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posted by takyon on Tuesday February 13 2018, @11:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the right-tool-for-the-job dept.

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.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @03:52AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14 2018, @03:52AM (#637442)

    As the AC first responding to you noted, you're clearly trolling.

    Berlin's beautiful, amazing Metro has already been mentioned in the (meta)thread.
    Build it, build it nice, and keep it nice and they will come.

    Japan, China, France, and Germany have figured out mass transit and make USA look like something out of the dark ages.
    Much of USA is stuck on stupid, in build-no-public-infrastructure mode.
    Trying to be Indonesia, I'm guessing. (The final state of Capitalism.) [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [dissidentvoice.org]

    Los Angeles County has a light rail system.
    Taking it to the airport, we were zooming by all the stalled bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 105 freeway that runs parallel to The Green Line.
    ...and at the airport end, there are gratis shuttle buses.

    Again, when people use mass transit, things get better real fast.

    .
    I blockquoted this the other week and here it is, apt again.

    L.A. County & Orange County transit agencies seek their own ride-sharing services [dailybreeze.com]

    Public transit agencies in Los Angeles and Orange counties announced [October 23, 2017] that they're seeking private-sector partners to operate new door-to-door ride-sharing programs.

    The proposed "micro-transit" programs would begin operating in selected areas this summer, offering cheaper door-to-door rides than Uber and Lyft--as low as $5 per trip[1] with free transfers to buses and rail lines

    The service would be designed to boost ridership and to keep up with private-sector technology innovations, said Joshua Schank, chief innovation officer at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or LA Metro.
    [...]
    Similar to Lyft and Uber, the systems would be accessible through a cellphone app. But they won't require that the user have a credit card, and they will accommodate disabled riders.
    [...]
    The Orange County Transportation Authority's board of directors on [October 23] approved a request for proposals to seek companies to partner on its program, called OC Flex.

    The OC Flex program is an extension of OCTA's OC Bus 360--an initiative designed to modernize the system and increase ridership. So far, it's included a cellphone app that allows mobile ticketing and summer student passes.
    [...]
    The system would begin operating [July 2017] in Huntington Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and Mission Viejo with wheelchair-accessible vans.

    [1] Currently, a day pass for bus service in the OC (not including express routes) is $5; $1.50 for seniors.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

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