local bus on a well used express route. The buses and stations are clean even if some users aren’t as well-kept, and if people playing Tiktok on speaker is too annoying you can tell them or listen to your own soundtrack with earbuds.
I want more competently designed cities in North America!
EDIT: Also, you’re getting downvoted for this statement? Did some Truth Social members somehow end up in this thread?
Is this sarcasm or are you just extremely self-centered?
I’m not sure i understand why hating being in close proximity with random strangers is self-centered…I assume they feel the exact same way.
It’s the implication that your marginal convenience and comfort are more important than all the damage that car-centric infrastructure causes to the poor, those who can’t drive, the environment, our cities, etc. That’s what makes you self-centered.
EDIT: And by the way, humans are social creatures by nature - we don’t all hate being in close proximity with random strangers. In fact, in the context of an urban area, I’d argue that many of the people who do feel that way are probably suffering from the psychological damage of growing up in a suburb.
I don’t even have a car anymore, I take the bus/train every single day to/from work and it fucking sucks…but it’s much cheaper, so that’s what I have to do.
Yes, it sucks being carless in a car-dependent place. That’s exactly my point.
However, I apologize for insulting you. I don’t know you or your experience and I jumped to a lot of conclusions in my previous comments.
What I’m trying to say is that the reason your bus/train commute sucks isn’t that it’s a bus/train. It’s that, at least in a lot of cities, the only people who ride the bus/train are those who can’t afford a car. Which means several things:
- Transit is underfunded
- Transit has incomplete coverage
- Entire human settlements are built without any concern for people who don’t have a car
- Cities are designed to allow maximum car throughput and parking, which inherently makes other forms of transportation worse
Your very lived experience is exactly a consequence of car-centric design, and a laser-like focus on self-driving cars will only perpetuate that design philosophy.
It’s hard for someone who has not been to a walkable city to understand how good it can be. If possible, being a few months in cities Prague or Hong Kong will be an eye opener.
I’m European, pretty much every single one of our cities are walkable regardless of country…but try moving around outside of major city centers or not between the major cities. flexibility and usability crumbles immediately. Transport times are absurdly long compared to distances as soon as you don’t move in/out of a major city (or god forbid, to/from a smaller town), often completely impossible requiring huge detours (often in to the city centers and out again) to get where you’re going.
Yeah, cars are the way to go for rural transport. Doubt any bus or tram network can be comparable.
Eh. You just sound anti-social. Maybe move somewhere else or go to therapy.
What is an automated train but a self driving car that is confined to one route?
Public, for one
So how to get bulky things around?
A more easily if everyone who isn’t moving bulky things (like majority of commuters) is using public transport.
A grocery store parking lot full of cars suggests a majority aren’t just commuting.
Bigger trains [for your mom (just a joke, could not hold back)]
Ok so long as the train stops at the grocery store and then takes her to the ikea after and holds enough space for her to get her 6 bags of groceries and cabinets and toiletries home to her front door and helps her carry it in…
You basically want to move to Japan, or South Korea, or Germany, of any of the countries with a competent public transit system.
I see you’ve never been to Germany
As a guy living in Japan, a lot of Europeans left a bit to be desired in terms of punctuality and cleanliness. Although, it was a lot better than Ottawa’s train system where I grew up.
Its all relative. For us Americans, Germany (and most of the rest of Europe) is a transit paradise.
![[meme] choochoo](https://quokk.au/static/media/posts/8L/4e/8L4eFCNmnx9NzyK.webp){kind=link}