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This is American outlook on things (I wonder whether you ever lived long enough in European cities, because you'd know the difference right away.)
Excuse me? Not that it's any of your business, but I was born in Germany, lived there for more than 22 years and then again later. Does that qualify for "living long enough in European cities"? I am very familiar with the city of Kassel, of which you posted a video and unless you live right in the city center the public transportation network can be really bad. Admittedly not as bad as in a comparable US city, but having to wait 30-60 mins for the next bus can definitely happen there, too. I have a direct comparison because I lived on both sides of the pond. With and without a car. In either country. Not in the major metropolises. What is your source of wisdom besides youtube videos?
You sound like a little child that asks a question just to hear what he wants and if he doesn't he gets angry. Believe what you want to believe.
What years?
When I lived in Seattle, I found that the bus routes were overly time-consuming and Portland Oregon ( I'm talking the beginning of the nineties) was a dead place where you could barely make anywhere without a car. San-Fransisco was a breather in this respect, but overall I found the life without car in the US a torturous experience and I don't even like to drive)))
I was in Seattle in the 80's and 90's. Seattle is always working to improve routes. I discovered that in the 90's, they had combined some routes, so that one didn't have to transfer buses going from an East-West route to North-South. If you figured out the system (these route combinations weren't published on the schedules), it helped. Still, it was time-consuming. Service to my neighborhood on Sundays was once/hr. Still, I chose to make a commitment to public transit, and I stuck by it.
Portland had a very limited system until it suddenly decided to invest in public transport. The result was truly transformational. It has made national headlines and has been cited as a model for other cities.
San Francisco's system could use some improvement here and there (during rush hours, some routes are like in Russia--everyone packed into the bus like sardines, lol!), but given San Francisco's traffic problems, I'd prefer public transit most of the time. And it's well-connected to surrounding cities and towns by other transport systems. Plus, getting there on the bridges can be nightmarish, depending on the time of day, so again, public transport has its advantages.
FYI, erasure, US cities used to have trams like European cities. (San Francisco still does.) There used to be a combination of trolleybuses, buses, and trams in many cities. The trams and trolleybuses were removed by a consortium organized by the oil companies and car manufacturers, and replaced with badly-scheduled buses, in order to encourage Americans to buy cars. The companies were later successfully sued in court, but the damage had been done, and they weren't required to replace the transport systems they'd destroyed. There used to be a train that went from Berkeley and Oakland across the Bay to San Francisco. That, too, was removed at the same time as the other changes were made, and the bus route now follows the old train route.
Then, once Americans were hooked on cars, the US car manufacturers adopted a policy of "planned obsolescence", meaning: cars were deliberately built to expire after a certain number of years. The engine or the transmission would give out. When this information was leaked to the press, Americans abandoned their own brands in droves, and flocked to buy Japanese cars.
It depends where you live in Europe, in Spain there is good public transport (bus, tram, trains) however where we live close to Málaga there is free parking so we just take the car.
Yes, in Spain if you live in an urban or semi-urban area, public transportation is very good. But if you live in a little town out in the boondocks you'll find yourself into problems.
Way back, during the 40's, 50's and 60's, there was a law that mandated that every Spanish town had to be communicated by bus certain number of times a day, back in those days there were few cars. Now, most of those bus lines and non-profitable train lines were abandoned. In many cases, the only public transportation that arrives in those towns are School Buses, mail and bread and fish sellers.
Quite a pity, and not only a Spanish phenomena, but also French...small towns are getting deserted.
FYI, erasure, US cities used to have trams like European cities. (San Francisco still does.) There used to be a combination of trolleybuses, buses, and trams in many cities. The trams and trolleybuses were removed by a consortium organized by the oil companies and car manufacturers, and replaced with badly-scheduled buses, in order to encourage Americans to buy cars. The companies were later successfully sued in court, but the damage had been done, and they weren't required to replace the transport systems they'd destroyed.
Wow. What consortium.removed street cars and was then sued? Care to quote a source?
[quote=Ruth4Truth;25715349]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
Then, once Americans were hooked on cars, the US car manufacturers adopted a policy of "planned obsolescence", meaning: cars were deliberately built to expire after a certain number of years. The engine or the transmission would give out. When this information was leaked to the press, Americans abandoned their own brands in droves, and flocked to buy Japanese cars.
Don't tell me what to do and I will not tell you where to go.
Its just funny to see these Y"ouTube experts" voicing their opinion about places they only know via internet
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I am very familiar with the city of Kassel, of which you posted a video and unless you live right in the city center the public transportation network can be really bad. Admittedly not as bad as in a comparable US city, but having to wait 30-60 mins for the next bus can definitely happen there, too. I have a direct comparison because I lived on both sides of the pond. With and without a car. In either country. Not in the major metropolises. What is your source of wisdom besides youtube videos?
Still, I chose to make a commitment to public transit, and I stuck by it. 
