Living car free

[ZeroAX]

hm....I see your point (also I was the one who brought up Madrid and Atlanta), but I can't stop thinking that all this expanded land makes it somewhat easier too.

What I mean: laying down track isn't as expensive as roads. And with cities being so spread out, it's not like you will have to demolish apartment blocks, or to dig underground (which becomes waaaaaaaay more expensive and slow when your cities are also filled with ancient ruins :/ ) to establish a vast rail network around the metropolitan area. And each residential district has a nearby commercial hub right? Maybe the train stations can be in those hubs, bringing in extra revenue from people who shop on their way to work in the morning/back home, and they could also partially finance the building of the network.


I just feel this is more about politics than anything else. Public transport makes just too much damn sense.

Greeks unfortunately love their cars too, so our cities are fucked by traffic jams (thank god for the metro), but I remember going to Berlin where all the Germans seemed to be exclusively using the public transport for moving around the city, and the buses (not even going to talk about trains and metro here), were moving super fast and were always on time because they streets were so empty.

[Luke]

I still find it weird as fuck that in America "hispanics" are considered a "separate race" than "white people"

Kinda weird how I can easily get into Canada, but how difficult it seems for Mexicans to get into the States. I don't know much about the topic though.


On topic, my Mother in law brought her daughter her old bike. This bike is something awesome. I doubt she'll be using the Schwinn I bought her anytime soon.

[Jmustang1968]

I still find it weird as fuck that in America "hispanics" are considered a "separate race" than "white people"

Kinda weird how I can easily get into Canada, but how difficult it seems for Mexicans to get into the States. I don't know much about the topic though.


On topic, my Mother in law brought her daughter her old bike. This bike is something awesome. I doubt she'll be using the Schwinn I bought her anytime soon.

Incorrect to say Mexicans. Many of the immigrants are from Central and South America.

And when you go to Canada, you are just visiting. Thise coming from the south are looking to stay.

[Luke]

Incorrect to say Mexicans. Many of the immigrants are from Central and South America.

Why? I was only talking about people from Mexico. Don't know the deal with Central and South Americans.

[Jmustang1968]

Incorrect to say Mexicans. Many of the immigrants are from Central and South America.

Why? I was only talking about people from Mexico. Don't know the deal with Central and South Americans.

Well most of them travel through Mexico, so they all get default labeled as Mexicans. The biggest influx recently in attempted immigration has come from Central America.

[fastbilly1]

Ok I just suck at names in this topic, thats twice I have confused folks. Sorry Zero.

[Ack]

hm....I see your point (also I was the one who brought up Madrid and Atlanta), but I can't stop thinking that all this expanded land makes it somewhat easier too.

What I mean: laying down track isn't as expensive as roads. And with cities being so spread out, it's not like you will have to demolish apartment blocks, or to dig underground (which becomes waaaaaaaay more expensive and slow when your cities are also filled with ancient ruins :/ ) to establish a vast rail network around the metropolitan area. And each residential district has a nearby commercial hub right? Maybe the train stations can be in those hubs, bringing in extra revenue from people who shop on their way to work in the morning/back home, and they could also partially finance the building of the network.


I just feel this is more about politics than anything else. Public transport makes just too much damn sense.

Greeks unfortunately love their cars too, so our cities are fucked by traffic jams (thank god for the metro), but I remember going to Berlin where all the Germans seemed to be exclusively using the public transport for moving around the city, and the buses (not even going to talk about trains and metro here), were moving super fast and were always on time because they streets were so empty.

Well, yes and no. Actually MARTA's train line does hit many of the major commercial hubs in Atlanta(the airport, Downtown, and Midtown), Decatur, and Buckhead along with other areas along the lines.

Anyway, I have been drunk on the public transportation in Munich, and I will say I noticed how much cleaner it and more efficient it was. Here the public transportation is generally used by the poor, and there is a trend toward higher crime rates in the immediate vicinity of MARTA stations. There's also a stigma in the US toward ownership of an automobile as a sign of success and freedom.

What I would like is for the US to allow in foreign air carriers(particularly Norwegian Air) to allow in more competition among air carriers and lower prices, allowing more people access to domestic and international flights. I'd like a national rail system for transporting people(as opposed to our aging current system, which is primarily focused on freight) through the country to alleviate congestion on our interstate systems. I'd also prefer better options for both auto traffic and public transportation within our cities, cleaner and better taxi services in our major cities, and less bickering over where these services will go and who will be riding them. But good luck finding people willing to pay for all of this and put up with the necessary problems that will come with them, both short term and long term.

(can't wait for 2 centuries to pass and the entire world can end up like Brazil and we'll stop talking about this "race" thing, whatever that was)

Having seen what the women look like in Brazil, I can't wait either.

[ZeroAX]

Having seen what the women look like in Brazil, I can't wait either.

jfrost are we right?

What I would like is for the US to allow in foreign air carriers(particularly Norwegian Air) to allow in more competition among air carriers and lower prices,

capitalist America isn't allowing foreign competition into the country? Then again if other countries don't allow your airlines to fly domestic routes, I'm guessing it makes sense.

[Ack]

What I would like is for the US to allow in foreign air carriers(particularly Norwegian Air) to allow in more competition among air carriers and lower prices,

capitalist America isn't allowing foreign competition into the country? Then again if other countries don't allow your airlines to fly domestic routes, I'm guessing it makes sense.

No, there's been a big fight to block Norwegian Air from offering international flights to and from the US. The major domestic carriers don't want to do it because Norwegian Air offers rates of about half theirs along with better quality services. And the pilot union doesn't want Norwegian Air entering because they'll lose power as new non-union pilots enter the US that work for cheaper wages, and the domestic carriers will have to find ways to cut costs so they can lower ticket fare to compete. So the domestic carriers and the union are working together to lobby the federal government to stop them from coming in. But Norwegian Air is relying on EU officials to support them, so the issue might turn into a trade dispute between the US and EU.

[fastbilly1]

I'd like a national rail system for transporting people(as opposed to our aging current system, which is primarily focused on freight) through the country to alleviate congestion on our interstate systems.

The government would have to either buy the existing track, lease time on said track, or place new rails. The rail system in the US is mostly independently owned. The "aging" current system has it down to a science and delivers freight at a speed that only increases for a cost that has stayed the same for some time (adjusted for inflation though) and is regarded universally as the best. The US rail system transports about 10 times the freight of the EU rail systems on a yearly basis.