I've spent vast amounts of time commuting on public transport and by car.
You can't pay me to ever get on a bus again.
And not just in the US/Canada either. Even in the dense cities of Europe, public transportation << car transport. No bus can ever beat the comfort and convenience of putting a large amount of shopping / luggage in the back, getting in your private bubble, and going directly to your destination.
Then there's the people you meet on public transport. 99 / 100 of them are just people who want to go from A to B. But then there are the trouble-makers and weirdos. Do you really want to be stuck on a bus or train, straining under shopping bags or holiday luggage, with some unpredictable idiot eyeing you?
Some people, like newyorker.com, have a platonic ideal of public transport where we are all happily whisked from A to B on hyper-efficient and advanced vehicles, perhaps humming kumbaya to ourselves. But the reality is that it will always be inconvenient and slow - at best - and dangerous and super unpleasant in reality.
The one instance where public transport works well is when you want to travel 5-10 blocks, there's a lot of traffic, and you are carrying nothing, and there just so happens to be a subway going the right way.
The real way forward is to have electric cars, nuclear power plants, remote work, and maybe this new Musk tunnel thing.
...and then talks about buses. Buses? Ever heard of trains?
Commuting by car sucks. You have to actively participate in traffic, as opposed to just sitting on the train and reading a book, for example. In most EU large cities trains are faster and more convenient than cars. You also forget the fact that even in the 2x8 lanes of LA motorway systems you still get traffic jams, you cannot imagine what would happen if in an EU city all people would follow your advice.
And if you live closer to your work, you can hop on a bike (an ebike, even!), and enjoy some fresh air. Luckily on this side of the world people are not forced to live in those prison-like residential areas where the only way to get to anywhere is by car.
> maybe this new Musk tunnel thing.
It is inconcievable to me how people can take anything that man says seriously, even as a passing thought. But if you do, just look at the Vegas tunnel, how well that turned out!
> The one instance where public transport works well is when you want to travel 5-10 blocks, there's a lot of traffic, and you are carrying nothing, and there just so happens to be a subway going the right way.
This really depends on each region/city. Cities like Paris or Munich have a very dense network of public transportation - Even getting from point A in city center to point B in a 30km away suburb can be easier using public transportation.
>But then there are the trouble-makers and weirdos. Do you really want to be stuck on a bus or train, straining under shopping bags or holiday luggage, with some unpredictable idiot eyeing you?
I feel this is just as true as with driving a car or walking a street. My friend was hit by a drunkard running red lights (hey received no permanent injury, but did fly in quite an arc). I'm constantly weary of people not using turn signals and not looking to their sides, multiple times I've almost gotten hit. Lots of situations where one driver will stop in front of a zebra crossing, and someone on another lane speeds through like a guillotine. Tons of users signal they're turning in an intersection, then take that signal off and drive straight, leading you to almost T-bone them. Road-ragers like to drive in front of you and hit the brakes, people try to take over constantly when you try to keep a safe distance to the car in front of you.
In general I feel non-professional drivers are unsuited for cars.
Here's an example: https://arpeco.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/20191231_143830... Can you see those big hatches? They're almost the depth of the bus
As for bulky things, shopping, and taking the kids to school, I use this and would recommend it to anyone.
I don't agree with you that public transport sucks. But it does suck in some situations.
But when I need to buy some furniture or transport luggage? I'm privileged enough to be able to ask parents and siblings to borrow theirs.
And just to use your own phrasing: Nothing beats getting on the bus in the morning, zooming past the traffic in the dedicated bus lane, reading a book, and having to walk a shorter distance than the people who drive to work have to walk from the parking lot.
But I understand that I'm lucky. I had the opportunity to buy an apartment so that I have a great bus route to work. I have the opportunity to borrow a car when I need one. The weather is warm enough most of the year that I can bike everywhere I want to go. I live five minutes walking distance from a grocery store.
And although electric cars are great; (If I did buy a car I'd probably buy something like the Renault Twizy) they are still cars. They still get stuck in traffic, they still need parking lots. They tear more on the road system due to the increased weight of the battery. The real way forward is to put people in a positition where they don't need a car for most errands. Walkable cities, bike infrastructure.
So just being someone that got tired of the commute and moved to a dense European city that's a 2000 years old, there are several assumptions you make I can't agree with.
1. I've absolutely been menaced on the road several times in the USA, you have to share the road with that 1 of 100 idiot too, (in a fast multiton hunk of metal). You've discounted this in your head but treat that same risk on a bus or whatever as impossible to cope with. I get it, everyone has their preference but you're not being equitable in the comparison. 2. Tiny dense European cities suck to drive and park in, but tend to be rather pleasurable on foot as all the services are accessible there, not wallkign through a giant parking lot 3. Driving a car is crazy dangerous by the numbers. Again everyone has their preference and your entitled to yours but again not actually an equitable comparison. 4. You seem to have a high minded view of driving I did not really encounter in 24 years of driving in US cities.
In the end, you're entitled to your preferences and I encourage you to continue driving but please be fair in your comparisons and leave the rest of us to ours.
I usually get around either by bike or public transit, but I had to move some inconveniently shaped items (studio lights for photography), so I decided to rent a shared car. It took me almost 40 minutes for a trip that takes 10 minutes by bike and 15 minutes by public transit. It was also highly unpleasant, because the "weirdos" you mention also exist in car traffic. Only in this case, the "unpredictable idiots" are texting while driving and drifting out of lanes.
I'll need to transport the same things again next week and I'll either find a way to pack things more compactly so that I can take public transit, or I'll take a taxi (still takes longer, but at least I'm not the one dealing with traffic).
For context, this is in Munich, Germany.
But I stand by my point that driving or being driven directly from A to B will always be better, and most people seem to agree with me.
I also have been on a bus, whooshing by traffic, and had great commuting experiences that way. But that’s a small minority of times in my experience.
Obviously doesn't work everywhere and for everyone, but I'm confident that it could work in more places than most people (especially outside the Netherlands) think, and where it does, it really is fantastic. Not just for the cyclists themselves, but everyone who isn't in the process of getting from A to B as well.
You're comment also shows a disdain and low opinion of some fictional archetype of people who think public transport is the solution to all of our problems.
The things you list in your "real way forward" are all things that reduce getting in contact with people in public spaces. If this is your personal priority, it explains why you hate public transport so much. Not everyone is like this.
I dislike working from home and only do it twice a week (if I can bring myself to it) to save on gas money. If I weren't dependent on my car for various reasons, I'd happily get rid of it for financial considerations alone.
I've never owned a car, and never struggled with carrying shopping/luggage. I guess my lifestyle is kind of different to the typical North American style, where I am not buying large amounts of stuff in bulk, such that I cannot carry it. Instead I wear a backpack and take a few tote bags and buy the amount of groceries etc that I can carry. If I did buy something large like a sofa, I'd get it delivered. I'd probably do so even if I had a car, because the delivery people would be able to help with moving it into the house, too.
> The real way forward is to have electric cars, nuclear power plants, remote work, and maybe this new Musk tunnel thing.
It seems you're looking at this very one-dimensionally, only thinking of exhaust emissions. Cars still produce pollution through tyre and brake dust, noise pollution from tyre hum, and of course the source of power for the engine has zero impact on the safety of a vehicle.
I won't pretend that there are no exceptions to the pros for public transport. Cars are there for a reason too. Sometimes combo is the best [0].
From stereotypes - I'd agree that LA's public transport is orders of magnitude worse than travelling by car. Though it sounds like OC actually never been in a moderately dense European city. You often _cannot_ go directly to your destination with a car [1] and your travel will often take longer [2]. I probably won't be wrong by saying that it will be an order of magnitude more expensive too [3].
If it's a big city - driving will cost you greatly and you will lose time. If it's a moderate city - driving will cost you a lot and maybe it will take similar amount of time. I don't see where it is a win for cars here?
> convenience of putting a large amount of shopping / luggage in the back
How often do you go shopping/carry luggage to the amounts you can't carry? Personally once every week or two.
P.S. I know that there could be exceptions to the rule, but I had in mind travelling inside the cities for common scenarios as going to work to the city centre.
EDIT: Forgot to add. While going with public transport it's great time to catch up on latest podcasts, scroll news, even do minimal work if that's necessary (emails, chats, etc.) or you can just chill in general. Driving will need my 100% attention on the road and probably 80% of the time will make me super stressed and angry.
Also "this new Musk tunnel thing." - I think I wasted a comment against a troll. :) Musk tunnel is a "metro" with significantly less throughput and traffic jams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8NiM_p8n5A
[0] Often businesses are based in big cities, but a lot of people live in the surrounding area. You drive to the city limit, leave car there (often rather cheap/free if you use public transport) and hop onto the express train that takes you to the city center very fast.
[1] Good luck to park your car in the centre of London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, etc. and if you could (e.g. office building has parking) - it will cost you dearly;
[2] Traffic is prioritised for public transport. Separate bus lanes, some streets don't even allow cars, priority for trams. Leaving your car is a nightmare too.
[3] Fuel, insurance, road tolls and/or car taxes, maintenance and car price itself, parking.
Efficient public transportation + shared cars services/rental cars can help a lot with that for people who can't leverage using a bicycle or prefer not to during bad weather.
