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An article over at Motherboard covers the growing inequities in the US resulting from the cultivation of individualized transport options.
Carsharing, ridesharing, ride-hailing, public transit, and cycling—"all of those things are needed to replace personal cars," said [Robin Chase, co-founder of Zipcar].
It's a nice idea, but to actually kill car ownership, we're first going to need to have some very uncomfortable conversations about class and equity in the United States. Public transit used to be the great equalizer, but affordable private rides have become the new favorite of the middle class. When richer people give their money to private ride-hailing or carsharing companies, public transit loses money—and that's not good for cities, societies, or the environment.
[...] This dependence on ride-hailing is having the adverse effect of increasing traffic congestion, which in turn makes bus service slower and more frustrating. Besides, until cities change dramatically—i.e. more parks, fewer parking lots, less sprawl, better accommodations for active and public transit—decreased rates of car ownership likely won't benefit the environment if we're still travelling the same distances in cars.
Those living in countries that still have good or remnants of good mass transit will have different insights. It is unlikely that without good, reliable, vast public transit networks, there will be social and economic equity, assuming that is a goal. While public transit can suck, especially in the US, it is sometimes necessary to take one for the team and vote with your wallet. Unfortunately the situation is often framed as a false dilemma, that there can only be private cars or only mass transit, but not both coexisting and used for different ends at different times by the same people.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Wednesday February 14 2018, @02:33AM (7 children)
You really need to get out of the city once in a while son. Its a beautiful world where you can actually open your eyes and see something beside inner city blight and bricks.
This whole article is geared toward people who live so deep in the canyons they have anxiety attacks any time the see an horizon.
Ride-hailing works fine in the suburbs, rural areas, and small towns. My sister uses it in her gated community in Florida, my long time college buddy uses Uber to get to the grocery store in Alaska, my car-less neighbor on the west coast uses it just to go to his grandson's soccer games.
But I see your point: If you get rid of those parking lots in the city core you can put up even more sky blocking apartment buildings. Take all those streets and use them for mass transit. Find other people to pay for it, because city dwellers never pay for their own mass transit.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @03:01AM
If you get rid of those parking lots in the city core[,] you can put up even more sky blocking apartment buildings
...or turn that space into municipal parks which don't add to the heat island effect.
...or maybe even a community "garden" where food is grown.
Stop thinking like it's still the 20th Century.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @04:30AM (4 children)
Yeah, it's just blighted areas, ghettos and darkies stealing stuff, Like these places:
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=Central+park+views&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=1 [google.com]
https://www.google.com/search?q=Paris+views+of+the+Seine&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1&tbm=isch [google.com]
https://www.google.com/search?q=Amsterdam+views&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1&tbm=isch [google.com]
https://www.google.com/search?q=Sydney+views&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1&tbm=isch [google.com]
Yup, just nasty, nasty jungles with hostile, murderous natives.
"Of course you'll have a bad impression of New York if you only focus on the Pimps and C.H.U.D.s." [wikia.com], Frojack.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @07:49AM (1 child)
Dude, almost all of each of those URLs is noise.
Here's all you need for a link to Google Images:
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=Central+park+views [google.com]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @10:41AM
Why do I care? A better question is why do you care?
I'm just showing some provincial moron how stupid he is. I'm not going to put effort into editing the URLs Straight up copypasta.
It's a waste of my time. Don't like it? Go ahead and edit the rest of them. That's a wonderful use of your time, I'm sure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @03:11PM (1 child)
Hard to claim the high ground when someone says "inner city blight" and you immediately say "darkies stealing stuff".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @05:48PM
Yes. I suppose you might think that. Perhaps you should re-read my comment, then view the links I posted. You might find it enlightening.
Given that you're probably too lazy for mouse clicks, I'll give you a hint: Poe's law [wikipedia.org] strikes again!
Sigh.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday February 14 2018, @01:36PM
Worth pointing out, having lived there, that those areas either don't have any public transit or their public transit is a joke of a checkbox that doesn't work and no one uses it.
Uber can't take money from a service that doesn't exist. They can take money from properly legally licensed and insured taxi services, which they do.