nein51 said:
whiterock said:
RMF5630 said:
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The US did have successful mass transit. Part of the issue is people distrust mass transit, which comes from companies like GM buying trolley and train companies, and either dismantling them or not maintaining them, creating the perception of unreliability.
At one time, had we made a push towards mass transit, our country would look very different now, so advanced were our trains. Instead, the greedy part of capitalism snuffed out an entire sector of the economy, long range mass ground transit.
It could still easily work, but the same companies that ruined mass transit will lobby against it. I say easy, but in reality it would all be uphill. Too much money would be made by its failure.
The trolley systems were removed as a response to a new technology- the automobile which became affordable and provided more independence which people liked or they would not have sold. The depression and busses killed the trolley systems, as they were going under. As for the GM, they had shares in 30 of over 300 systems. Where GM got in trouble was they tried to monopolize bus sales, I think they were later acquitted on appeal (not sure).
What you are describing is the a policy telling everyone what they have to use. That is not the same thing. If the trolley systems made money or were desired over the automobile they would have survived. Some places kept them, such as San Fran, New Orleans or they developed into other systems like BRT, subways and bus lines. This policy is pushing an 18th century technology to be forced back into the system. Buses are a much more efficient transit vehicle and with platooning you can even create bus trains that operate on existing roads, no billion dollar investment in tracks. Leave rail to intercity, more efficient...
The more free the market, the more that market will put capital to its highest and best use. That we do not have a nationwide system of mass transit means mass transit is not highest and best use of capital spent on transportation.
But (horror) highest and best use of capital means more profit.
Profit is bad (according to the left).
So profit is the reason we don't have mass transit.
We let people make money on transportation needs as expressed in a free market rather than government deciding via central planning what transportation solutions would be. And we still have utopianists trying to undo it all because they think they know better, spending monies on solutions looking for problems.
Building more mass transportation is a solution to nothing bedeviling us now on transportation. Factories are no longer located in multi-story office buildings in major metro areas. Jobs are much more dispersed geographically than they were at the onset of the industrial revolution. We have vehicles and highways because land use made them the most efficient means of conveyance for commerce.
Best post on mass transit i have seen in a while. Work 30+ years in transportation. There are few places where densities allow mass transit to be sustainable. The problem I see is the new Utopians serm to forget that each trip is a person living their life. Not building a lane that serves 2000 trips per hour for some social concern only hurts the common person. I dont think they care.
Generally true. I agree with your post 99%
But if the impact of an activity (driving a car) imposes costs (climate change) on someone who has no say (my two-year old grandson) on pricing, demand by itself is not society's best way to determine what products to sell.
Has it really been proven that getting rid of cars solves that problem? That a world of mass transit makes things better? IS their anything that can be done to stop climate change? Do we know?
Is carbon really the problem or just the easiest to market? Ever hear of the Solar Minimus? According to some parts of science being too cold is going to be more of a problem in 10 or so years. There are way too many questions to totally scrap our energy system and basically destroy civilization as the necessities of civilization cement, plastic, steel and ammonia. All petro based.
On the equity side, price controls don't stop those with money from doing it. So, we will artificially price it so that if you can afford it you can drive, if not on a bike? Wasn't that the argument against tolls? It was only the rich that avoided traffic. Now, it doesn't matter because you like this movement?
This is all a feel good circle jerk that is not going to solve anything. But it will infringe on individual freedom. In my opinion, the question that should be asked is the change we are seeing actionable or informational, not can we stop it? We would be better served working on mitigation and resiliency strategies. By the way, no invention has given more people freedom to move, access to opportunity and control over their lives than the car. I am against taking that away.
Was building the interstate system with tax dollars a loss of freedom?
Actually, that was responsible Government spending for several reasons.
1 to a scale private sector can't do.
2 serves national defense function
3 supports interstate commerce
4 everyone benefits
Infrastructure is well within. Govt pursue. Much more than the COVID stimulus. Or any other social program. Infrastructure is a core function of govt. Ike knew... We can use another Ike.
You're surely joking. Of course 1 private company wouldn't build the entire interstate system, but a trucking company connecting 2 big hubs? Of course they could.
It's lost on many that there were grumbling about it when it happened, people making these same arguments. Waste of money, government overreach, etc. Of course it was done based upon a different premise.
In the end though it was the exact same thing, same arguments. It was in America's best interest to connect cities, not only for the public, but in the case of intracontinental war. It is in America's best interest that citizens be able to travel for tourism or whatever else, so the government regulates cars and travel, guess what because private companies wouldn't do as good of a job.
These are all technically losses of freedom, but if you have blinders on you just accept them for reality, and parrot your freedom argument selectively based upon whatever strikes a fancy. It's ridiculous that you could hold the opinion that connecting cities via roads was good and not an abuse of federal power, but connecting them via train track would be. The same military argument easily fits in, and clearly people would use long range trains given that the price and speed was right.
Private companies should not own public infrastructure, that is why infrastructure is a core function of Govt. Can they own toll roads? Yes, there are privatized toll roads. They are not typically better run than Public Authority toll roads.
As for freedom, the car and limited access system has done more for personal freedom and independence than any other invention. You can live where you want, more job options, education options, the list goes on. The interstate system provided unimaginable access, economic development and opportunity. Will something else come that rivals it? Not that allows you to have the freedom to come and go where you want, when you want and in a variety of styles. Mr, Musk and Bezos will determine what you do and when. Real free... I'll pay my 45$ registration.
If you're trying to argue against mass transit you must have another set of arguments, because you just wrote several reasons to support government supported mass transit.
I am not against mass transit. The only way the US will ever get an intercity rail system like Europe is as a Federal project with a dedicated funding source.
Just do not take away options, we need it all -limited access roads, toll roads, rail, bus, peds, and trails. It is the short sighted all or nothing for one mode that I have worked against.
If there was pent-up demand for inter-city rail, we'd already have it, but that never stops politicians from offering solutions in search of a problem.
It's almost like all of Europe is set up for that and the US just isn't.
If we spend every single dollar of the US budget for the next 5 years on high speed rail/rail/light rail/mass transit I'm not sure it would be enough money to actually have a functioning system that worked for even 25% of the population.
I'm not even sure what the discussion is anymore. My point is just that there are places where mass transit in the form of subway or modern light rail would benefit everyone, but of course not everywhere. The growth of passenger trains was largely ******ed by other transportation industries early in the industrial age. Whether investing in intracity mass transit is a good idea or not is a case by case discussion. I'm only pointing out that it has worked before in America, and could benefit certain cities if the government were to invest in it.
Whether transit is supremely profitable or not may be the ultimate test for viability in the private sector, but the government has markedly different goals.
Rapidly expanding cities require more capacity for transit which the private sector cannot provide. I can't get sick of my hour long daily commute and go pave a new lane for myself, say in Dallas, even with a billion dollars. I maybe could get a helicopter, but better yet is alternate forms of mass transit. Mass transit fills several needs, of reduced traffic, more capacity, in many cases faster travel times, and accessibility/reliability to anyone. Busses do this well but are still limited in nature.
Anyways I've made my point. You either recognize reality or you don't. Real arguments would have to be on a case by case basis.