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Given that I live in suburbia with a car, mass transit means...
- extra time it takes to get there
- time it takes for me to get to the stop/station in the first place
- having to wait out in the elements
- having to adhere to a schedule
I love rail, but you can't build rail everywhere and any sane public transit system is going to be bus heavy.
Well of course. But I feel that the buses should be much faster (BRT, anyone?), and should funnel traffic to and from a well-funded and expansive railway system with a moderate to high capacity, so that rail transit is never far off and has easy access.
The flip side is, home delivery of most goods is practical.
I can't think of too many items that are cheaper to have delivered than to go pick them up yourself.
My favorite example - 40 lb. bags of cat litter - cost me nothing to pick up when I stop on my way home from work. To have them delivered? At least $10.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
How many can you check?
Four and a half.
Is the University of Dayton a prestigious liberal arts school?
It isn't necessary to build rail everywhere to provide good and comprehensive service! Generally, stops about every half-mile or so mean a quarter-mile walk from front door to transit station is sufficient. Buses have their role, but it isn't necessary to be "bus heavy" or even all that desirable.
I never saw a car as "freedom," even when I lived in the suburbs. I saw it as a ball and chain--I had to pay to own it and maintain it, feed it and care for it, sit for extra hours at work with the car parked in the parking lot instead of using my time as I saw fit. Like the song says, "freedom" isn't free, and the "freedom" provided by a car is a lot like the "freedom" provided by heroin addiction--it's a harmful, dangerous habit that encourages dependency, saps our strength, and costs lives.
I can't think of too many items that are cheaper to have delivered than to go pick them up yourself.
My favorite example - 40 lb. bags of cat litter - cost me nothing to pick up when I stop on my way home from work. To have them delivered? At least $10.
Picking up one or two items from the store on the way home from work is no less possible for a pedestrian or cyclist. Even 40 lb. bags of cat litter, if you have a rolling cart or a cargo bike, and unless you are trying for "crazy cat lady" status, that's not a trip you're going to make very often. Also, the one-item purchase is the dumb way to order groceries online, especially if the online delivery service charges a flat fee. Ordering one item at a time and getting charged $10 per order would be pretty dumb--so, the key is, don't do that.
Also, using your car isn't "free," it still costs money to operate and burns gas. You still have to insure and register and maintain the car. You're just optimizing its use by combining trips, which is a smart strategy to use if you want to drive less. And if ordering online, the better strategy is to order multiple items to mitigate the expense of that $10-15 shipping fee. The point of online ordering vs. a car-based shopping trip is to provide an alternative for someone who doesn't have a car, not to prove that it costs less in all circumstances. In everything, there are choices--we choose what we do (or don't want to do) to suit our circumstances, which aren't all the same.
It isn't necessary to build rail everywhere to provide good and comprehensive service! Generally, stops about every half-mile or so mean a quarter-mile walk from front door to transit station is sufficient. Buses have their role, but it isn't necessary to be "bus heavy" or even all that desirable.
That sounds well and good if you have a spoke and hub system with lines feeding into a CBD. But what if the vast bulk of a region's employment is scattered all over the place (with a weak CBD)? Are you going to build individual rail lines to all of these suburban locations? And why would people ride them if they can drive there and park for free?
I love rail, but you can't build rail everywhere and any sane public transit system is going to be bus heavy.
NYC is rail heavy, London is as well, though both have buses for lower volume routes as well. Boston and dc have higher rail ridership than bus ridership but that's partly because transit ridersip is heavily downtown oriented, which is covered by rail.
NPR (check)
Obama voter (2008 Primary) (check)
Whole Foods/TJ shopper (check)
NYT/New Yorker/Economist subscription (check)
Patagonia/Helly Hansen/Canada Goose (check)
Degree from prestigious liberal arts school (automatic)
Microbrews (check)
Indie films (check)
Fair trade coffee (check)
Farmer's market (check)
Vespa scooter (check)
Backpacking in Europe (check)
That's the short list.
I agree. And they have publications like Atlantic Cities and Streetsblog that function as one gigantic echo chamber.
I'll go ahead and check off mine for fun:
NPR (check) - NPR newbie
Obama voter (2008 Primary) (check)
Whole Foods/TJ shopper (check)
Degree from prestigious liberal arts school (automatic) - went to Berkeley, so I am sure that counts
Fair trade coffee (check)
Farmer's market (check)
That sounds well and good if you have a spoke and hub system with lines feeding into a CBD. But what if the vast bulk of a region's employment is scattered all over the place (with a weak CBD)? Are you going to build individual rail lines to all of these suburban locations? And why would people ride them if they can drive there and park for free?
Low ridership but if you have jobs in some secondary districts you might be able to get decent ridership
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