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I think the problem is that to transition to a public transit model would require the transportation to be built first. It would also require the public transi

by gbrs 10y ago

I think the problem is that to transition to a public transit model would require the transportation to be built first. It would also require the public transit to operate at a loss for a decade or two while buildings and people transition to this new mode of transportation. Many people are against this in the US because it's expensive and nobody likes tax hikes. Also people love their cars.

TulliusCicero 10y ago
Transit already exists in the US, it just usually sucks. And you're never going to get radical, system-wide improvement in one shot in a car-dominant area. But there's nothing stopping us from releasing mandatory minimum parking requirements while gradually improving transit, biking, and walking. Removing the minimums doesn't erase parking overnight. > It would also require the public transit to operate at a loss for a decade or two while buildings and people transition to this new mode of transportation. Transit always operates at a loss, same as driving, or biking, or walking. > Many people are against this in the US because it's expensive and nobody likes tax hikes. Agreed, politically it's up in the air whether this will work. Mostly it is region-dependent, with a bunch of metros actually passing tax hikes to fund better transit the other day: http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/nearly-70-of-us-transit-ballot-measures-pass.html http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/nearly-70... > Also people love their cars. Two things: 1. Again, this is largely a chicken and egg situation. Over the course of decades, we've created an environment that's good for cars and hostile to everything else. People are mostly pretty rational about their personal transportation choices, and they quite rationally prefer the method that's much better supported, because it works better. But when other modes work well, people will choose them too. 2. The younger generation does not like cars as much as previous ones. There's a steady shift underway.

by gbrs 10y ago

TulliusCicero 10y ago

Transit already exists in the US, it just usually sucks. And you're never going to get radical, system-wide improvement in one shot in a car-dominant area. But there's nothing stopping us from releasing mandatory minimum parking requirements while gradually improving transit, biking, and walking. Removing the minimums doesn't erase parking overnight. > It would also require the public transit to operate at a loss for a decade or two while buildings and people transition to this new mode of transportation. Transit always operates at a loss, same as driving, or biking, or walking. > Many people are against this in the US because it's expensive and nobody likes tax hikes. Agreed, politically it's up in the air whether this will work. Mostly it is region-dependent, with a bunch of metros actually passing tax hikes to fund better transit the other day: http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/nearly-70-of-us-transit-ballot-measures-pass.html http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/nearly-70... > Also people love their cars. Two things: 1. Again, this is largely a chicken and egg situation. Over the course of decades, we've created an environment that's good for cars and hostile to everything else. People are mostly pretty rational about their personal transportation choices, and they quite rationally prefer the method that's much better supported, because it works better. But when other modes work well, people will choose them too. 2. The younger generation does not like cars as much as previous ones. There's a steady shift underway.