Microblog Memes

Buses are great for public transit and the most cost effective option for some communities. There also seems to be a stigma against buses, though, where people are more willing to take a train than a bus. I’m starting to suspect that stigma extends to people wanting to build trains instead of buses that can get the same job done for less money than building a brand new train system.

Not really, we removed a TON of stuff to make way for roads. We're over 100 years out of date, its just a matter of funding.

As somebody from one of the related industries: The problem is federal grants in the US. Every year thousands of municipal and state government employees write to the feds grants for funding transportation. The money available until the infrastructure investment act was all money for roads. Even now with money for commuter rail is still very small in comparison and stipulations like requiring nearby travel lanes for other types of vehicles still mean that elevated and tunneled train systems are not being adequately funded.

The effect is obvious: Do you as a munucipal/state government administrator build a free new federally funded road to make people feel like a problem is being addressed and then blame the unaddressed problems on the next elected person or do you raise taxes to fund a light rail system that is infinitely more costly despite the fact nobody else will build public rail links to connect it to. Planning departments usually do know what transit will work best, but getting funding for trains has been nearly impossible.

The feds have, I think since the 50s, discouraged new public rail and we are paying that price over and over again. Say what you will about biden but him being a train guy is probably the only thing that has improved the number of light rail projects in the states and we won't see those benefits for years.

The rest of the problem lies in urban sprawl and parking lot minimums. Which is a similar problem where its impossible to not create unwalkable sprawl.

You’re forgetting a fundamental one:

• Sidewalks

I want state owned electric self driving g taxis. I want to walk out of my door and get in the neighborhood self driving bus to take me (up to) 2 miles from work, where I can either walk or use a lil razer scooter to get to my job.

Alas, I work 62 miles away from home.

What about little electric scooters that you can rent with an app but we just dump them all over the fucking sidewalk when no one is using them.

We have busses.

Tech bros are afraid of poor people and only poor people take the bus. We obviously need a luxury bus to service tech startups.

1. and 2. class wagons?

Wouldn't buses/trams be more efficient at that? They move more than 1 person to their desired destination.

We already have that in my city, it’s called Metro Micro and it costs $2.50 and includes a free transfer to public transit.

I don’t know what Musk thinks he’s going to charge for it, but I doubt it’ll be better than that.

Imagine needing to get back home from a train station, but there are 13 people that will need to be dropped-off before you, at their individual homes.

I kind of lost faith in Adam Something after he advocated for requiring everyone to use their real name online to "expose them to consequences for what they say" (and then did an ad read for DeleteMe in the same video)

Are a good idea, yes.

Many places intentionally hamper them to make them useless to perpetuate the idea of government incompetence and to deny the peasantry easy of access and transport, though.

Especially when they are slower than just straight up walking.