It’s the implication that your marginal convenience and comfort are more important than all the damage that car-centric infrastructure causes to the poor, those who can’t drive, the environment, our cities, etc. That’s what makes you self-centered.
EDIT: And by the way, humans are social creatures by nature - we don’t all hate being in close proximity with random strangers. In fact, in the context of an urban area, I’d argue that many of the people who do feel that way are probably suffering from the psychological damage of growing up in a suburb.
I don’t even have a car anymore, I take the bus/train every single day to/from work and it fucking sucks…but it’s much cheaper, so that’s what I have to do.
Yes, it sucks being carless in a car-dependent place. That’s exactly my point.
However, I apologize for insulting you. I don’t know you or your experience and I jumped to a lot of conclusions in my previous comments.
What I’m trying to say is that the reason your bus/train commute sucks isn’t that it’s a bus/train. It’s that, at least in a lot of cities, the only people who ride the bus/train are those who can’t afford a car. Which means several things:
Transit is underfunded
Transit has incomplete coverage
Entire human settlements are built without any concern for people who don’t have a car
Cities are designed to allow maximum car throughput and parking, which inherently makes other forms of transportation worse
Your very lived experience is exactly a consequence of car-centric design, and a laser-like focus on self-driving cars will only perpetuate that design philosophy.
It’s hard for someone who has not been to a walkable city to understand how good it can be. If possible, being a few months in cities Prague or Hong Kong will be an eye opener.
I’m European, pretty much every single one of our cities are walkable regardless of country…but try moving around outside of major city centers or not between the major cities. flexibility and usability crumbles immediately. Transport times are absurdly long compared to distances as soon as you don’t move in/out of a major city (or god forbid, to/from a smaller town), often completely impossible requiring huge detours (often in to the city centers and out again) to get where you’re going.
This is not even rural by any means…this is moving around in the suburban areas surrounding Copenhagen, or small-medium towns (20-30k inhabitants) and its vicinity.
Dunno about areas surrounding Copenhagen but 20-30k is really rather too small for transit systems. They would definitely be better served by cars and buses+cycles.
During office rush hour, it would be nice if you could cycle to a bus stop on highway, park it there and get bus to downtown.
![[meme] choochoo](https://quokk.au/static/media/posts/8L/4e/8L4eFCNmnx9NzyK.webp){kind=link}
Is this sarcasm or are you just extremely self-centered?
I’m not sure i understand why hating being in close proximity with random strangers is self-centered…I assume they feel the exact same way.
It’s the implication that your marginal convenience and comfort are more important than all the damage that car-centric infrastructure causes to the poor, those who can’t drive, the environment, our cities, etc. That’s what makes you self-centered.
EDIT: And by the way, humans are social creatures by nature - we don’t all hate being in close proximity with random strangers. In fact, in the context of an urban area, I’d argue that many of the people who do feel that way are probably suffering from the psychological damage of growing up in a suburb.
I don’t even have a car anymore, I take the bus/train every single day to/from work and it fucking sucks…but it’s much cheaper, so that’s what I have to do.
Yes, it sucks being carless in a car-dependent place. That’s exactly my point.
However, I apologize for insulting you. I don’t know you or your experience and I jumped to a lot of conclusions in my previous comments.
What I’m trying to say is that the reason your bus/train commute sucks isn’t that it’s a bus/train. It’s that, at least in a lot of cities, the only people who ride the bus/train are those who can’t afford a car. Which means several things:
Your very lived experience is exactly a consequence of car-centric design, and a laser-like focus on self-driving cars will only perpetuate that design philosophy.
It’s hard for someone who has not been to a walkable city to understand how good it can be. If possible, being a few months in cities Prague or Hong Kong will be an eye opener.
I’m European, pretty much every single one of our cities are walkable regardless of country…but try moving around outside of major city centers or not between the major cities. flexibility and usability crumbles immediately. Transport times are absurdly long compared to distances as soon as you don’t move in/out of a major city (or god forbid, to/from a smaller town), often completely impossible requiring huge detours (often in to the city centers and out again) to get where you’re going.
Yeah, cars are the way to go for rural transport. Doubt any bus or tram network can be comparable.
This is not even rural by any means…this is moving around in the suburban areas surrounding Copenhagen, or small-medium towns (20-30k inhabitants) and its vicinity.
Dunno about areas surrounding Copenhagen but 20-30k is really rather too small for transit systems. They would definitely be better served by cars and buses+cycles.
During office rush hour, it would be nice if you could cycle to a bus stop on highway, park it there and get bus to downtown.