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america is behind when it comes to mass transit. we need to step it up. the cities at the top are making improves (as are cities that didn't make the list) but all of our cities need to stop playing and get it done already.
america is behind when it comes to mass transit. we need to step it up. the cities at the top are making improves (as are cities that didn't make the list) but all of our cities need to stop playing and get it done already.
there is no reason we should be so far behind.
Only if money grew on trees; lots of cities don't have the funds to build or upgrade on their public transit.
Because the opportunity costs of owning one outweigh the benefits.
I came here with a car under the midset that it was just a natural part of life, like clothing, a job and friends. I would die without it.
Took about 2 years before I finally accepted the fact that I used the thing once a week, mostly on mindless shopping trips, and was paying all the stickers, plates, oil changes, gas, insurance, hassles with parking At the end of the day I just wanted the thing to go away 90% of the time.
I finally sold it to the sounds of my family and friends back home telling me how it was such an insane idea. Seriously within minutes of selling the damn thing I felt almost liberated. I take the train downtown to work every day, I live next to a grocery store, and I take the bus over to the bars when I go out. I'm not going to give up a parking spot to drive 3 blocks to pick something up, only to have to sit in traffic, trying and find street parking, then sit in traffic on the way home, and then pray that I find parking within 2 blocks of my house. In the same amount of time I can walk there with my Ipod on, or jump on the bus that comes every 5 minutes. It's amazing how rarely you really need to make those big trips that fill up your car with groceries or "wal-mart runs" if you plan things out in advance and change your thinking. I just make smaller trips, walk to the grocery store after work a few times a week. You also save money by not taking "i'm bored" trips to Target or other stores and buy crap you don't need. You just work shopping into your daily routine, stopping places on the way home, getting a few handfulls of bags and jumping on the bus. It's actually very calming and pleasant.
My grandparents and others have offered to give me their cars when they can't use them anymore, and my reaction is absolutely not. It would be like a 3,000 pound weight around my ankles.
It all depends on your situation. I grew up like many people thinking of cars as a part of your daily life. Something that's just always there. Then there are many lower income and younger people who think of cars as a luxury, trying to earn enough money to comfortably own one. Then there are people like me who see cars as a responsibility and a burden. I have no rational reason to want one. I could easily afford a very nice car, but like most of my friends in the same situation - none of us want a car.
I rent a few times a year to drive back home, and love getting on the open road and stocking up on some things back in my hometown, but the second I'm back in Chicago all I think is GET THIS THING AWAY FROM ME AND BACK TO THE RENTAL COMPANY.
That said, if I moved to the suburbs or back to my hometown - I would purchase a car before my feet even hit the ground.
Last edited by Chicago60614; 05-21-2010 at 08:34 AM..
america is behind when it comes to mass transit. we need to step it up. the cities at the top are making improves (as are cities that didn't make the list) but all of our cities need to stop playing and get it done already.
there is no reason we should be so far behind.
Well, having a car is not a bad thing.
Furthermore, its not the transit that's the problem, its the way that cities are built that's the problem. In most US Cities, walking to a bus stop or train stationg is very inconvenient and time consuming.
Also, our jobs are so decentralized nowadays that its not practical to have train stations at every single suburban office park.
Well the hassles of car ownership can be painful in the city - especially when once in the city you hardly use the car. It is great to be able to walk or take a quick cab to wherever you are going . plus you never have to worry drinking and driving if you desire.
Parking in my city runs me about $400 a month on top of a mortgage and is a block from where I live. plus car insurance is almost $250 a month so just to have the car before driving it or paying for gas or any fees it is $650 a month just to own a car. I have to have a car for my job as i am on the road 3 days a week but when i am home i park and never use it except for when i leave the city.
Many people who can walk to work or use transit dont have cars but are memebers of services like these for the times they do - great service and getting larger in the city:
It's surprising to see that, even in New York, 44.3 percent of households own a vehicle. I would guess that some of the other cities on the list (Newark, New Orleans, Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, and Oakland) have low vehicle ownership rates because of economics, rather than because transit is particularly accessible or that the particular city is walkable.
In terms of Cleveland, we have a great public transit system, one of the best in the nation. I'm sure that has something to do with it. And there are neighborhoods that are very walkable. I don't have a car because of the RTA system myself.
Why would anyone want to spend $8000/year and spend countless hours sitting in traffic when they don't have to?
There is something in between these two statements...and that's where most Americans are found. There is a certain convenience to having a car (unless you live in a very small # of places in the U.S.) and there is often a certain convenience to using mass transit.
It isn't normally one extreme or the other; I understand that some people feel mass transit is the way to go, while others feel that car ownership is very important...but I think most people fall somewhere in between.
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