I would use public transit if my car were broken, and it's was too snowy to ride a bike, but really, my city's small enough that to get from anywhere to anywhere, door to door, the speed of a car is approximately the same as the speed of a bike, and the speed of public transit is approximately the same as the speed of walking.
As to security, most of the places with highly developed transit systems (NYC, SF, DC, Boston) have largely disarmed their citizens, though not the criminals, of course. This makes the security problem even worse.
I can make sense, sometime, in a confined region, like San Francisco. Buses or trolleys every 5 minutes, and the city is 9 miles across. Manhattan is 13 miles long. MY town (Phoenix "the Valley of the Sun") is more than 6X the width, and involves multiple (sometimes feuding) municipalities.
Mass transit is impractical if you're hauling any amount of cargo (anything that won't fit in a briefcase or backpack). Good luck getting your groceries home on the bus!
And, for a significant number of us, we need a car to GET to the Public Transit.
ReplyDeleteI would use public transit if my car were broken, and it's was too snowy to ride a bike, but really, my city's small enough that to get from anywhere to anywhere, door to door, the speed of a car is approximately the same as the speed of a bike, and the speed of public transit is approximately the same as the speed of walking.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they won't let me put my rifle in the trunk.
ReplyDeleteAs to security, most of the places with highly developed transit systems (NYC, SF, DC, Boston) have largely disarmed their citizens, though not the criminals, of course. This makes the security problem even worse.
ReplyDeletethen there is stuff like this:
ReplyDeletehttp://abc7chicago.com/weather/south-shore-passengers-stuck-for-more-than-5-hours/1698752/
THis NEVER happened when the train line was a private company....now that it is Public Transportation service SUCKS.
5 hours...over a 1/4"(or less) of ice.
I can make sense, sometime, in a confined region, like San Francisco.
ReplyDeleteBuses or trolleys every 5 minutes, and the city is 9 miles across.
Manhattan is 13 miles long.
MY town (Phoenix "the Valley of the Sun") is more than 6X the width, and involves multiple (sometimes feuding) municipalities.
Obviously, not not for everywhere.
gfa
We already have a mass transit system.
ReplyDeleteIt's called the automobile.
Mass transit is impractical if you're hauling any amount of cargo (anything that won't fit in a briefcase or backpack). Good luck getting your groceries home on the bus!
ReplyDelete