Image transcript:

Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes) sitting at a lemonade stand, smiling, with a sign that reads, “Trains and micromobility are inevitably the future of urban transportation, whether society wants it or not. CHANGE MY MIND.”

  • regulatorg@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Trains are great but people want their own personal bubble and don’t want to stand around outside waiting for a train especially since the timetable is out of their control

    • TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      What people want and what is sustainable may be two different things and some people will just have to deal with that. Leave earlier and dress for the weather 🤷‍♀️

    • bill_1992@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Quite frankly as an American, I think it’s very American to even consider the timetable as out of your control. For a lot of places, the trains come so fast that you’re not even waiting for a few minutes - like most drivers take longer to get settled into their car seat before driving. The sorry state of American transit is absolutely not the pinnacle of transit.

    • alphabetsheep@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      This is key. Urban planners and environment folks focus so much on their respective fields and don’t consider dignity enough. Of course we’d all like cheap, fast, sustainable transportation, but not if that means being packed into bench seating, plagued with delays, and sometimes even risk our safety due to other passengers. Trains don’t have to be bad, but the penny-pinching planners often ruin the experience.

      • SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social
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        1 year ago

        I drove through Atlanta at rush hour once. I’ll never go there again, if I can help it. That was kind of the opposite of what I think of when I think of “dignity.”

    • Burp@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      This has been my sticking point with trains. In theory, it sounds fantastic and I’m all for it. The problem is is that Having a vehicle is so much nicer. Air conditioned and private transportation, whenever you want. Listen to what you want, go where you want.

      Maybe if the train was much more convenient? I like the idea for travel more.

      • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.worldOPM
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        1 year ago

        If you look at old maps of streetcar networks in cities (before they ripped up the tracks to replace them with cars), one thing that stands out is just how dense the networks were. For instance, here’s the old Montreal streetcar map:

        Versus the modern-day Montreal metro map:

        And Montreal has some of the best modern-day urbanism in North America, mind you; most cities are far worse. But it really makes you imagine what our cities could be like if we made many/most streets car-free and just had ultra-dense networks of trams again. Maybe even cargo trams to deliver goods to stores as well. Trains would be ubiquitous and ultra-convenient.

      • Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Air conditioned

        Public transit has this technology.

        Listen to what you want

        Headphones.

        whenever you want […] go where you want

        Public transit can solve these problems with more frequency and routes. Sometimes public transit goes places private transport can’t!

        private transportation

        Can’t do this one.

        • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.worldOPM
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          1 year ago

          Can’t do this one.

          For long-distance travel, sleeper cars on trains are even better – you can’t close the curtains and go to sleep if you’re driving across the country.

          For short-distance travel, bikes and scooters!

        • Burp@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          Ehh, it’s more like comparing a hostel to a hotel room.

          Would you trade your private bathroom for a public one? Considering you already had a private bathroom, going to a public one is a downgrade.

        • Skepticpunk@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Public transit can solve these problems with more frequency and routes. Sometimes public transit goes places private transport can’t!

          Or, hell, just get one of those foldable ebikes that are all the rage these days. Technology is coming for cars just as it came for horses and nobody even realizes it.

    • driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br
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      1 year ago

      Move to the city and use a bike? Can’t or don’t want? Not a problem for the city or the people that live in it, you’re a guest, not a resident.