cars and events

[amw]

ohnotheydidnt dropped a great wank post today: US Swifties can't comprehend the concept of public transport in Melbourne. But, probably because it was posted when America was awake and the rest of the world was still asleep, there is a bunch of bizarro comments like how people would rather sit in the comfort of their own car for two hours waiting to get out of

Comments

[geminiwench]

I live in a rural half-million sized city that in 1925 had a super-efficient and effective electric trolley mix-ed-with train system that the city ran for free, and would take people to within a mile of whereever they wanted to go, in like a 25 mile radius from downtown! The city was bribed by a bus company to start a fleet of internal-combusting engine busses and give the city a 10% off deal ONLY IF... the city agreed to BURN all their trolleys and tear up the commuter light rail

[amw]

I'm never sure how much of that GM versus streetcars conspiracy really affected the adoption of private internal combustion vehicles and how much was just a result of ordinary people with a fantasy of being kings finding that owning a personal carriage and a castle in the suburbs brought them closer to that fantasy. Although I suppose that's exactly the job of marketing professionals, manipulating people into believing that buying something will give them power, so perhaps it's still the fault of the car companies

[geminiwench]

Our local papers reported on why they burned their streetcars, exactly stating it was a part of the contract with the new bus company the city had signed. They weren't even allowed to keep one for posterity, although the city had legally asked to keep one, hoping to put it in a park as a band pavillion

[king_of_apathy]

I haven't owned a car in fifteen years since I lived in New Zealand, and I don't miss it at all, though admittedly NZ itself had some beautiful drives. Cars consume time and money to upkeep. I don't enjoy the experience of driving, and I think if I were to go back to it now I'd be a bag of nerves. I'd rather sit on the subway for half hour where I can zone out and read something than be tense behind the wheel of a car, anxious about traffic or where to find a parking place

[amw]

My fear of going to visit my dad in NZ for a few weeks is that I will want to kill myself from all the car usage. Public transport in that country has actually moved backwards in recent decades, which is insane to me, because when I was young NZ was seen as a world leader in environmentalism. My dad has a lot of strong opinions about this.

Bottom line is just as you say, people don't want to wait for a bus. And when a critical mass of people don't want to wait for a bus, then the bus gets canceled and now there is no choice at all any more. The only solution is for the government to step in. Providing people with transport should be part of the role of government imo. But a lot of car-owning folks aren't interested in "their" tax money being used for a service they can't imagine themselves using, so the critical mass of drivers also means politicians have no reason to support public transport initiatives. One of the less great things about democracy.

[fflo]

It truly is bizarre, when you think about it EVEN A LITTLE, how bad we are at moving people around. I remember someone telling me that I shouldn't use AAA for my roadside assistance cuzza how they lobby for all things cars, and being ashamed that I hadn't thought of that. Money and profit drive everything in the US, and there's a lot of existing money and power in cars. Even in gas-powered cars--- Trump is out there arguing against electric vehicles, and not being held in nearly enough contempt for that (either

[amw]

The anti-EV lobby is just pure, unflinchingly corrupt nonsense. Like, here is a personal vehicle that accelerates faster, handles better, doesn't disturb the peace, doesn't belch out toxic fumes, can be "refueled" in your own garage, in every single respect is better than an internal combustion vehicle and you still have people complaining that on their one Thanksgiving trip each year they might have to stop halfway through the day for an hour to recharge. Like, come on. If there wasn't a political lobby behind it, Americans would love EVs! And, in fact, they do love EVs! But then you get these headlines like "EV adoption trailing off" when actually it's like the growth of the growth rate - a second derivative - that is decreasing. I can only hope that ordinary people see through the nonsense and continue jumping on the EV train. I still think private cars suck, but if you're going to drive an antisocial vehicle, might as well drive one that doesn't give other people cancer or heart disease.

[browncouch]

That's funny. I also hate cars. On my way home I pass a stop where there are three different arenas, two hold about 16000 and one 30000. There is also a small shopping center and a number of other services. It's surrounded by apartment buildings, as well as some major roads, train, tram and bus stations. There is one parking garage hidden under the arenas that holds 1500 cars, which you have to pay for. Whenever a huge event happens there is information and extra trains. It can get packed, but you kind of learn when and where to go, and it's not really a big deal. I try to avoid footballers, but it's fun to guess which concert people are going to. It's not a pretty area, sad enough with all the arenas and tracks and roads, but I can't imagine parking taking over the apartments and trees.

[siglinde99]

I agree. I have a car, but I rarely use it more than once a week. If there were decent public transportation to my parents’ I would use it, but it takes two hours vs 25 minutes by car. In decent weather it’s faster for me to ride my bike, even though I’m old and slow (and really tired by the time I get home again). This spring I’ll try using my Brampton to get there. At least I can take it on the train/bus.