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Location: Free State of Florida, Support our police
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Icy Tea
I can see the global warmers walking the streets carrying signs" We are doomed in 18 months, repent.
Those are the dim bulb global warmers. The smart ones are the ones who make baseless predictions 40 or even 100 years out that suggest projected theories suggest our doom is going to happen and we need to pay the rich now to prevent it. They make their money and we'll never know if they were right or just con artists. They'll be dead, we'll be dead , their grandkids will be richer, our grandkids will be poorer.
Most of the new public transit systems lose money every year. The public won't use them because they don't like them.
[1] yes [2] no.
If you check the historical record BEFORE 1920, you'll find that 90% of all urban trips were by electric transit rail. . . and it was privately owned and operated without tax payer funding. But the local gubmints crippled rail by (a) taxation and (b) fare control that prevented the companies from passing on ever higher tax bills.
I think the public loves rail. . . if they had experienced quality. In my own personal experience, riding old streetcars in Pittsburgh was far superior to riding gasoline / diesel buses - and I rode buses to school for 8 years.
The Powers That Be now control "new" public transit, and it was determined long ago that electric transit rail must die. The reasons and methods are beyond the scope of this reply. Here's a snippet to illustrate.
= > > Auto / Oil / Pavement Hegemony < < =
For a cogent example of the political power of the “road gang” consider this - In 1963, Alweg proposed to the city of Los Angeles a monorail system that would be designed, built, operated and maintained by Alweg. Alweg promised to take all financial risk from the construction, and the system would be repaid through fares collected. The City Council rejected the proposal in favor of no transit at all... thanks to the pressure from Standard Oil (Exxon, today).
“A former Alweg engineer once told me that there was much excitement for the proposal at the time, that is until Standard Oil got involved. Practically overnight support for the project disappeared amongst LA politicians.”
That public rail systems lose money is hilarious since steel wheel on steel rail is the most efficient form of land transport (90% savings or more on fuel). Only a government could effectively sabotage the Laws of Physics.
But since the automobile / oil / pavement hegemony and its supporters account for 22% of the GNP, it stands to reason. [Economists estimate that a family automobile accounts for up to 25% of the family budget. Transitioning to rail would cut costs 90% or more, and that means lost jobs and incomes. Of course families would only spend 2.5% on transportation costs...]
Most of the new public transit systems lose money every year. The public won't use them because they don't like them.
In America. So .... why doesn't the American public like them? Is it a loss of personal status thing? Because, you know, cars are status symbols in America.
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In America. So .... why doesn't the American public like them? Is it a loss of personal status thing? Because, you know, cars are status symbols in America.
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Many of them don't go to where the public needs transportation.
The 18 months was Prince Charles speaking about the importance of critical UN meetings that are due to take place between now and the end of 2020.
It's not literally 18 months, it's just the importance some commentators are placing on climate change meetings for our future, and more especially the UN meetings over the nxt 18 months.
In America. So .... why doesn't the American public like them? Is it a loss of personal status thing? Because, you know, cars are status symbols in America.
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Nope.
Speaking for myself. I like the freedom of the car. Come and go when I please, where I please with whom I please.
Where I live now I use Taxis and the BTS. I tolerate the BTS only because I won't be stuck in traffic. Same is true of Taxis. If I must be stuck in traffic let someone else drive and deal with it.
Public transportation is fine until you are crammed into a car like sardines.
Some of us don't give a damn what others think of our cars or us. Most care about freedom and convenience.
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