this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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I’m all for better public transit.
But for those of us who don’t live in a city, it’s not an option. I live about a five minute walk from my nearest neighbor, and a 20 minute drive from work. I’m not in a neighborhood or apartment. They could not feasibly build a rail system to service me and the millions of others who live like I do.
Busses are an option but then my commute would start hours earlier, and they would not pay for themselves where I live. Or I would be paying a very high fair.
Just build a rail system is not the solution.
I think it's got to be subways in big cities, buses in suburban towns, and trains to connect rural/suburban/urban areas. All of these being free like libraries would be great, and the commute would be shortened by rides available every 15 minutes.
It is the solution for the vast majority of people (though I personally like bikes better).
Public transit isn't supposed to "pay for itself" via fares. It is a net-good that makes it so that everyone doesn't need a car and all the supporting infrastrucutre and wastes of space and energy that cars require.
If cars weren't subsidized to be the primary mode of transportation, you wouldn't live "5 miles from your neighbor," and you wouldn't need a car to get to work.
Ok, so I’m supposed to move when they build this new transit?With what money?
Public transport isn't supposed to "pay for itself". How about asphalt roads in your area, have they paid for themselves?
Yes via the commerce that results in taxes. But the pint is that public transit does not get built unless you can convince law makers that it will be cheaper than any alternative to the government’s pocket.
Road related taxes are not even enough for maintaining roads let alone build them. Watch the below video from the 3.18 mark.
https://youtu.be/QPAil1xY42I?t=191
Tell me this, if your sparsely populated area justifies asphalt roads because of the "resulting commerce", why can't public transport achieve the same?
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/QPAil1xY42I?t=198
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
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