(07-16-2020, 08:39 PM)jeffster Wrote: Dan, nowhere in this world has great transit. It just doesn't happen. It can be a good choice for some, but for most, it just isn't. Many people value their time.
Perhaps we have a different idea of what "great" is, but that's a very strong and I think untrue statement to make. I think a number of Europe's transit systems meet the bar for great. I think Tokyo's (and major Japanese cities in general) transit far, far exceeds great. I haven't been to other east Asian countries but I've heard other's are comparable. It's possible.
I understand what you mean about valuing time, but actual "great" transit can save you time. In very congested cities, proper transit will make your trip genuinely shorter. But beyond that, riding transit (so long as it's frequent and similar in speed to driving) frees up the time you would have spent driving for things like reading or even getting in a bit of work.
(07-16-2020, 08:39 PM)jeffster Wrote: I take care of my 80 year old mom. She needed to go in today for a shot. I was finished work at 4 -- I was able to get her, take her to the doctors office which was on the other side of the city (they used to be closer, but they moved), afterward, she also needed to run an errand, then she got some food. I was able to do all this in about 70 minutes. Now, had I had to use transit, I would have had to leave work 3 hours early, this would get me home within 90 minutes, and 2 hours to get to her doctors office. We'll have to skip the errand and getting food, and another 2 hours to get back home. That's 5.5 hours dedicated to getting her to the doctors office and back home. Whether or not she could have even did all the walking (about 2 km to the closest bus stop, due to water main work, otherwise, 750 meters, but this is summer construction and another 750 meters from the bus stop to her doctors office) is another factor.
No matter how much money we put into transit, it will never replace private transportation as a practical alternative.
Perhaps Dan is arguing differently here (and if he is I disagree with him), but I think the point isn't to stop driving entirely. But to stop depending on cars for 100% of types of trips. Some kinds of trips of best made by car. Actually, most trips are right now in Canada, but this is an issue of investment, not an inherent feature of cars. Not building a new highway to Guelph does not stop you from driving to Guelph. Having no transit options to Guelph prevents you from taking transit to Guelph.
I can't understand complaining about investing in transit because it sucks, when it sucks because it's not invested in.
(07-16-2020, 08:39 PM)jeffster Wrote: I don't disagree that we should be building along the corridors, and we're doing that. But to suggest we toll cars and give out free transit is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I get it. You hate cars but you love transit. It works well for you. That's great. Good for you. I am happy for you. But for the other 85% of us, it just doesn't work. Not all of us have the time to wait around for transit to get us from point A to point B.
There are many costs (direct and indirect) that come from building our society around cars. The entire population is paying those costs, but I don't think it's so obvious to everyone what those costs are. Tolling car use more directly would make people a lot more aware of this... For the record, I hate cars and Canadian transit just as much (for different reasons), but the levels of investment Canada has put into either of these are drastically different.